The story of Zechariah, peace be upon him

Zakariya, peace be upon him

It is stated in the lineage of Zechariah - peace be upon him - that he is Zechariah bin Dan bin Muslim bin Saduq, and his lineage passes through Solomon bin David, peace be upon them, until it reaches Judah, who is the son of Jacob, peace be upon him. It was reported that Zechariah was working as a carpenter, and he was mentioned in the Holy Qur’an eight times. His story was detailed in Surat Maryam and Al Imran, and he was sent as a prophet among the Children of Israel, with the call to monotheism and the worship of God Almighty, and abandoning anything less than that, at a time when their corruption and disbelief were widespread, and immorality, injustice and evil in general were widespread among them. The kings of the Children of Israel at that time were infidels and immoral people. They were filled with hatred for the religion and its people, so they dominated the pious and righteous people, killing and unjustly. Their affliction extended to Zechariah - peace be upon him - when King Herod ordered the killing of Yahya bin Zakariya, peace be upon him. To please his mistress.

Zechariah, peace be upon him, lived through the spread of murder and injustice among the Children of Israel, and God Almighty had decreed, through a wisdom that he knew, not to give Zechariah a son. When he felt that old age had overtaken him, and that he was alone, with no one around him to establish the religion with him, or to succeed him in it, he turned to God - Almighty - with supplication, and God Almighty said: (And I fear the servants who follow me, and my wife is barren, so grant me from Yourself a guardian who will inherit from me and from the family of Jacob, and make him a well-pleased Lord.)So God answered his call by making him sponsor Mary - peace be upon her - first, then he was given the good news that his wife was pregnant, and he would have a son, God Almighty willing.

The story of Zechariah, peace be upon him

Zechariah, peace be upon him, had reached the stage of weakness and gray hair, as described in his supplication to God Almighty, but despite that, he did not despair of the power of God Almighty, and His grace upon him by granting him a child despite his circumstances. Mary, peace be upon her, had sponsored him an additional reason for that certainty, so when Zechariah sponsored Maryam - peace be upon them - saw great virtues in her. He used to enter her and find summer fruits in front of her in the winter, and winter fruits in the summer. As a favor and honor from God, this increased his certainty and his desire for God Almighty to honor him with a child, even though his wife is barren and does not give birth, and he has grown up as well.

God Almighty answered the call of His Prophet, giving him good news that he would have a son, named Yahya, as God Almighty said: (O Zachariah, indeed we give you good news of a boy whose name is Yahya; to him We have not previously given a name by name.)So Zechariah - peace be upon him - was surprised by the news, even though he was turning to God - Glory be to Him - in supplication, so he asked that God make him a sign for this good news, and evidence of the existence of the pregnancy, so his sign was silence, so he did not speak for three days despite his moderate mood and his association with people. It has been said: He could only mention God Almighty, and not speak to people, and it was the completion of the blessings of God Almighty upon his Prophet that He made his son Yahya a truthful, a prophet, dutiful to his parents, and God Almighty gave him the Book and judgment over him as a boy. Until two boys came to him wanting to play with him while he was a boy, so he said to them: We were not created for playing, and it was one of the blessings that God Almighty bestowed upon him as well, in the words of God Almighty: (He was compassionate from Us and pure and pious.)Yahya, peace be upon him, was merciful to his parents, compassionate towards them, and kind to them, as God Almighty also said: (And peace be upon him the day he was born, and the day he dies, and the day he is resurrected alive)So God Almighty had greeted him personally, so his status and destiny in this world and the hereafter were raised.

Zechariah's sponsorship for Mary

Mother Maryam - peace be upon her - was the wife of Imran, a righteous and pious woman, but she was childless, and for a long time she was not blessed with a child, so she vowed to God - the Almighty - that if he gave her a son, she would make him a servant of the Holy House and a worshiper of God Almighty, for it was only a short time until God answered her hope and prayer, and gave her good news of her pregnancy, but when she gave birth to the baby, it was a female, and she was confused about it. How could she be a servant of religion and a worshiper of God when she was a female, except that she fulfilled her vow and took Mary - peace be upon her - to Jerusalem, to find someone to sponsor her, so the righteous among the children of Israel voted to sponsor Mary, peace be upon her. Out of love for her father, who was righteous and pious among the scholars of the children of Israel, so the arrow of Zechariah, peace be upon him, came out. He was the husband of her aunt, so he took care of her, raised her well, disciplined her, housed her in his sanctuary, and led her to worship God Almighty alone, which pleased him with her.

The death of Zechariah, peace be upon him

There are two narrations regarding the death of God’s Prophet Zechariah - peace be upon him - both of which summarize that Zechariah - peace be upon him - was killed by the most ungodly of creation among the Children of Israel, for they were in the habit of killing prophets, as God Almighty said in His Noble Book. The first of the two narrations is that when news spread The birth of Mary - peace be upon her - People from the children of Israel claimed that Zechariah - peace be upon him - caused her to commit adultery, so they came to him and killed him unjustly for that, as they sawed him with a saw. As for the second story, it is that when the Prophet of God Yahya - peace be upon him - was killed, King Herod sent He was killed by the one searching for Zakariya, peace be upon him. So Zakariya, peace be upon him, disappeared from sight, until a tree - God willing - called him to enter inside it, and it split, and he entered it, and he knew about that Satan, so he took something of Zakariya’s clothing, and went to the people to show them his place. So he told them his place inside the tree, and he had the evidence, which was something from Zechariah’s clothes, peace be upon him, so the people began cutting down the tree and hitting it with their axes, until Zechariah, peace be upon him, was killed.