Surah Ale-Imran (The Family Of Imran ) 3 : 38

Overview (Verses 38 - 41)

A Very Strange Birth
 
At that point, Zachariah prayed to his Lord, saying: “Lord, bestow on me, out of Your grace, goodly offspring. Indeed, You hear all prayers. “Thereupon, the angels called out to him as he stood praying in the sanctuary: “God gives you the happy news of [the birth of] John, who shall confirm the truth of a word from God. He shall be noble, utterly chaste and a Prophet from among the righteous. “[Zechariah] said: “Lord, how can I have a son when old age has already overtaken me and my wife is barren?” He answered: “Thus it is. God does what He wills.” [Zachariah] said: “Lord, grant me a sign.” He replied: “Your sign shall be that for three days you will not speak to people except by gestures. Remember your Lord unceasingly and glorify Him in the early hours of night and day.” (Verses 38-41)
 
Zachariah, an old man without progeny, experienced a renewal of that yearning to have a child of his own. This is a natural desire which cannot be suppressed even by those who dedicate themselves to Divine Service and preoccupy themselves with worship. God has made this desire a part of human nature so that life can continue and progress.
 
Here we witness an event which demonstrates that God’s will is absolute, not confined to what is familiar to men. Human beings tend to think that what they know of natural laws are final, inviolable, absolute. Hence, they raise doubts about any event which does not seem to fall within the confines of these laws. If they cannot deny the event altogether because they know it to be an accomplished fact, they start to fabricate legends around it.
 
Here we find Zachariah, a man overtaken by old age, and his barren wife who had not had children even in her youth. As Zachariah brings up Mary, a goodly child provided with Abundance from God, his deep natural desire to have offspring of his own begins to stir inside him. He turns to his Lord with a passionate prayer to give him out of His grace goodly offspring: “At that point, Zachariah prayed to his Lord, saying: ‘Lord, bestow on me, out of Your Grace’ goodly offspring. Indeed, You hear all prayers.’” (Verse 38) And what does this passionate prayer achieve? God answers his prayer in a way which is not restricted to age or what is familiar to people. It is an answer determined by God’s absolute will: “Thereupon, the angels called out to him as he stood praying with in the sanctuary: ‘God gives you the happy news of [the birth of] John, who shall confirm the truth of a word from God. He shall be noble, utterly chaste and a Prophet from among the righteous.’” (Verse 39)
 
This is the sincere prayer of a man of pure heart who has placed his hopes in the One Who hears all prayers and Who is able to answer them when He chooses. The angels bid Zachariah rejoice at the news of the birth of a son whose name, John, is known even before he is born. His qualities are also well known: he is to be a man of nobility and distinction, utterly chaste, able to control his desires and a firm believer who will confirm the word of God. Moreover, he will be a Prophet and a righteous man.
 
God has answered Zachariah’s prayer in such a way that the natural phenomena familiar to man are put aside. People may think these phenomena to be a law which restricts even the will of God. Whatever is familiar to man and thought by him to be an inviolable law is no more than a relative law. is neither final nor absolute. Since man is confined by the limit ions of his age and knowledge, and since our minds can only work within our natural limitations, we cannot appreciate any final law or comprehend any fact which is absolute. Hence, it is more suitable for man not to exceed the boundaries of propriety when he thinks of God. It is far better for man to confine himself to the limitations of his own world when he speaks of what is possible and what is impossible. He must not, in any way, try to set a framework by virtue of his own experience and scanty knowledge in which to restrict God’s absolute will.
 
The way his prayer was answered surprised even Zachariah. After all, Zachariah was a man like us. He wanted to know from his Lord how this could happen when it was something “supernatural” by the standards of human beings. He said: “Lord, how can I have a son when old age has already overtaken me and my wife is barren?” He was given an easy, simple answer which puts matters in the right perspective and which need not be surprising to anyone: “Thus it is. God does what He wills.” (Verse 40)
 
“Thus it is.” The whole thing is familiar and it happens all the time when we take it within the context of God’s absolute will and His actions which are always accomplished. But people do not think of this nor do they remember this fact.
 
“Thus it is,” absolutely easy, unrestricted. God does what He wills. What is so strange about Him giving Zachariah a son when Zachariah has been overtaken by old age and his wife is barren? These restrictions apply to men because they are familiar to men. As for God, there is nothing familiar or unfamiliar. Everything happens according to God’s will. His will is subject to no restrictions whatsoever.
 
Zachariah, nevertheless, was so overwhelmed by the news that he prayed to his Lord to give him a sign which would reassure him. He said: “Lord, grant me a sign.” God directs him at this point to that which gives him the perfect reassurance. He gives him a totally unfamiliar experience. The sign was that Zachariah’s tongue was to be tied for three days when he tried to address people, but would remain untied when he addressed his Lord and glorified Him: “He replied: ‘Your sign shall be that for three days you will not speak to people except by gestures. Remember your Lord unceasingly and glorify Him in the early hours of night and day.’” (Verse 41)
 
The Qur’ānic account stops here. We know that this is what actually took place. Zachariah had an experience which was unfamiliar in his own life and in the lives of other beings. His tongue was unable to utter a word of ordinary speech while it uttered the praises and glorification of God. What law controls such a phenomenon? It is the law of God’s absolute will. There can be no other explanation of this strange event. Similarly, there is no other explanation of the birth of John when his father had been overtaken by old age and his mother was barren.