The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 46
CH. 3 ĀL-E-'IMRĀN PT. 3 تُكَلِّمَ النَّاسَ ثَلَثَةَ أَيَّامٍ إِلَّا رَمْزاً token shall be that thou shalt not HESSVÍ JULİS وَاذْكُرُ رَّبَّكَ كَثِيرًا وَسَبِّحْ بِالْعَشِيِّ except by signs. And remember" وَالْإِبْكَارِة speak to men for three days thy Lord much and glorify Him in the evening and in the early morning. '332 R. 5. angels said, 'O Mary, Allah has وَإِذْ قَالَتِ الْمَلبِكَةُ لِمَرْيَمُ اِنَّ اللهَ And remember when the. 43 اصْطَفْكِ وَطَهَّرَكِ وَاصْطَفْكِ عَلَى chosen thee and purified thee نِسَاءِ الْعَلَمِينَ b and chosen thee above the women of all peoples. 333 332. Commentary: a19:12. b3:34. It appears from the Bible that tokens or signs for the fulfilment of certain prophecies used to be fixed in former times. Sometimes certain phenomena of nature were fixed as such tokens. For instance, Gen. 9:17 fixes the rainbow as a token for the fulfilment of God's promise that there shall be no more flood to destroy the earth. God also appointed the observance of circumcision as a token for the bestowal of the blessings which He promised to Abraham and his seed (Gen. 17:11). Again, the observance of the Sabbath was fixed as a sign for the divine covenant made with the Israelites (Exod. 31:13-17). Similarly, at Zachariah's request God appointed a token for the fulfilment of His promise. Zachariah was to abstain from speaking for three days, and then was the promise to be fulfilled. He was not deprived of his power of speech, as the Gospels seem to allege as a 486 punishment for his not believing the words of God (Luke 1:20-22). As to the question why the token of keeping silent and refraining from the use of the tongue was fixed for Zachariah, it may be briefly noted that, firstly, it was intended to afford Zachariah a suitable opportunity for passing his time in meditation and condition particularly prayer a helpful in drawing Divine mercy and grace. Secondly, refraining from speech has also been found helpful, in some cases, in making one regain lost vitality and health. The practice seems to have been in vogue among the Jews of those times (19:27) and is even now resorted to by certain people among Hindus and others. Islam does not recognize such practices as tend to suspend the useful activities of man, but it certainly discourages talkativeness (Tirmidhi, ch. on Birri Waş-Şilah) 333. Commentary: As Yaḥyā (John) was the forerunner