Part of a broader reflective project titled: When the Solution Is the Impossible
Prof Dr. Faid Mohammed Said
Among the Qur’anic narratives that stir the heart and compel the mind to pause in reverent reflection before the power of God is the story of Zakariyya (peace be upon him), who prayed for a child after his bones had grown weak, his hair had flared white with age, and his wife was barren.
It is a story of hope that does not die, of certainty that refuses to surrender to the tyranny of years, and of a supplication that rises from the depths of complete human incapacity—only to be answered by absolute divine power.
This is not merely the story of a late birth.
It is the story of a faith that offers humanity a new way of seeing the impossible.
1. The Opening Scene: When Zakariyya Witnesses What Transcends Nature
Zakariyya (peace be upon him) would enter upon Maryam in her sanctuary and find with her fruits of winter in summer, and fruits of summer in winter.
This scene alone is sufficient to awaken a heedless heart. Nature follows its laws, seasons have their order, and winter fruit does not appear in summer, nor summer fruit in winter—unless God so wills.
Thus Zakariyya asked the question of one who knows, yet marvels:
“O Maryam, from where does this come to you?”
(Qur’an 3:37)
The answer that followed would alter the course of Zakariyya’s inner world:
“It is from God.”
This brief statement became a spark of illumination—the key that opened for Zakariyya an unexpected door of insight:
If Maryam is granted provision beyond all ordinary causes,
then is God incapable of granting me a child—
even when every cause has fallen away?
Zakariyya perceived divine power before he saw the fruit,
the will before the outcome,
and the Doer before the act.
His heart turned fully to God with a certainty born of witnessing:
The One who provides without means is able to give without means.
This is the very essence of the entire project:
that what we call “the impossible” is often nothing more than an invitation to turn to God with deeper sincerity.
2. Supplication at the Moment of Total Incapacity
When Zakariyya felt the door of hope open, he did not look to his age, the frailty of his body, the barrenness of his wife, or the scientific impossibility of his request.
He turned directly to God and uttered a supplication that condensed a lifetime into a single plea:
“My Lord, grant me from Yourself a pure offspring.”
(Qur’an 3:38)
What a profound supplication this is.
He did not say, “Provide me with a child,”
nor, “Give me a son.”
Rather, he said, “Grant me”—for a gift is sought only from One who gives without cause.
And he said, “from Yourself”—from the treasuries of divine power, not from the calculations of nature.
As for describing the offspring as “pure,” it is as though he were saying:
O Lord, I do not merely desire a child,
but a child whose character pleases You before his appearance pleases me,
a child through whom faith endures, not worldly legacy.
Zakariyya’s prayer reveals that his request was not driven by pride or mere personal joy, but by the desire for the continuation of guidance and the preservation of prophetic light.
3. The Frailty of the Body and the Rise of the Spirit
The Qur’an presents Zakariyya’s condition with striking eloquence, portraying the pinnacle of human weakness:
“My Lord, indeed my bones have grown feeble.”
(Qur’an 19:4)
The very foundation that supports the body has weakened.
“And my head has flared with gray.”
A powerful image—gray hair spreading like fire.
“And my wife is barren.”
Not merely due to age, but by nature.
Together, these form a complete picture of incapacity:
• Advanced old age
• Physical strength depleted
• A wife barren by constitution
What, then, remains of the causes?
Almost nothing.
Yet one thing remains untouched:
Hope in God.
Here, the Qur’an teaches a profound truth:
Supplication does not require causes—it requires a heart.
4. The Immediate Response: “O Zakariyya”
The divine response came swiftly:
“Then the angels called to him while he was standing in prayer in the sanctuary.”
(Qur’an 3:39)
The response came at the height of devotion, in the moment of closest proximity.
They proclaimed:
“O Zakariyya, indeed We give you glad tidings of a son.”
How brief the distance between supplication and glad tidings—mere moments.
This teaches us that the distance between earth and heaven is not measured in time, but in spiritual readiness.
When the heart is prepared, relief is near.
5. Zakariyya’s Astonishment: A Rational Wonder Before the Irrational
Despite his certainty, Zakariyya expressed astonishment:
“How can I have a son when old age has reached me and my wife is barren?”
(Qur’an 3:40)
This was not objection nor doubt, but the natural language of humanity standing before divine power—astonishment at a miracle that defies habit.
The divine response, destined to echo through human memory, was simple:
“Thus does God do whatever He wills.”
No explanation.
No causal logic.
No earthly reasoning.
Only one truth:
He does whatever He wills.
This statement alone is enough to transform impossibility into possibility.
6. Why Does God Manifest His Power Through the Impossible?
The purpose was not merely to grant Zakariyya a child, but to establish a principle of faith:
God is not constrained by the laws of the universe—the universe itself is part of His creation.
Just as Yahya was born to those incapable of bearing children, and ‘Isa was born without a father, the message remains the same:
Causes do not rule—God does.
When human beings absolutize causes, they become enslaved to them.
When they recognize causes as veils behind infinite power, they become servants of God alone.
This is true liberation.
7. The Outcome: The Birth of Yahya and the Birth of Renewed Hope
Yahya (peace be upon him) was no ordinary child.
He was:
• A prophet
• A leader
• Chaste
• Pure
• Blessed
• The first to bear the name “Yahya”
He came to give life to faith itself.
With his birth came:
• A renewed certainty
• A deeper meaning of patience
• A reopened door of hope
• Living proof that the impossible is not impossible for God
God named him Yahya before his birth—a declaration of life after the symbolic death of incapacity.
8. Zakariyya’s Story Within the Broader Prophetic Pattern
Across the narratives of this project, one thread binds them all:
• Musa in Midian: incapacity + reliance → relief
• Musa at the sea: impossibility + trust → deliverance
• Hajar: desperation + striving → Zamzam
• Ibrahim and Sarah: despair + glad tidings → Ishaq
• Zakariyya: barrenness + sincerity → Yahya
The unifying principle is this:
God loves to manifest His power when human power collapses.
Not to humiliate humanity, but to teach it that true strength is not self-generated—it is granted.
9. What Does This Story Say to Us in the Twenty-First Century?
It speaks directly to our condition:
• Anxiety about the future
• Fear of poverty
• Psychological pressure
• The sense that life is passing
• Repeated disappointments
• Delayed dreams
Zakariyya’s story says to you:
Do not say: “It is too late.”
Do not say: “My time has passed.”
Do not say: “There is no chance.”
Do not say: “The causes are gone.”
Say instead:
“My Lord, grant me.”
Give me from where I cannot see, cannot calculate, and do not expect.
And know this:
When God gives, He does not ask about your age or your causes.
10. Conclusion: When Supplication Revives the Tree You Thought Had Died
Zakariyya’s supplication was like a seed buried in barren soil—
years passed with no water, no growth, no sign of life.
Then came a moment when the earth stirred, rose, and produced the tree of Yahya.
Such is God’s way:
He plants supplication in your heart,
delays it with wisdom,
cultivates certainty,
then grants it when the heart is ready.
This is the enduring divine principle:
When people believe the end has been written,
God writes a new beginning.
And thus the project concludes as it began:
The true solution begins when the solution becomes impossible.
And between incapacity and relief there is one sincere prayer.
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