Zachariah and John

(3:35-40)(19:7-15)(21:89-90)(6:85-86)

      The story of the prophet Zachariah is noted in the Quran for two important events; besides these two events, other details of his own life are not specifically given, except that he was a prophet sent to Israel. Zachariah was very famous for leading a spotless and virtuous life; he was the head priest in the synagogue.  Mary, the mother of Jesus, was given under his care when she came to live in the synagogue.  Mary was a person of bewitching beauty and celestial virtues; the synagogue and all the space where she went and prayed glittered due to her presence.

      In this synagogue, Zachariah was performing his duties as the head priest.  He prayed to God for a virtuous offspring.  Until that time Zachariah was childless.  As he was praying in the synagogue, he heard the voice of angels giving him the glad news of a son, John, who would be a prophet with outstanding abilities, such as maintaining discipline and testifying to the laws of God.

      “How can I have a child?” exclaimed Zachariah with surprise. “I am old and my wife is barren.  Will the child be an adopted one like Mary or my own?”

      “You will have a child of your own, as children are born in accordance with the law,” was the answer.  The defect of his wife was cured and she gave birth to a boy.

      “Are there any particular directions for me?” inquired Zachariah. 

      “Nothing, except you will talk to people for three days by means of signs,” was the answer.  “Always remember God; otherwise go about your daily business in your routine manner.”  In ancient times Jews did not talk during the fast and Zachariah was keeping the tradition by not talking to the people.

      The same incident is repeated in another part of the Quran with more details.  Zachariah silently prayed to his creator and said, “Oh, the nourisher of the universe, I am getting old and weak; my hair is turning white.  You have always given me what I have asked.  Please grant my prayer of old age.  I am feeble and my wife is barren; apparently there is no chance for getting a child in this situation.  I want a virtuous successor who should inherit of me and the house of Jacob.   All the people around me are incapable of handling this legacy; I am afraid they will destroy it.  Please give me a worthy successor for this inheritance.”

      Zachariah’s prayer met with a positive response from the Almighty.  He was told that he would have a boy who should be named John.  This name had not been given to anyone before; like his name, he would be unique in the family.

      According to the Quran John was a great leader and a prophet of his time; all the prophets came into the world to establish the rule of Divine Law.  In order to do that they fought against all the forces that hindered their mission; John did the same as other prophets have done, even though other religious books portray him as a powerless preacher, who lived in the wild and baptized people with water.  In the end, he was killed at the request of a dancer by the order of Roman ruler Herod. Marcello Craveri in his book The Life of Jesus portrays John as a critic of the Roman Empire.  John boldly declared that falsehood, however powerful it may appear, can’t exist in this universe, because it is not compatible with the universal principle that is the reason for its existence.  If the Israelites perished, and did not perform the duty of eradicating evil, as Moses and other prophets enjoined them, God would create another nation to complete His program.

      G. Lankester Harding, a researcher on the Dead Sea Scrolls, wrote an article in 1955, in which he presented Qumran as a building in which John the Baptist and probably Christ studied.  The research on this topic points out that besides the Pharisees and the Sadducees, there was another group known as Esseness.  John was the leader of this group.  He had the record of Jacob and was criticizing Jews for not presenting the true picture of religion, so they removed his name from their books.