Surah Al-Imran Ayat 38 in Arabic Text
English Translation
Here you can read various translations of verse 38
At that, Zechariah called upon his Lord, saying, “My Lord, grant me from Yourself a good offspring. Indeed, You are the Hearer of supplication.”
There did Zakariya pray to his Lord, saying: “O my Lord! Grant unto me from Thee a progeny that is pure: for Thou art He that heareth prayer!
Then Zechariah prayed to his Lord: ‘O Lord! Grant me from Yourself out of Your grace the gift of a goodly offspring, for indeed You alone heed all Prayers.’
At that time Zakariya (Zachariya) invoked his Lord, saying: “O my Lord! Grant me from You, a good offspring. You are indeed the All-Hearer of invocation.”
Then Zachariah prayed unto his Lord and said: My Lord! Bestow upon me of Thy bounty goodly offspring. Lo! Thou art the Hearer of Prayer.
Thereover Zakariyya (Zechariah) invoked his Lord (and) said, “Lord! Bestow upon me from very close to You a goodly offspring. Surely You are The Ever-Hearer of invocation.”
There and then Zachariah prayed to his Lord, saying, ‘Lord, from Your grace grant me virtuous offspring: You hear every prayer.’
اسی جگہ زکریا (علیہ السلام) نے اپنے رب سے دعا کی، کہا کہ اے میرے پروردگار! مجھے اپنے پاس سے پاکیزه اوﻻد عطا فرما، بے شک تو دعا کا سننے واﻻ ہے
Quran 3 Verse 38 Explanation
For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Imran ayat 38, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.
Ala-Maududi
(3:38) Then Zechariah prayed to his Lord: ‘O Lord! Grant me from Yourself out of Your grace the gift of a goodly offspring, for indeed You alone heed all Prayers.’[37]
37. Until then Zechariah had no issue. The sight of this pious young girl made him yearn for a child just as virtuous and devout. When he saw that God sent food to her, by dint of His limitless power, he felt hopeful that God might also bless him with issue, despite his old age.
Ibn-Kathir
38. At that time Zakariyya invoked his Lord, saying: “O my Lord! Grant me from You, a good offspring. You are indeed the All-Hearer of invocation.” 39. Then the angels called him, while he was standing in prayer in the Mihrab, (saying): “Allah gives you glad tidings of Yahya, believing in the Word from Allah, and Sayyidan, and Hasuran, a Prophet, from among the righteous.” 40. He said: “O my Lord! How can I have a son when I am very old, and my wife is barren” (Allah) said: “Thus Allah does what He wills.” 41. He said: “O my Lord! Make a sign for me.” (Allah) said: “Your sign is that you shall not speak to the people for three days except by signals. And remember your Lord much, and glorify (Him) in the afternoon and in the morning.”
When Zakariyya saw that Allah provided sustenance for Maryam by giving her the fruits of winter in summer and the fruits of summer in winter, he was eager to have a child of his own. By then, Zakariyya had become an old man, his bones feeble and his head full of gray hair. His wife was an old women who was barren. Yet, he still supplicated to Allah and called Him in secret,
(O my Lord! Grant me from Ladunka,) from You,
(A good offspring) meaning, a righteous offspring,
(You are indeed the All-Hearer of invocation.) Allah said,
(Then the angels called him, while he was standing in prayer in the Mihrab,) meaning, the angels spoke to him directly while he was secluded, standing in prayer at his place of worship. Allah told us about the good news that the angels delivered to Zakariyya,
(Allah gives you glad tidings of Yahya, ) of a child from your offspring, his name is Yahya. Qatadah and other scholars said that he was called Yahya (literally, `he lives’) because Allah filled his life with faith.
Allah said next,
(believing in the Word from Allah) Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said, and also Al-Hasan, Qatadah, `Ikrimah, Mujahid, Abu Ash-Sha`tha, As-Suddi, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas, Ad-Dahhak, and several others said that the Ayah,
(believing in the Word from Allah) means, “Believing in `Isa, son of Maryam.”
Abu Al-`Aliyah, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas, Qatadah and Sa`id bin Jubayr said that Allah’s statement,
(And Sayyidan) means, a wise man. Ibn `Abbas, Ath-Thawri and Ad-Dahhak said that Sayyidan means, “The noble, wise and pious man.” Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib said that Sayyid is the scholar and Faqih. `Atiyah said that Sayyid is the man noble in behavior and piety. `Ikrimah said that it refers to a person who is not overcome by anger, while Ibn Zayd said that it refers to the noble man. Mujahid said that Sayyidan means, honored by Allah.
Allah’s statement,
(And Hasuran) does not mean he refrains from sexual relations with women, but that he is immune from illegal sexual relations. This does not mean that he does not marry women and have legal sexual relations with them, for Zakariyya said in his supplication for the benefit of Yahya,
(Grant me from You, a good offspring), meaning, grant me a son who will have offspring, and Allah knows best.
Allah’s statement,
(A Prophet, from among the righteous) delivers more good news of sending Yahya as Prophet after the good news that he will be born. This good news was even better than the news of Yahya’s birth. In a similar statement, Allah said to the mother of Musa,
(Verily, We shall bring him back to you, and shall make him one of the Messengers.) ﴿28:7﴾
When Zakariyya heard the good news, he started contemplating about having children at his age. He said,
(“O my Lord! How can I have a son when I am very old, and my wife is barren” (He) said…) meaning the angel said,
(“Thus Allah does what He wills.”) meaning, this is Allah’s matter, He is so Mighty that nothing escapes His power, nor is anything beyond His ability.
(He said: “O my Lord! Make a sign for me”) meaning make a sign that alerts me that the child will come,
((Allah) said: “Your sign is that you shall not speak to the people for three days except by signals.”) meaning, you will not be able to speak except with signals, although you are not mute. In another Ayah, Allah said,
(For three nights, though having no bodily defect.) ﴿19:10﴾
Allah then commanded Zakariyya to supplicate, thank and praise Him often in that condition,
(And remember your Lord much and glorify (Him) in the afternoon and in the morning. )
We will elaborate more on this subject in the beginning of Surah Maryam (chapter 19), Allah willing.
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