Tahun-tahun telah meninggalkan kesannya ke atas Nabi Zakariyah (pbuh). Kini beliau sudah tua dan bongkok dimamah usia, berusia llebih sembilan puluh tahun. Walaupun lemah, beliau pergi ke rumah ibadat setiap hari untuk menyampaikan khutbahnya.

The years had taken their toll on the Prophet Zakariyah (pbuh). He was now old and bent with age, in his nineties. Despite his feebleness, he went to the temple daily to deliver his sermons.

Zakariyah bukanlah seorang yang kaya, tetapi dia sentiasa bersedia untuk membantu mereka yang memerlukan. Satu-satunya kekecewaan dalam hidupnya ialah dia tidak mempunyai anak, kerana isterinya mandul. Perkara ini membimbangkannya, kerana dia bimbang tidak ada sesiapa selepasnya yang akan meneruskan kerjanya. Umat memerlukan seorang pemimpin yang kuat, kerana jika mereka dibiarkan sendirian, mereka akan menjauhi ajaran Allah dan mengubah Hukum-Hukum Suci mengikut kepentingan mereka sendiri.

Zakariyah was not a rich man, but he was always ready to help those in need. His one disappointment in life was that he had no children, for his wife was barren. This worried him, for he feared there was no one after him to carry out his work. The people needed a strong leader, for it they were left on their own, they would move away from Allah's teachings and change the Holy Laws to suit themselves.

Dalam salah satu lawatannya ke kuil, beliau pergi memeriksa Maryam, yang tinggal di sebuah bilik terpencil di dalam kuil. Beliau terkejut apabila mendapati buah-buahan segar yang tidak musim di dalam biliknya. Selain beliau, tiada sesiapa yang dibenarkan masuk ke bilik itu. Apabila beliau bertanya, Maryam memberitahunya bahawa buah-buahan itu datang daripada Allah. Dia menemuinya setiap pagi. Mengapa beliau begitu terkejut, tanyanya kepadanya. Tidakkah beliau tahu bahawa Allah memberi rezeki tanpa had kepada sesiapa yang dikehendaki-Nya?

During one of his visits to the temple, he went to check on Mary, who was living in a secluded room of the temple. He was surprised to find fresh out of season fruit in her room. Besides him, no one had entry to her room. When he inquired, she told him that the fruit was from Allah. She found it every morning. But why was he so surprised, she asked him. Did he not know that Allah provides without measure for whom He wills?

Gadis mulia ini telah membuka matanya kepada satu gagasan yang mengejutkan. Tidakkah dia boleh memohon kepada Tuhannya agar dikurniakan anak pada usia tuanya? Walaupun isterinya telah melepasi usia melahirkan anak, tiada yang mustahil bagi Tuhannya Yang Maha Pemurah!

This noble girl had opened this eyes to a startling idea. Could he not ask his Lord to bless him with a child in his old age? Even if his wife was past childbearing age, nothing was impossible for his Gracious Lord!

Allah Yang Maha Kuasa berfirman:

Allah the Almighty revealed:

Kaf, Ha, Ya, Ain, Sad, (Huruf-huruf ini adalah salah satu mukjizat Al-Quran, dan tiada yang mengetahui maksudnya melainkan Allah semata-mata). Ini adalah sebutan tentang Rahmat Tuhanmu kepada hamba-Nya Zakaria. Ketika dia menyeru Tuhannya (Allah) - seruan secara rahsia, dengan berkata: "Wahai Tuhanku! Sesungguhnya tulang-tulangku telah lemah, dan uban telah menyebar di kepalaku, dan aku tidak pernah kecewa dalam doaku kepada-Mu, wahai Tuhanku! Dan sesungguhnya aku bimbang terhadap kaum kerabatku selepas aku, kerana isteriku mandul. Maka kurniakanlah kepadaku daripada sisi-Mu seorang pewaris, - yang akan mewarisi aku, dan mewarisi juga keturunan Yaakob (pewarisan ilmu agama dan kenabian, bukan harta, dan lain-lain). Dan jadikanlah dia, wahai Tuhanku, seorang yang Engkau redai!" Allah berfirman: "Wahai Zakaria! Sesungguhnya Kami memberi khabar gembira kepadamu tentang seorang anak lelaki. Namanya ialah Yahya (Yohanes). Kami belum pernah memberikan nama itu kepada sesiapa pun sebelumnya." Dia berkata: "Wahai Tuhanku! Bagaimana aku boleh mempunyai anak, sedangkan isteriku mandul, dan aku telah mencapai usia tua yang amat lanjut?" Allah berfirman: "Demikianlah (akan berlaku). Tuhanmu berfirman, Ia mudah bagi-Ku. Sesungguhnya Aku telah menciptakanmu sebelum ini, ketika engkau belum menjadi apa-apa." Zakaria berkata: "Wahai Tuhanku! Tetapkanlah bagiku satu tanda." Allah berfirman: "Tandanya ialah bahawa engkau tidak akan bercakap dengan manusia selama tiga malam, walaupun engkau tidak mempunyai sebarang kecacatan pada tubuhmu." Lalu dia keluar menemui kaumnya dari Al Mihrab (tempat sembahyang atau bilik persendirian, dan lain-lain), dia memberitahu mereka dengan isyarat supaya bertasbih memuji Allah pada waktu pagi dan petang.

'Kaf, Ha, Ya, Ain, Sad, (These letters are one of the miracles of the Quran, and none but Allah Alone knows their meanings). This is a mention of the Mercy of your Lord to His slave Zakariyah. When he called out his Lord (Allah) - a call in secret, saying: "My Lord! Indeed my bones have grown feeble, and gray hair has spread on my head, and I have never been unblest in my invocation to You, O my Lord! And Verily! I fear my relatives after me, since my wife is barren. So give me from Yourself an heir, - who shall inherit me, and inherit also the posterity of Jacob (inheritance of the religious knowledge and Prophethood, not the wealth, etc.) And make him, my Lord, one with whom You are Well-pleased!" Allah said: "O Zakariyah! Verily, We give you the glad tidings of a son. His name will be Yahya (John). We have given that name to none before him." He said: "My Lord! How can I have a son, when my wife is barren, and I have reached the extreme old age." He said: "So (it will be). Your Lord says, It is easy for Me. Certainly I have created you before, when you had been nothing." Zakariyah said: "My Lord! Appoint for me a sign." He said: "Your sign is that you shall not speak unto mankind for three nights, though having no bodily defect." Then he came out to his people from Al Mihrab (a praying place or a private room, etc.), he told them by signs to glorify Allah's Praises in the morning and in the afternoon.