Mary (Maryam)
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
Kaf-Ha-Ya-'Ain-Sad. 1 AN ACCOUNT of the grace which thy Sustainer bestowed upon His servant Zachariah: 2 when he called upon his Lord in low tones, saying, 3 He said: My Lord! surely my bones are weakened and my head flares with hoariness, and, my Lord! I have never been unsuccessful in my prayer to Thee: 4 "Now, behold, I am afraid of [what] my kinsfolk [will do] after I am gone, for my wife has always been barren. Bestow, then, upon me, out of Thy grace, the gift of a successor 5 to be my heir and to be the heir [of the blessings] of the House of Jacob; and make him, O my Lord, acceptable to you." 6 We answered his prayers with the glad news of the birth of a son by the name of John and told him, "We have never given such a name to anyone else." 7 He said, "My Lord, how will I have a boy when my wife has been barren and I have reached extreme old age?" 8 He answered: "So shall it be." Your Lord says: "It is easy for Me," and then added: "For beyond doubt, I created you earlier when you were nothing." 9 He said: My Lord! Appoint for me some token. He said: Thy token is that thou, with no bodily defect, shalt not speak unto mankind three nights. 10 So he went forth to his people from his place of worship, then he made known to them that they should glorify (Allah) morning and evening. 11 (We said:) "O John, hold fast to the Book;" and We gave him wisdom right from boyhood, 12 as well as, by Our grace, [the gift of] compassion and purity; and he was [always] conscious of Us 13 and cherishing his parents, not arrogant, rebellious. 14 'Peace be upon him, the day he was born, and the day he dies, and the day he is raised up alive!' 15