Al 'Imran: (41) He said, "My Lord, make for me a sign..."

And know that Zakariyya (peace be upon him), due to his immense joy at the good news he received and his confidence in his Lord's generosity and favor, wished to have a sign indicating the conception. This is because conception is not apparent in the initial stages. Thus, he said: {My Lord, make for me a sign}.

Allah, the Exalted, responded: {Your sign shall be that you will not speak to the people for three days except by signal. And remember your Lord often}.

There are several issues concerning this:

It is mentioned here as three days, while in Surah Maryam, it is mentioned as three nights. The combination of both verses indicates that this sign was present during the three days along with their nights.

They mentioned several interpretations for this verse:

1. The Tongue was Restrained: Allah restrained his tongue for three days, preventing him from speaking to people except by signal. This had two benefits:
   • It served as a sign of the child's conception.
   • Allah restrained his tongue from worldly speech but enabled him to engage in dhikr (remembrance), glorification (tasbīḥ), and declaration of oneness (tahlīl). Thus, during that period, he was occupied with remembering Allah and showing gratitude for this immense blessing. In this case, the same event serves as both the sign and the fulfillment of gratitude, encompassing all objectives.

Furthermore, this event involved miracles in several ways: * His ability to speak words of glorification and remembrance while being unable to speak about worldly matters is one of the greatest miracles. * The occurrence of this miracle during those prescribed days, while his physical structure and temperament remained sound, is also miraculous. * His foretelling that when this condition occurred, the child would be conceived, and the subsequent fulfillment of this prediction, is also miraculous.

2. The Command to Abstain (View of Abu Muslim): Abu Muslim interpreted it to mean that when Zakariyya asked for a sign of conception, Allah said: "Your sign is that you will not speak to the people for three days and nights, meaning you will be occupied with dhikr, glorification, and declaration of oneness, turning away from people and the world, thanking Allah for granting such a gift. If you have a need, indicate it by signal. If you are commanded with this act of obedience, then know that what you desired has occurred." I find this view sound and reasonable, as Abu Muslim was skilled in interpretation, often delving into subtle points and subtleties.

3. Punishment (View of Qatadah): It is narrated from Qatadah that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was punished for asking for a sign after the angels had already given him the good news; thus, his tongue was seized so he could not speak.

There are two issues concerning this phrase:

Issue 1: The Meaning of Ramz (Signal)

The root of ramz is movement (it is said: irtamaza if he moved; hence the sea is called ar-ramūz). They differed on what ramz meant here:

1. It refers to any form of indication using the hand, head, eyebrow, eye, or lip.
2. It refers to moving the lips with articulation but without sound or voice. This meaning is considered more appropriate because lip movements during signaling can correspond exactly to the movements made during actual speech, making it easier to deduce the intended mental concepts from those movements.
3. He could speak in a low, hidden voice, but raising the voice for speech was forbidden.

Objection: Ramz is not the same category as speech, so why is it exempted? Answer: It is called speech because it achieves the purpose of speech. Alternatively, it could be a disjunctive exception (istithnā' munqaṭiʿ). If we interpret ramz as hidden speech, the issue is resolved.

Issue 2: Recitation Variants

Yahya ibn Waththab recited it as {illā rumzan} (with a ḍammah on the r), which is the plural of ramz (like rasūl and rusul). It was also read as {ramzan} (with a fatḥah on the r and m), plural of rāmiz (like khādim and khadam). This describes his state and the state of the people, meaning: "except signaling to each other," just as people communicate with the mute person through gestures and are communicated with.

There are two views:

1. Since Allah restrained his tongue from worldly matters (except by signal), his tongue remained capable of dhikr and glorification, which was one of the clear miracles.
2. It refers to remembrance by the heart. Those deeply immersed in the knowledge of Allah often begin with consistent verbal remembrance. Once the heart is filled with the light of Allah's remembrance, the tongue falls silent, and the remembrance remains in the heart. Therefore, they say, "Whoever truly knows Allah, his tongue becomes silent." Thus, Zakariyya was commanded to be silent, to bring forth and sustain the meanings of remembrance and knowledge.

There are two issues:

Issue 1: Linguistic Meaning

• Al-'Ashiyy (evening) is the time from when the sun declines until it sets. A poet said:

  Neither the shade of the morning heat can you endure, Nor the shade of the evening heat can you taste. The shade (fay’) only occurs from the sun's zenith until sunset.

• Al-Ibkār (early morning) is a verbal noun derived from bakara (to go out for a matter at the beginning of the day). Similar words are bikr and ibtikār. Hence, the first fruit is called bākūrah. This is the linguistic root. Then, the time between dawn and forenoon is called ibkār, just as it is called iṣbāḥ. Some recited it as {bil-'ashiyyi wal-ibkār} (with a fatḥah on the hamzah), plural of bikr (like siḥr and asḥār). It is also said: "I came to him bikran" (with two fatḥahs).

Issue 2: Interpretation of {And glorify Him}

There are two views:

1. It means Ṣalāh (prayer), as prayer is called tasbīḥ (glorification). Allah says: {So glorify Allah when you enter the evening}. Since prayer includes glorification, it is permissible to name the prayer tasbīḥ. The evidence supporting this interpretation here is twofold:
   • If we interpret it as mere tasbīḥ and tahlīl, there would be no difference between this verse and the preceding one, {And remember your Lord often}, which is impermissible as one does not typically connect a thing to itself.
   • It strongly aligns with Allah's saying: {Establish prayer at the two ends of the day}.
2. The preceding phrase, {And remember your Lord often}, is interpreted as verbal remembrance.

The Third Story

Describing the Purity of Mary (Peace be upon Allah)

{And when the angels said, "O Mary, indeed Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds. O Mary, be devout to your Lord, prostrate, and bow with those who bow [in prayer]."}