Imam Ahmad relates: “Yazīd—meaning Ibn Hārūn—told us; Ḥammād ibn Salamah narrated to us, from Thābit, from Abū Rāfiʿ, from Abū Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Zechariah was a carpenter.’” Muslim and Ibn Mājah likewise transmitted it through several chains from Ḥammād ibn Salamah.
Concerning the divine words, “O Zechariah, We give you glad tidings of a boy whose name will be John; never before have We given that name to anyone” (19:7), Allah further says, “Then the angels called to him as he stood praying in the sanctuary: ‘Allah gives you good news of John, who will confirm a Word from Allah; he will be eminent, chaste, and a prophet among the righteous’” (3:39).
Once the glad tidings were announced and firmly confirmed, Zechariah—astonished—asked how a child could be born to him in such circumstances: “My Lord, how shall I have a boy when my wife is barren and I have reached extreme old age?” (19:8), that is, how can a child be born to an aged man? It is said he was seventy-seven years old at the time, though the more likely view—Allah knows best—is that he was even older. The phrase “and my wife is barren” means that even in the vigor of her youth she had been barren and had borne no children. Allah knows best.
Similar language occurs in Abraham’s words: “Have you given me glad tidings when old age has touched me? Of what, then, do you give me glad tidings?” (15:54); and in Sarah’s exclamation: “Alas for me! Shall I bear a child when I am an old woman and this my husband is an old man? This is indeed a marvelous thing!” They replied, “Do you marvel at Allah’s decree? The mercy of Allah and His blessings be upon you, people of the House; surely He is Praiseworthy, Glorious” (11:72–73).
Zechariah—peace be upon him—received the same answer. The angel conveying his Lord’s message said, “So shall it be; your Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me. I created you before, when you were nothing’” (19:9). In other words, the Divine Power brought you into being after you had been nothing at all; will He not then bring forth from you a child even though you are advanced in years?
Allah, exalted is He, also says: “So We answered him, granted him John, and made his wife right for him. Indeed, they used to hasten to good deeds, call upon Us in hope and fear, and were humble before Us” (21:90). “Made his wife right for him” means that she had not menstruated and then began to menstruate. It is also said that she had a defect of the tongue—namely, a tendency toward coarse speech.
Zechariah said, “My Lord, appoint for me a sign,” that is, a token by which he would know the moment his wife conceived this promised child. Allah said, “Your sign is that you will not speak to people for three nights while you are sound in body” (19:10)—a silence that would come over him so that for three days he could address no one except by gesture, though he would remain perfectly healthy, sound in constitution, and well-balanced in form. During this period he was commanded to remember Allah abundantly, filling his heart with that remembrance morning and evening. Once given the glad tidings, he emerged joyfully from his prayer chamber to his people and signaled to them, “Glorify your Lord morning and evening” (19:11). The “revelation” here refers to