Tafseer of Mary · Maryam · 19:10
[Zechariah] said, "My Lord, make for me a sign." He said, "Your sign is that you will not speak to the people for three nights, [being] sound."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
His statement: قَالَ رَبِّ اجْعَلْ لِي آيَةً — Allah the Exalted says: Zakariyyāʾ said: "O my Lord, set for me a sign and a proof concerning that which Your angels have announced to me from Your command and Your message about this boy, so that my heart may find rest therein."
As Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement قَالَ رَبِّ اجْعَلْ لِي آيَةً : "He said: 'Lord, set for me a sign that this is from You.'"
Mūsā related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "He said: 'Lord, if this voice is from You, then set for me a sign.' (Allah) said (آيَتُكَ) for that (أَلا تُكَلِّمَ النَّاسَ ثَلاثَ لَيَالٍ سَوِيًّا) — Allah the Exalted says: Your sign for that and your proof for that is that you will not be able to speak to the people for three nights while you are sound — with no ailment or sickness preventing you from speaking, neither dumbness nor any other ailment."
In accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes spoke.
Mention of those who said that:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (ثَلاثَ لَيَالٍ سَوِيًّا) — he said: "his tongue was bound without sickness."
ʿAlī related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās concerning His statement (ثَلاثَ لَيَالٍ سَوِيًّا): "he said: 'without dumbness.'"
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to us, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us; both on the authority of Ibn Abī Nadjīḥ, on the authority of Mudjāhid, concerning His statement (ثَلاثَ لَيَالٍ سَوِيًّا): he said: "no sickness preventing you from speaking."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjādj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Djurayj, on the authority of Mudjāhid: (أَلا تُكَلِّمَ النَّاسَ ثَلاثَ لَيَالٍ سَوِيًّا) — he said: "sound, without sickness preventing you from speaking."
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: (قَالَ آيَتُكَ أَلا تُكَلِّمَ النَّاسَ ثَلاثَ لَيَالٍ سَوِيًّا) — "without ailment or dumbness; he was bound as a punishment for that — because he asked for a sign after the angels had addressed him directly — so that his tongue was seized, and he could not utter the flow of words except by a gesture."
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning His statement (ثَلاثَ لَيَالٍ سَوِيًّا): he said: "sowiyan: without dumbness."
Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement (قَالَ آيَتُكَ أَلا تُكَلِّمَ النَّاسَ ثَلاثَ لَيَالٍ سَوِيًّا) — "while you are sound" — he said: "His tongue was bound, so that he was unable to speak with anyone; meanwhile he continued to glorify Allah, recite the Torah and recite the Gospel; but when he wished to address the people, he was unable to do so."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of someone he did not regard with suspicion, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih al-Yamānī: "Allah seized his tongue without ailment; he was unable to speak, and his communication with his people took place only by sign language, until the three days passed which Allah had set as a sign for the confirmation of what He had promised him."
Mūsā related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: (قَالَ آيَتُكَ أَلا تُكَلِّمَ النَّاسَ ثَلاثَ لَيَالٍ سَوِيًّا) — he said: "without dumbness — only by a gesture"; and thus his tongue was bound for three days and three nights.
Others said that sowiyan is a description of the nights, and that the meaning of the text is: he said: "Your sign is that you will not be able to speak to the people for three consecutive nights."
Mention of those who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to us, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement (قَالَ آيَتُكَ أَلا تُكَلِّمَ النَّاسَ ثَلاثَ لَيَالٍ سَوِيًّا): he said: "three consecutive nights."