Tafsir of Al Imran 3:38

"There" (هنالك): In that place where he was sitting with Maryam in the sanctuary, or at that time. "Here," "there," and "where" are sometimes used metaphorically for time. When he saw Maryam’s state—her honor before Allah and her status—he desired to have a child from his wife, Isha’, who would be like her sister’s son, Hannah’s child, in nobility and honor before Allah. Even though she was barren and elderly, her sister had been the same. It is also said that when he saw fruit out of season, he realized the possibility of a barren woman giving birth.

"Offspring" (ذرية): A child. The term dhurriyya applies to both the singular and the plural.

"Hearer of prayer" (سميع الدعاء): The Answerer of it. It is recited: "The angels called out to him" (فناداه الملائكة). It is said that Jibril (peace be upon him) called him, and the plural "angels" is used in the same way one says, "So-and-so rides horses" (even if he is currently riding only one).

"That Allah gives you glad tidings" (أن الله يبشرك): With a fatha (ann) as a conjunction to "that," or with a kasra (inn) intending a statement, or because the call is a type of speech. It is also recited as yubashiruka (gives you glad tidings) and yubashiruka (from bashara and abshara).

"Yahya" (يحيى): If it is non-Arabic—which is the apparent case—it is diptote (non-fully declinable) due to being a proper noun and its foreign origin, like Musa and Isa. If it is Arabic, it is due to being a proper noun and the pattern of a verb, like Ya‘mur.

"Confirming a Word from Allah" (مصدقا بكلمة من الله): Confirming Isa and believing in him. It is said he was the first to believe in him. Isa is called a "Word" because he did not come into existence except by the Word of Allah alone—His saying "Be"—without any other cause. Others say it means confirming a Book from Allah; the Book is called a "Word," just as one speaks of the "Word of al-Huwaydira" regarding his poem.

"A leader" (سيدا): One who leads his people, meaning he surpasses them in honor. Yahya surpassed his people and all people in that he never committed a sin—what a leadership that is!

"Chaste" (حصورا): One who does not approach women, restraining himself—meaning preventing himself from desires. It is also said it means one who does not join people in gambling. Al-Akhtal said: "A drinker who shares the cup with me, neither chaste nor having leftovers." It is used metaphorically for one who does not engage in play and amusement. It is reported that as a child, he passed by boys who invited him to play, and he said, "I was not created for play."

"Of the righteous" (من الصالحين): Growing up among the righteous, because he was from the loins of the prophets, or being one of the righteous, as in the verse: "And he is, in the Hereafter, among the righteous" (Al-Baqarah: 130).

"How can I have a boy?" (أنى يكون لي غلام): An expression of astonishment regarding the norm, just as Maryam said.

"And old age has reached me" (وقد بلغني الكبر): Like saying, "Advanced age has overtaken me." The meaning is that old age has left its mark and weakened me. He was ninety-nine years old, and his wife was ninety-eight.

"Thus" (كذلك): Meaning, Allah does whatever He wills of wondrous acts, such as creating a child between an elderly man and a barren woman. Or, "Thus" is the subject and "Allah" is the predicate—meaning, in this manner is Allah, and "He does what He wills" is an explanation of that; meaning He performs whatever extraordinary acts He desires.

"A sign" (ءاية): A mark by which I may know the pregnancy, so that I may receive the blessing with gratitude when it arrives.

"He said, 'Your sign is that you will not be able to speak to the people'" (قال ءايتك ألا تكلم الناس): For "three days." The restriction to speaking to people is specified so he would know that his tongue is restrained specifically from speaking to them, while his ability to speak in the remembrance of Allah remains. That is why He said: "And remember your Lord much and glorify Him in the evening and the early morning." This refers to the days you are unable to speak to people, and it is among the manifest signs.

If you ask: Why was his tongue restrained from speaking to people? I say: To devote the period to the remembrance of Allah, not occupying his tongue with anything else, in order to fulfill the right of that immense blessing and to offer the gratitude for which he requested the sign. It is as if, when he requested the sign for the sake of gratitude, he was told: "Your sign is that your tongue is restrained from everything except gratitude." The best and most fitting answer is one derived from the question itself.

"Except by gesture" (إلا رمزا): Except by a sign with the hand, head, or otherwise. Its root is movement; it is said irtamaza if one moves. From this, the sea is called al-ramuz. Yahya ibn Wathab recited it as rumzan (with two dammas), the plural of ramz like rasul and rusul. It is also recited as ramazan (with two fathas), the plural of ramiz like khadim and khadam. It is a state (hal) for him and the people simultaneously. It means "except by gesturing," just as a mute person speaks to people through signs.

"The evening" (العشي): From the time the sun declines until it sets.

"The early morning" (الإبكار): From the break of dawn until the time of Duha. It is also recited as al-abkar (with a fatha on the hamza), the plural of bakr like sahar and ashar. It is said, "I came to him bakran." If you ask: A gesture is not of the category of speech, so how is it excluded from it? I say: Because it performs the function of speech and what is understood from it is understood, it is called speech. It is also possible that it is an "interrupted exception" (istithna' munqati').