Ali 'Imran · Madani · ayah 38 of 200

Ali 'Imran 3:38

هُنَالِكَ دَعَا زَكَرِيَّا رَبَّهُۥ ۖ قَالَ رَبِّ هَبْ لِى مِن لَّدُنكَ ذُرِّيَّةً طَيِّبَةً ۖ إِنَّكَ سَمِيعُ ٱلدُّعَآءِ

“At that, Zechariah called upon his Lord, saying, "My Lord, grant me from Yourself a good offspring. Indeed, You are the Hearer of supplication."”

Saheeh International

Essence

Seeing Allah's out-of-season gifts to Maryam, an old, childless prophet asked right there for a good child from Allah's own presence.

A reflection

Asking beyond the means

A woman signs up for a charity run and sets her sponsorship target at two hundred pounds. She could aim higher. But if she misses a big number, people will see. So she asks only for what she is sure to get.

Zakariyyā was old. A classical commentator describes him as an old man whose bones had weakened and whose head was white. His wife was elderly and barren. A major early commentator adds that his household had died out. By every ordinary measure, a child was not on the table.

Yet he asked. And notice how. Hab lī min ladunka: 'grant me from Your own presence'. A major early commentator explains min ladunka simply: from You, from Your side. Zakariyyā was not asking the ordinary chain of causes for a child. It had already said no. He was asking the One who stands behind every cause.

The verb hab adds something. The lexicons describe hiba as a gift with no price on it, given with nothing expected back. He does not claim a child as a reward for his service. He asks for a present.

This is where the ego's caution is exposed. We often limit our prayers to what seems realistic, to protect ourselves from disappointment. That can look like humility. Often it is a quiet failure to know whom we are asking. The ego measures Allah's generosity by our own resources.

Does Allah need to be asked? He needs nothing at all (35:15). But He loves to be asked, and the asking teaches us who He is. Zakariyyā ended with the reason he dared: 'You are the Hearer of prayer'.

The woman's target was sensible. Zakariyyā's was not. That is exactly what made his prayer an act of faith.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.