Tafsir of Maryam 19:3

His saying, Exalted is His state, "(When) he called unto his Lord" is a circumstantial qualifier for "the mercy of your Lord." It is said that it is a qualifier for "a mention," as it is in the genitive case linked to its subject—not to the object, according to the first interpretation, because that would corrupt the meaning. It is also said: it is an appositive of inclusion (badal ishtimal) for "Zechariah," as in His saying, Exalted is He, "And mention in the Book Maryam, when she withdrew from her people to a place eastward."

Al-Hasan and Ibn Ya‘mur read—as narrated by Abu al-Fath—"dhakkara" (dhakara) as a past-tense verb with the second radical intensified (tashdid), and "rahmat" (rahmat) in the accusative case, as being—according to al-Bahr—a second object for dhakkara, with the first object elided, and "‘abdahu" (‘abdahu) as the object of "rahmat." The subject of dhakkara is the pronoun referring to the Quran, which is known from the context; meaning: the Quran mentions to the people that He, Glory be to Him, showed mercy to His servant. It is permissible that the subject of dhakkara be the pronoun referring to Khaf-Ha-Ya-‘Ain-Sad, based on the fact that what is intended by it is the Quran, making it the subject (mubtada') and the sentence its predicate. It is also permissible for the subject to be the pronoun referring to Him, the Exalted and Majestic; meaning: Allah the Exalted mentioned that to the people. It is also permissible for "the mercy of your Lord" to be the second object, while the first object is "His servant," and the subject is the pronoun referring to Him, Glory be to Him; meaning: Allah the Exalted reminded His servant of His mercy—that is, He caused the servant to remember His mercy. The parsing of "Zechariah" is as previously mentioned. It is permissible for it to be the object of "mercy," and for "His servant" to be the generic, as if it were said: He mentioned His mercy to His servants, [specifically] Zechariah—this is as you can see. It is also permissible, based on this, for the subject to be the pronoun of the Quran. It is said: It is permissible for the subject to be the pronoun of Him, the Exalted, for "mercy" to be the first object, and for "His servant" to be the second object, resorting to metaphor; meaning: Allah the Exalted made the mercy mention His servant. It is also said: "rahmat" is in the accusative by the removal of the preposition (naza‘ al-khafid), meaning: he mentioned with mercy. Al-Dani narrated from Abu Ya‘mur that he read dhakkir as an imperative with intensification, and rahmat in the accusative, meaning: mention to the people the mercy, or with the mercy of your Lord, [to] His servant Zechariah.

Al-Kalbi read dhakara as a past-tense verb with a light second radical, "rahmatu rabbika" in the accusative case as the object of dhakara, and "‘abduhu" in the nominative case as the subject for it. Zechariah, upon him be peace, was from the descendants of Solomon the son of David, upon them both be peace. Al-Hakim recorded, and authenticated, from Ibn Mas‘ud that he was the last of the prophets of the Children of Israel. He is the son of Azar ibn Muslim from the progeny of Jacob. Ibn Ishaq ibn Bashir and Ibn ‘Asakir recorded from Ibn ‘Abbas that he was the son of Dan, and he was among the sons of the prophets who would record the revelation in the Holy House (Bayt al-Maqdis). Ahmad, Abu Ya‘la, al-Hakim—who authenticated it—and Ibn Mardawayh recorded from Abu Hurayrah in a marfu‘ report that he, upon him be peace, was a carpenter.

His name has five linguistic forms: the first is with madd (long vowel); the second is with qasr (shortening); both are recited in the seven canonical readings; the third is Zakri with the ya intensified; the fourth is Zakri with the ya unintensified; and the fifth is Zakr like [the word for] pen. It is a non-Arabic name.

Al-Nida' (calling) originally signifies raising the voice and its manifestation. Sometimes it is applied to merely the sound, or even to anything that signifies something, even if it is not a sound, as established by al-Raghib. The intention here is: when he invoked his Lord—a "call" (nida'), meaning a supplication—"secretly" (khafiyan), hidden from the people; none of them heard it, as they were not present. This took place, as it is said, in the depth of the night. He concealed his supplication, upon him be peace, because it is more conducive to sincerity, further from showing off (riya'), closer to preserving sincerity from the blame of people regarding the request for a child—as it depends on preliminaries not appropriate for him to engage in during the time of old age and infirmity—and from the evil of his successors. Based on what we have mentioned, there is no contradiction between the "call" and its being "secret." Nor is there a contradiction between them if "call" is interpreted as raising the voice, for secrecy is not the same as being hushed (khafut). Whoever raises his voice in a place where people neither see nor hear him has indeed concealed it. It is said: it is a metaphor for the absence of riya', meaning sincerity; and the "call," in the sense of raising the voice, does not contradict this for this reason. In al-Kashf, it is stated that the most likely interpretation is that it is a metonymy while intending the reality, because secrecy in itself is also sought, but the essential purpose is sincerity. It is also said: it was hidden from the people by whispering, and there is no contradiction, based on the application of metaphor or based on the fact that "calling" does not necessarily require raising the voice. Hence it is said: O You who are called upon by the heart, so You hear.

His calling, upon him be peace, was kept secret for the reason mentioned earlier, or because of the weakness of his voice due to his advanced age, as it is said: "The old man’s voice is faint, and he is heard at intervals." It is said that his age at that time was sixty years; it is said sixty-five; it is said seventy; it is said seventy-five; it is said eighty; it is said eighty-five; it is said ninety-two; it is said ninety-nine; and it is said one hundred and twenty, which is more consistent with the aforementioned reasoning.