Zechariah (priest) - in Islam

In Islam

Zechariah (Arabic: زكريا; meaning: God has remembered) is also a prophet in Islam, and is mentioned in the Qur'an. Muslims also believe Zechariah to have been the guardian of Mary, mother of Jesus, and they believe Zechariah to have been the father of John the Baptist. Zechariah is also believed by some Muslims to have been a martyr. An old tradition narrates that Zechariah was sawed in half, in a death which resembles that attributed to Isaiah in Lives of the Prophets.

Zechariah was a righteous priest and prophet of God whose office was in the temple of prayer in Jerusalem. He would frequently be in charge of managing the services of the temple and he would always remain steadfast in prayer to God. As he reached his old age, Zechariah began to worry over who would continue the legacy of preaching the message of God after his death and who would carry on the daily services of the temple after him. Zechariah started to pray to God for a son. The praying for the birth of an offspring was not merely out of the desire for a child. He prayed both for himself and for the public – they needed a messenger, a man of God who would work in the service of the Lord after Zechariah. Zechariah had character and virtue and he wanted to transfer this to his spiritual heir as his most precious possession. His dream was to restore the household to the posterity of the patriarch Jacob and to make sure the message of God was renewed for Israel. As the Qur'an recounts:

And (Zechariah) said: "O my LORD, my bones decay, my head is white and hoary, yet in calling You, O LORD, I have never been deprived.
But I fear my relatives after me; and my wife is barren. So grant me a successor of Your own
Who will be heir to me, and heir to the house of Jacob; and make him obedient to You, O LORD" —Qur'an, sura 19 (Maryam), ayat 4–6

As a gift from God, Zechariah was given a son by the name of John, a name specially chosen for this child alone. Muslim tradition narrates that Zechariah was ninety-two years old when he was told of John's birth. In accordance with Zechariah's prayer, God made John renew the message of God, which had been corrupted and lost by the Israelites. As the Qur'an says:

"O Zachariah," (it was said), "We give you good news of a son by the name of John. To none have we attributed that name before."
"How can I have a son, O LORD" he said, "when my wife is barren and I am old a decrepit?"
(The angel) answered: "Thus will it be. Your LORD said: 'This is easy for Me; for when I brought you into being you were nothing.'"
(Zachariah) said: "O LORD, give me a Sign." "Your sign" He answered, "shall be that you shall speak to no man for three days, although you are not dumb." —Qur'an, sura 19 (Maryam), ayat 7–10

According to the Qur'an, Zechariah was the guardian of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Qur'an states:

Behold! A woman of 'Imran said: "O my LORD! I do dedicate unto You what is in my womb for Your special service, so accept this of me, for You hear all and know all things."
And when she had given birth to the child, she said: "O LORD, I have delivered but a girl." But God knew best what she had delivered: A boy could not be as that girl was. "I have named her Mary, (she said), and I give her into your keeping. Preserve her and her children from Satan, the rejected."
Her LORD accepted her graciously, and she grew up with excellence, and was given into the care of Zachariah. Whenever Zachariah came to see her in the chamber, he found her provided with food, and he asked: "Where has this come from, O Mary?" And she said: "From God, who gives food in abundance to whomsoever He will." —Qur'an, sura 3 (Al-i-Imran), ayat 35–37

Muslim theology maintains that Zechariah, along with John the Baptist and Jesus, ushered in a new era of prophets – all of whom came from the priestly descent of Amram, the father of the prophet Aaron. The fact that, of all the priests, it was Zechariah who was given the duty of keeping care of Mary shows his status as a pious man. Zechariah is frequently praised in the Qur'an as a prophet of God and righteous man. One such appraisal is in Sura Al-An'am:

And Zachariah and John, and Jesus and Elias: all in the ranks of the righteous: —Qur'an, sura 6 (Al-An'am), ayah 85

Qur'an translator Abdullah Yusuf Ali offers commentary on this one line – suggesting that these particular prophets make a spiritual connection with one another. He points out that John the Baptist was a direct cousin of Jesus, while Elijah was one who was present at the Transfiguration of Jesus on the Mount, as mentioned in the New Testament. Zechariah, meanwhile, through marriage, was the uncle of Jesus and his son John the Baptist was referred to as Elijah in the New Testament.