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Prophet Zakariyyaa (Zachariah) and Yahyaa (John) (may Allaah exalt their mention)

Almighty Allaah chose Prophet Zakariyyaa (may Allaah exalt his mention) as a prophet to the Children of Israel to guide them to believe in Allaah and worship Him alone. That was after false beliefs had spread amongst them and after they had neglected Allaah’s religion which He revealed to Prophet Moosaa (Moses), may Allaah exalt his mention.

This took place years before the birth of Prophet 'Eesaa (Jesus) the son of Mary, may Allaah exalt his mention. At that time, there was a pious man, called 'Imraan, from the Children of Israel who was famous for his knowledge, piety, and virtue.

'Imraan had a kind and pious wife. When she felt that she had become pregnant, she vowed that she would dedicate the baby that was in her womb for the service of Almighty Allaah and the service of the sacred mosque in Jerusalem and be totally devoted for this throughout his life. When she delivered her baby, she said, “My Lord! I have delivered a female child, and the male is not like the female. I have named her Maryam (Mary), and I seek refuge with You to guard her and for her offspring from Satan, the outcast.” After that, and when Maryam became a little older, her mother took her to Jerusalem to fulfill her vow.

It was necessary that one of the rabbis from among the pious clergymen who dwelt in the temple should care for Maryam, in order to bring her up, properly cultivate her and attend to her needs.

The rabbis competed with one another each trying to take Maryam the daughter of the glorious scholar ('Imraan), under his care. The most ambitious among them was Prophet Zakariyyaa, may Allaah exalt his mention, who was the husband of her elder sister and the worthiest to take care of and cultivate her.

They agreed to draw lots so as to choose the one who would be the girl’s guardian. As the lot came up in his name, Prophet Zakariyyaa, may Allaah exalt his mention, was very happy. He designated a special place for her in the mosque that no one but her was allowed to enter and raised her well and took care of her. She used to worship Almighty Allaah and glorify Him day and night so much so that she set an example of piety, goodness, and true deep faith. Moreover, Allaah honored her with special super natural events that indicated how much He privileged her and how high her rank was.

For example, every time Prophet Zakariyyaa, may Allaah exalt his mention, entered her place of worship to visit her and as check on her affairs, he would find that she had summer fruits during winter and winter fruits during summer. He would ask her where she got it from and she would answer him

faithfully and humbly, saying, “Allaah has provided me with them!”

Prophet Zakariyyaa, may Allaah exalt his mention, wished to have a pious son but he was very old and his wife was old and incapable of producing offspring.

He wished to have a pious son who would inherit him and his forefathers in knowledge, excellence, and the prophethood.

While Zakariyyaa, may Allaah exalt his mention, was praying in the sanctuary (mihraab) of the mosque, he received glad tidings from the angels who told him that Almighty Allaah had responded to his call and would give him a son whose name would be Yahyaa (John), may Allaah exalt his mention, a name that was given to no one before him. The angels also gave him the glad tidings that Yahyaa would be a great honorable and noble man among his people and a pious prophet who would be inspired by Allaah.

Zakariyyaa, may Allaah exalt his mention, was amazed by those glad tidings and wondered how an old man like himself would be able to have a son and how his infertile wife would give birth to a child in her old age! But that was Allaah’s Will and Might, and nothing could ever drive His Will back or overcome His Might.

The Prophet Zakariyyaa, may Allaah exalt his mention, yearned to have those great tidings fulfilled. He asked Almighty Allaah to make a sign for him that would indicate the time when the glad tidings would be fulfilled so that his heart would be reassured. Allaah answered his call and inspired him that there would come three days during which he would not be able to speak to anyone. When that happened, he would know that Allaah’s miracle would have taken place and that his wife would have become pregnant with her son Yahyaa. Also, Allaah commanded him to worship and invoke Him a great deal and to show gratitude to Him for His grace.

Days passed and Prophet Zakariyyaa, may Allaah exalt his mention, was worshiping Allaah and remembering Him devoutly as usual. One day, while he was praying in his mihraab (sanctuary), he felt that he was not able to speak. He went out to his people happy and delighted and tried to tell them, through gestures, that the glad tidings had come true and that the miracle had taken place.

Afterwards, his wife gave birth to her baby Yahyaa, whose birth was a miracle and whose childhood was different from that of other children

The signs of excellence and wisdom appeared on him from his early life. He grew up loving knowledge and scholars and eagerly started studying the Torah, the Book (Scripture) 

that Allaah had revealed to Prophet Moosaa, may Allaah exalt his mention, until he learned it by heart and understood its rulings, and laws while he was still a young boy.

Yahyaa was famous for his piety, faithfulness, truthfulness, and trustworthiness. He was dutifull to his father and mother and used to obey them and treat them kindly. He was also humble among the people and pride, arrogance or self-conceit never found their way to his heart.

The Prophet Yahyaa, may Allaah exalt his mention, used to call the Children of Israel to worship Allaah alone, with no partner, and to adhere to His Religion that had been revealed to Prophet Moosaa, may Allaah exalt his mention.

However, just as they always did with the Prophets and Messengers whom Allaah sent to them, the Children of Israel denied and rejected what he told them to do. They also harmed him and harmed the people who believed in him, and they conspired and plotted against him in order to drive people away from him and from his call, they also incited people to kill him so that they would get rid of him and his call.

One night, the leaders and influential people among the disbelievers gathered and planned to kill him. They started to search for him, and their hearts were full of evil and hatred.

 They continued looking for him until they found him. Then they killed him, just as they had done with the

prophets and messengers before him, may Allaah exalt their mention.  Thus, they added a new crime to their record of crimes which will always be a mark of disgrace in their history which is full of bloodshed. The record of their crimes will pass from one generation to another narrating the wicked acts of those who killed the prophets [The Jews].

 
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The Prophet’s Childhood
The Prophet's Trade and Marriage
The Year of Sadness and The Night Journey and the Ascent to the Heavens
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The Hudaybiyah Peace Treaty
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