Maryam (Mary) | Verse 8

Issues Discussed Herein:

• Hamzah and Al-Kisā'ī recited: عَتِيًّا (ʿatiyyan), صَلِيًّا (ṣaliyyan), جَثِيًّا (jathiyyan), and بَكِيًّا (bakiyyan) with a kasrah (i-vowel) on the 'ayn (the first letter) of each word.
• Ḥafṣ from 'Āṣim recited بَكِيًّا (bakiyyan) with a ḍammah (u-vowel) on the 'ayn, while the rest of the word is recited with a kasrah.
• The rest of the reciters all recited them with a ḍammah (u-vowel) on the 'ayn.
• Ibn Mas'ūd recited عَتِيًّا (ʿatiyyan) and صَلِيًّا (ṣaliyyan) with a fatḥah (a-vowel) on the 'ayn.
• Ubayy ibn Ka'b and Ibn 'Abbās recited عَسِيًّا (ʿasiyyan) with the letter Sīn (س) instead of Ṯā’ (ث). (And God knows best.)

There are three terms to consider:

1. Al-Ghulām (The Boy): Refers to a male human being at the beginning of his sexual desire for intercourse. From this, the term ightalam (اغتلم) is derived, meaning his desire for intercourse intensified. It is also used for a student; for example, ghulām thaʿlab (a fox's pupil/servant).
2. Al-'Atī and Al-'Absī: These terms are synonymous.
   • You say: ʿatā yaʿtū ʿutūwan wa ʿatiyyan, making him ʿāti (old/stubborn).
   • And: ʿasā yaʿsū ʿusūwan wa ʿasiyyan, making him ʿāsī (rebellious/old).
   • Al-'Āsī is that which has been altered by the passage of time into a state of wretchedness.
   • Layl 'āt (a dark night) means a long night, or it is said, one of intense darkness.
3. Why the feminine form 'ʿāqirah' (barren) was not used: Feminine adjectives derived from the pattern fāʿil (فاعل) that do not have a corresponding masculine form do not take the feminine tā’ (ة). Examples include imra’ah ʿāqir (a barren woman) and ḥā’iḍ (a menstruating woman). Al-Khalīl said: These adjectives are masculine in form, yet they are used to describe females, just as they described males with feminine forms when they said rajul milḥah (a witty/charming man) or rajul arbaʿah (a stout man) or ghulām nafʿah (a useful boy).

There are two main questions concerning this verse:

Question 1: Why was Zakariyā (peace be upon him) surprised by saying, "How shall I have a boy," when he was the one who requested the boy?

Question 2: The statement "How shall I have a boy" was not something he mentioned among his people, as he used to conceal these matters from them. This implies he mentioned it to himself. This expression of surprise suggests doubt in God's power to do so, which is disbelief (kufr) and impermissible for the Prophets (peace be upon them).

Answer to Question 1:

• If we follow the view that he did not specifically request a son: The question is resolved, as his request was for an heir in general.
• If we follow the view that he requested a son: The intended meaning of his statement, "How shall I have a boy," is astonishment at how God would make both of them young again and then grant them a child, or leave them elderly and grant them a child despite their old age. This is an inquiry seeking clarification, not an expression of doubt.
  • The evidence for this is God's saying: $\text{{And remember Zakariyā, when he cried to his Lord, 'My Lord, leave me not childless, though You are the best of inheritors.' So We responded to him, and We granted him Yaḥyā, and We reformed for him his wife...}} (Al-Anbiyā': 89-90). This "reformation" implies restoring the power of procreation. This point has been previously established.
• Another view mentioned by Al-Suddi: When he heard the glad tidings, Satan came to him and said, "This sound is not from God; rather, it is from Satan mocking you." When Zakariyā doubted, he said, "How shall I have a boy?" Al-Suddi's goal here is to show that if Zakariyā had known the announcer was God, it would not have been permissible for him to say that, so he committed this utterance [due to the doubt about the source].
  • Some theologians consider this view utterly false, arguing that if Prophets were permitted to attribute some of what comes from God to Satan, they would be permitted to do so for everything, and trust in them regarding revelation and what they convey to us would cease.
  • It can be countered that this possibility of doubt regarding the source exists at the very beginning, and it is only removed by a miracle. Perhaps the miracle was not fully manifest in this specific instance, leading to doubt concerning this matter alone, but not others. (And God knows best.)

Answer to Question 2: (Regarding the implication of doubt)

This is answered in several ways:

1. The statement \text{{We give you tidings of a boy named Yaḥyā}} (Maryam: 7) is not explicit that this boy would be his son. It is possible that Zakariyā observed proper etiquette and did not ask, "Will I have a child or not?" Instead, he mentioned the usual impediments to having a child according to custom. This was so that if the tidings were indeed about a child, God would clarify the ambiguity and make the statement explicit. When he mentioned these impediments, God explicitly confirmed that the child would be from him. Thus, the purpose of Zakariyā's speech was this, not doubting God's power.
2. He did not mention it out of doubt, but out of reverence for God's power. This is like a man who sees his friend bestow a great and precious gift and says, "How did you allow yourself to give away such a treasure from your wealth?"—this is out of glorification and astonishment.
3. It is characteristic of one who is promised something he deeply desires to seek confirmation of that statement upon first hearing it. This happens either because the intensity of his joy causes him to lose focus on rational thought (like Ibrāhīm's wife, who, after being promised Isḥāq, said, \text{{And I am an old woman, and this is my husband an old man. Indeed, this is a strange thing.}} (Hūd: 72), and her astonishment was removed by the reply, \text{{Do you marvel at the command of Allāh?}} (Hūd: 73)), or because he desires to savor hearing the statement again, or as an exaggeration to confirm the meaning.