Surah 19. Maryam

Kaf. Ha. Ya. 'Ayn. Sad.¹

  - Mohammad Asad

See Appendix II.

Kaf Ha' Ya' 'Ayn Suad.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Kãf-Ha-Ya-'Aĩn- Ṣãd.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Kaf. Ha. Ya. Ain. Sad.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Kaf. Ha. Ya. `Ain. Sad. ²⁴⁵⁵

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

This is the only Sura which begins with these five Abbreviated Letters, K.,H.,Y.,A.,S. For Abbreviated Letters generally, see Appendix 1.

AN ACCOUNT of the grace which thy Sustainer bestowed upon His servant Zachariah:²

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "An account of thy Sustainer's grace upon...", etc. According to the account in the Gospels, not contradicted by the Qur'an, Zachariah's wife Elisabeth was a cousin of Mary, the mother of Jesus (Cf. Luke i, 36).

This is a reminder of blessings that your Rabb bestowed on His servant Zakariya,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'This is' a reminder of your Lord's mercy to His servant Zachariah,

  - Mustafa Khattab

A mention of the mercy of thy Lord unto His servant Zachariah.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(This is) a recital of the Mercy of thy Lord to His Servant Zakariya. ²⁴⁵⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The Mercy of Allah to Zakriya was shown in many ways: (1) in the acceptance of his prayer; (2) in bestowing a son like Yahya; and (3) in the love between father and son, in addition to the work which Yahya did as Allah's Messenger for the world. Cf. iii. 38-41 and notes. There the public ministry was the point stressed; here the beautiful relations between the son and the father.

When he called out to his Sustainer in the secrecy of his heart,³

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "with secret calling".

when he invoked his Rabb in secret,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

when he cried out to his Lord privately,

  - Mustafa Khattab

When he cried unto his Lord a cry in secret,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Behold! he cried to his Lord in secret ²⁴⁵⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

In secret: because he feared that his own family and relatives were going wrong (xix. 5), and he wanted to keep the lamp of Allah burning bright. He could not very well mention the fear about his colleagues (who were his relations) in public.

he prayed: "O my Sustainer! Feeble have become my bones, and my head glistens with grey hair. But never yet, O my Lord, has my prayer unto Thee remained unanswered.⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "never have I been unfortunate in my prayer to Thee".

saying: "O Rabb! Surely my bones have weakened and the hair of my head glisten with grey, while I have never been disappointed in my prayer to You, O Rabb!

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

saying, 'My Lord! Surely my bones have become brittle, and grey hair has spread across my head, but I have never been disappointed in my prayer to You, my Lord!

  - Mustafa Khattab

Saying: My Lord! Lo! the bones of me wax feeble and my head is shining with grey hair, and I have never been unblest in prayer to Thee, my Lord.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Praying: "O my Lord! infirm indeed are my bones and the hair of my head doth glisten with grey: but never am I unblest O my Lord in my prayer to Thee! ²⁴⁵⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

This preface shows the fervent faith of Zakariya. Zakariya was a prophet of the Most High Allah. His office was in the Temple, and his relatives were his colleagues. But he found in them no true spirit of the service of Allah and man. He was filled with anxiety as to who would uphold the godly ideas he had in mind, which were strange to his worldly colleagues.

"Now, behold, I am afraid of [what] my kinsfolk [will do] after I am gone,⁵ for my wife has always been barren. Bestow, then, upon me, out of Thy grace, the gift of a successor

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "after me". He evidently anticipated that his kinsfolk - who, like himself, were priests attached to the Temple - would be morally too weak to fulfil their duties with dignity and conviction (Razi), and thus, perhaps, unable to safeguard the future of Mary, whose guardian he was (cf. the first paragraph of 3:37 ).

Yet I fear about my relatives after me, for my wife is barren, grant me a heir by Your grace

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And I am concerned about 'the faith of' my relatives after me, since my wife is barren. So grant me, by Your grace, an heir,

  - Mustafa Khattab

Lo! I fear my kinsfolk after me, since my wife is barren. Oh, give me from Thy presence a successor

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"Now I fear (what) my relatives (and colleagues) (will do) after me: but my wife is barren: so give me an heir as from Thyself ²⁴⁵⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

His was not merely a desire for a son. If it had been, he would have prayed much earlier in his life, when he was a young man. He was too full of true piety to put merely selfish things into his prayers. But here was a public need, in the service of the Lord.

who will be my heir as well as an heir [to the dignity] of the House of Jacob; and make him, O my Sustainer, well-pleasing to Thee!"

  - Mohammad Asad

who should inherit me and inherit the posterity of Ya'qoob, and make him, O my Rabb, a desirable person!"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

who will inherit 'prophethood' from me and the family of Jacob, and make him, O Lord, pleasing 'to You'!'

  - Mustafa Khattab

Who shall inherit of me and inherit (also) of the house of Jacob. And make him, my Lord, acceptable ( unto Thee).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"(One that) will (truly) represent me and represent the posterity of Jacob; and make him O my Lord! one with whom Thou art well-pleased!" ²⁴⁶⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

It is true that an heir inherits property, but his higher duty is to represent in everything the personality of him from whom he inherits. It is doubtful whether Zakariya had any worldly property. But he had character and virtue, as a man of God, and this he wanted to transmit to his heir as his most precious possession. It was almost the most precious possession of the posterity of Jacob. The people around him had fallen away from Allah's Message. Could his heir, like him, try and renew it?

