Kaaf Haa Yaa Ayn Saad
Listen to the revelation of God now being recited to you! It is composed of individual letters of the Arabic alphabet; yet it is inimitable. This Quran-its form, style, scope, and power to transform the human heart is without compare in the ancient legacy of Arabic culture or in the history of human expression.
Hear, then, this Quran and learn from the struggles and wonders that have passed long before you, and know that the revealer of this Book is none other than the true and only God.
(2-11) ZACHARIAH PRAYS FOR GOD'S INTERVENTION
Here is a reminder of your Lord's wondrous mercy bestowed upon His venerable servant, Zachariah. In it are lessons for you, O Muhammad, and for every soul that gives heed to this Book.
Behold Zachariah, when he entreated his Lord with devotion in secret entreaty, away from the eyes of people, so as to summon his utmost sincerity, so that the divine answer to his prayer might come.
He was careful to observe the spiritual etiquette of prayer, admitting his limitations and expressing his thankfulness and contentment with God. He said, "My Lord, indeed the bones within me have weakened with age arid the hair on my head is lit with gray. Your servant is now aging. Yet never in praying to You, my Lord-in a long life of devotion and worship--have I been left unhappy, for You hear every sincere plea and confer upon Your servants much favor such that all gratitude cannot match Your care and generosity.
"My plea is worthy, O Lord, for it is burdened with concern for Your religion and Your people, and I fear for my kinsfolk coming after me--when my earthly life ends. And my wife, also, is elderly and is barren. Yet You have shown me in Your scriptures that You answered the prayers of our forefathers-Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David-when they appealed to You for righteous children, for descendants who would be devoted to Your religion, to setting aright the affairs of people, and to standing against faithlessness and wrongdoing. So grant me a son from Your own bounty, one who will be a successor to me in this mission, as well as a comfort and help to his parents in their old age.
"And cause him to inherit from me the mantle of prophet hood, so as to guide the Children of Israel. And cause him to inherit the sacred knowledge of the Torah from the Family of Jacob, in order to lead this people in the performance of their religious rites and to bring their affairs into consonance with Your Law. And make him, my Lord, most of all, well-pleasing to You, and to the people, because of his godliness and noble character."
7 Then God called out to His servant through His angels, saying, "O Zachariah, hear the answer to your prayer! Indeed, We give you glad tidings of a blessed boy, whose name is to be John. We have appointed his name to no other before, nor granted any other before him the like of his character."
8 Zachariah received these tidings in wonderment, for he and his wife had remained childless even in the prime of life, and now they were elderly. He said, "My Lord, how shall I have a boy, while my wife is aged and barren, unable to conceive children? And most surely I too have reached an advanced old age."
9 The angel said in answer to Zachariah's open wonder, "So shall it be. You shall have a son despite your age and despite the condition of your wife, for your Lord has said, 'It is easy for Me to create whomever I will. And recall, O Zachariah, with a comforted heart, that most surely I have created you before, when you were nothing at all, not yet even in existence.''' Zachariah asked God for a tangible portent that would confirm in his heart this imminent miracle.
10 He said, "My Lord, make for me a sign that confirms these glad tidings." God said, "Your sign is that you shall be overcome with the awe of God and not be able to speak to people for three straight nights continuous, though you shall not be afflicted with any illness or impediment."
Having received the tidings of a son, Zachariah then came forth to his people from the Sanctuary where he had been holding his prayer vigils. At once, God's sign appeared. Zachariah was unable to speak to his people--the Children of Israel. And thus he gestured to them that they should not emulate his silence, but that it was for them to give glory to God for His blessing upon them all and to recite His praises in the morning and in the evening.
(12-15) JOHN, THE UPHOLDER OF THE BOOK
Just as Zachariah had hoped and prayed, and as the angels had then declared, John [Yahya, in the Arabic of the Quran] was conceived and born to this gentle, elderly couple of patience and reverence. John's distinctiveness became evident in boy hood and manhood when he was summoned to take up his mission among the Children of Israel.
God said, "O John, you are a prophet, so seize hold of the Book of God with all your power and resolve. And be not like the fainthearted among the Children of Israel who wavered and faltered in fulfilling My commandments." And along with revelation We gave him wisdom, even as a child.
13 And We gave him also tenderness, from Our own generosity, and a purity of soul that naturally refuses abomination; and he was ever and thoroughly GodJearing, an exemplary man.
14 Moreover, he was continually virtuous to his parents, diligent in serving them without fatigue. And never was he insolent to his relatives or to his people. Nor did he exploit the spiritual authority and power God clearly conferred upon him. Nor was he disobedient to his Lord in any matter, under any condition.
15 So God's peace be upon him, now and forevermore-and especially during the natural passages of life that carry the utmost human vulnerability: The day he was born into the world; and the day he dies when the rigors of death visit him; and the day when he is raised from the grave to life again-the Day of Resurrection, a terrible day for the wrongdoers!
