According to the Islamic doctrine, Zakariyyā (, Zechariah; 97 BCE – 33 CE) is a prophet of God, and the father of the prophet Yahya.
In the Quran
According to the Quran, Zakariya was said to be a priestLives of the Prophets, Leila Azzam, Zacharias and John and prophet of God whose office was in the Second Temple in Jerusalem. He would frequently be in charge of managing the services of the templeAbdullah Yusuf Ali, Qur'anic commentary to Chapter 19 and he would always remain steadfast in prayer to Allah.
Praying for a son As he reached his old age, Zakariya 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. Zakariya 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 Zakariya. Zakariya 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:
Fathering Yahya As a gift from God, Zakariya was given a son named John (Yaḥyá ), a name specially chosen for this child alone. Muslim tradition narrates that Zakariya was ninety-two years oldHistorical Dictionary of Prophets In Islam and Judaism, B. M. Wheeler, Zechariah, father of John when he was told of John's birth.
In accordance with Zakariya's prayer, God made Yahya renew the message of God, which had been corrupted and lost by the Israelites.: "And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God." As the Qur'an says:
Guardian of Maryam According to the Qur'an, Zakariya was the guardian of Maryam. The Qur'an states:
Muslim theology maintains that Zakariya, along with John and Jesus, ushered in a new era of prophets—all of whom came from the priestly lineage of Imran, (Joachim, or Amram; not to be confused with Amram father of Moses), who is the father of Mary (Maryam) and grandfather of Jesus. The fact that, of all the priests, it was Zakariya who was given the duty of keeping care of Mary (Maryam) shows his status as a pious man. Zakariya is frequently praised in the Qur'an as a prophet of God and righteous man. One such appraisal is in Surat Al-An'am:
Assassination
After his son Prophet Yahya (John) had been decapitated by the Children of Israel, Zakariya tried to escape from them. Some historians say that as a miracle a tree opened for Zakariya to hide in but a small part of his clothing mistakenly stuck out. Shaytan (Satan) saw this and took it to his advantage. He took on the form of a human and told the Children of Israel where Zakariya was hiding. For this, the soldiers then cut down the tree, killing Zakariya painfully though he didn't cry. Some people say he was 130 years old when he died.
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