Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (5/220)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

Sa'id ibn Jubayr and Ata' said: “We have not given him any likeness or equal,” just as Allah, exalted is He, says: “Do you know of any who is comparable to Him?”—that is, any equal.

The meaning is that he had no equal, for he never disobeyed Allah or even contemplated committing a sin.

It was also said: He had no equal in matters relating to women, because he was noble and chaste.

Ali ibn Abi Talhah narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him: That is, barren women had never borne a child like him.

It was said that Allah did not mean that John possessed the entirety of all virtues; rather, He meant only some of them, for Abraham, the intimate friend of Allah, and Moses, the one to whom Allah spoke, had preceded him, and they were superior to him.

“Zechariah said, ‘My Lord, how can I have a boy when my wife is barren and I have reached extreme old age?’ He said, ‘So it will be. Your Lord says: It is easy for Me; for I created you before, when you were nothing.’ Zechariah said, ‘My Lord, grant me a sign.’ He said, ‘Your sign is that you will not speak to people for three full nights.’ (8–10)”

“Zechariah said, ‘My Lord, how can I have a boy?’” That is, from where could I have a boy, “when my wife is barren?” That is, while my wife is barren. (1) “And I have reached extreme old age”: that is, dryness. Qatadah said: He meant the wasting away of the bones. It is said: An old man reaches extreme old age when he has attained the end of his lifespan and grown old; and an elderly man is described thus when he reaches a state of dryness and desiccation.

Hamzah and al-Kisa'i recited the words denoting extreme old age, weeping, roasting, and kneeling with their initial letters in the genitive vowel, while the rest recited them with the nominative vowel. Both are established linguistic forms. “He said, ‘So it will be. Your Lord says: It is easy for Me’”: that is, easy. “For I created you”: Hamzah and al-Kisa'i recited, “We created you,” with the plural form, expressing divine majesty. “Before”: that is, before John; “when you were nothing.” “Zechariah said, ‘My Lord, grant me a sign’”: that is, an indication that my wife is pregnant. “He said, ‘Your sign is that you will not speak to people for three full nights’”: that is, while sound and healthy, without any illness or inability to speak.

Mujahid said: That is, no illness would prevent you from speaking.

(1) On this interpretation, the word kanat (was) serves merely to emphasize the statement, as in Allah's saying, “You were the best community” (Al Imran 3:110), meaning: “You are the best community.” It was also said that the verse means she had been barren from the outset, and that barrenness had not newly arisen in her. Ibn al-Anbari mentioned both views and preferred the first. See Zad al-Masir, 5:211.

وَقَالَ سَعِيدُ بْنُ جُبَيْرٍ وَعَطَاءٌ: لَمْ نَجْعَلْ لَهُ شَبَهًا وَمِثْلًا كَمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: "هَلْ تَعْلَمُ لَهُ سَمِيًّا" أَيْ مِثْلًا. وَالْمَعْنَى: أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ مِثْلٌ، لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَعْصِ وَلَمْ يَهُمَّ بِمَعْصِيَةٍ قَطُّ. وَقِيلَ: لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ مِثْلٌ فِي أَمْرِ النِّسَاءِ، لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ سَيِّدًا وَحَصُورًا. وَقَالَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَلْحَةَ عَنْ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ ﵄: أَيْ لَمْ تَلِدِ الْعَوَاقِرُ مِثْلَهُ وَلَدًا. وَقِيلَ: لَمْ يُرِدِ اللَّهُ بِهِ اجْتِمَاعَ الْفَضَائِلِ كُلِّهَا لِيَحْيَى، إِنَّمَا أَرَادَ بَعْضَهَا، لِأَنَّ الْخَلِيلَ وَالْكَلِيمَ كَانَا قَبْلَهُ، وَهُمَا أَفْضَلُ مِنْهُ. ﴿قَالَ رَبِّ أَنَّى يَكُونُ لِي غُلَامٌ وَكَانَتِ امْرَأَتِي عَاقِرًا وَقَدْ بَلَغْتُ مِنَ الْكِبَرِ عِتِيًّا (٨) قَالَ كَذَلِكَ قَالَ رَبُّكَ هُوَ عَلَيَّ هَيِّنٌ وَقَدْ خَلَقْتُكَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَلَمْ تَكُ شَيْئًا (٩) قَالَ رَبِّ اجْعَلْ لِي آيَةً قَالَ آيَتُكَ أَلَّا تُكَلِّمَ النَّاسَ ثَلَاثَ لَيَالٍ سَوِيًّا (١٠) ﴾ ﴿قَالَ رَبِّ أَنَّى﴾ مِنْ أَيْنَ ﴿يَكُونُ لِي غُلَامٌ وَكَانَتِ امْرَأَتِي عَاقِرًا﴾ أَيْ: وَامْرَأَتِي عَاقِرٌ (١) . ﴿وَقَدْ بَلَغْتُ مِنَ الْكِبَرِ عِتِيًّا﴾ أَيْ: يَبَسًا، قَالَ قَتَادَةُ: يُرِيدُ نُحُولَ الْعَظْمِ، يُقَالُ: عَتَا الشَّيْخُ يَعْتُو عِتِيًّا وَعِسِيًّا: إِذَا انْتَهَى سِنَّهُ وَكَبِرَ، وَشَيْخٌ عَاتٍ وَعَاسٍ: إِذَا صَارَ إِلَى حَالَةِ الْيَبَسِ وَالْجَفَافِ. وَقَرَأَ حَمْزَةُ وَالْكِسَائِيُّ: عِتِيًّا وَبِكِيًّا وَصِلِيًّا وَجِثِيًّا بِكَسْرِ أَوَائِلِهِنَّ، وَالْبَاقُونَ بِرَفْعِهَا، وَهُمَا لُغَتَانِ. ﴿قَالَ كَذَلِكَ قَالَ رَبُّكَ هُوَ عَلَيَّ هَيِّنٌ﴾ يَسِيرٌ ﴿وَقَدْ خَلَقْتُكَ﴾ قَرَأَ حَمْزَةُ وَالْكِسَائِيُّ " خَلَقْنَاكَ " بِالنُّونِ وَالْأَلِفِ عَلَى التَّعْظِيمِ، ﴿مِنْ قَبْلُ﴾ أَيْ مِنْ قَبْلِ يَحْيَى ﴿وَلَمْ تَكُ شَيْئًا﴾ ﴿قَالَ رَبِّ اجْعَلْ لِي آيَةً﴾ دَلَالَةً عَلَى حَمْلِ امْرَأَتِي ﴿قَالَ آيَتُكَ أَلَّا تُكَلِّمَ النَّاسَ ثَلَاثَ لَيَالٍ سَوِيًّا﴾ أَيْ: صَحِيحًا سَلِيمًا مِنْ غَيْرِ مَا بَأْسٍ وَلَا خَرَسٍ. قَالَ مُجَاهِدٌ: أَيْ لَا يَمْنَعُكَ مِنَ الْكَلَامِ مَرَضٌ.

(١) وعلى هذا فـ "كانت": توكيد للكلام، كقوله تعالى: (كنتم خير أمة) (آل عمران-١١٠) أي: أنتم خير أمة. وقيل معنى الآية: أنها كانت منذ كانت عاقرا، لم يحدث ذلك بها. ذكر هذين القولين ابن الأنباري واختار الأول منهما. انظر: "زاد المسير": ٥ / ٢١١.