[Thereupon the angels called out unto him:⁶ ] "O Zachariah! We bring thee the glad tiding of [the birth of] a son whose name shall be John. [And God says,] 'Never have We given this name to anyone before him.'"⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

See 3:39 .

Lit., "Never before have We made a namesake for him". The name Yahya (John) signifies "he shall live", i.e., he will be spiritually alive and will be remembered forever; and the fact that God Himself had chosen this name for him was a singular distinction, equivalent to a divine promise (kalimah, cf. note [28] on 3:39 ).

We answered his prayer saying: "O Zakariya! Surely We give you the good news of a son, his name shall be Yahya (John): a name that no one has had before him".

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'The angels announced,' 'O Zachariah! Indeed, We give you the good news of 'the birth of' a son, whose name will be John- a name We have not given to anyone before.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

(It was said unto him): O Zachariah! Lo! We bring thee tidings of a son whose name is John; We have given the same name to none before (him).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(His prayer was answered): "O Zakariya! We give thee good news of a son: his name shall be Yahya: on none by that name have We conferred distinction before." ²⁴⁶¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

This was John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus. In accordance with his father's prayer he, and Jesus for whom he prepared the way, renewed the Message of Allah, which had been corrupted and lost among the Israelites. The Arabic form Yahya suggests "Life". The Hebrew form is Johanan, which means "Jehovah has been Gracious". Cf. Hananan in verse 13 below. It does not mean that the name was given for the first time, for we read of a Johanan the son of Careah in II Kings, xxv. 23, an otherwise obscure man. It means that Allah had, for the first time, called one of His elect by that name.

[Zachariah] exclaimed: "O my Sustainer! How can I have a son when my wife has always been barren and I have become utterly infirm through old age?"

  - Mohammad Asad

He asked: "O Rabb! How shall I have a son when my wife is barren and I have become impotent from old age?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He wondered, 'My Lord! How can I have a son when my wife is barren, and I have become extremely old?'

  - Mustafa Khattab

He said: My Lord! How can I have a son when my wife is barren and I have reached infirm old age?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

He said: "O my Lord! how shall I have a son when my wife is barren and I have grown quite decrepit from old age?"

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Answered [the angel]: "Thus it is; [but] thy Sustainer says, 'This is easy for Me - even as I have created thee aforetime out of nothing.'"⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "when [or "although"] thou wert nothing". This stress on God's unlimited power to bring into being a new chain of causes and effects forms here, as in Al 'Imran, a preamble to the announcement, expressed in very similar terms, of the birth of Jesus (see verses {19} ff.).

The answer came: "So shall it be. Your Rabb says: 'It shall not be a difficult task for Me, just as I created you before, when you were nothing at all!"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

An angel replied, 'So will it be! Your Lord says, 'It is easy for Me, just as I created you before, when you were nothing!''

  - Mustafa Khattab

He said: So (it will be). Thy Lord saith: It is easy for Me, even as I created thee before, when thou wast naught.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

He said: "So (it will be): thy Lord saith `That is easy for Me: I did indeed create thee before when thou hadst been nothing!' " ^{2462 2463}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Who is the "He" in this clause? As I have construed it, following the majority of Commentators, it means the angel who brought the message from Allah. Cf. xix. 21 below. But some Commentators construe it to refer to Zakariya. In that case the meaning will be: Zakariya after a little reflection said (in his wonder) "So!", i.e., "Can it really be so? Can I really have a son in my old age?" The speech following,"Thy Lord saith," etc., will then be that of the angel-messenger.

Every man was nothing just before he was created, i.e., his personality was called into being by Allah. Even if there are material processes in forming the body, in accordance with the laws of nature, the real creative force is the power of Allah. But here there is a subtler meaning. John was the harbinger of Jesus, preparing the way for him; and this sentence also prepares us for the more wonderful birth of Jesus himself, see verse 21 below. Everything is possible with Allah.

[Zachariah] prayed: "O my Sustainer! Appoint a sign for me!" Said [the angel]: "Thy sign shall be that for full three nights [and days] thou wilt not speak unto men."⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

See 3:41 and the corresponding note [29].

Zakariya said "O my Rabb! Give me a Sign". He said: "Your sign is that for three nights you shall not be able to speak to the people even being sound in health".

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Zachariah said, 'My Lord! Grant me a sign.' He responded, 'Your sign is that you will not 'be able to' speak to people for three nights, despite being healthy.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

He said: My Lord! Appoint for me some token. He said: Thy token is that thou, with no bodily defect, shalt not speak unto mankind three nights.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(Zakariya) said "O my Lord! give me a Sign." "Thy Sign" was the answer "shall be that thou shalt speak to no man for three nights although thou art not dumb." ^{2464 2465}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The "Sign", was in order to convince Zakariya that the Lord's promise was true.

Compare this verse with iii. 41. The variations are interesting. Here it is "for three nights": there it is "for three days". The meaning is the same, for a day is a period of 24 hours. But the point of view is different in each case. There it was from the point of view of the Ummat or Congregation, among whom he worked by day; here the point of view is that of his individual soul, which spent the nights in prayer and praise. Notice again that at the end of the next verse, we have here, "In the morning and the evening", and at the end of iii. 41, "In the evening and in the morning"-showing again that the point of view is reversed.