Skip to content
Ummah

Surah Maryam · سُوْرَةُ مَرْيَمَ · Juz 16

Q 19:9

قَالَ كَذَٰلِكَ قَالَ رَبُّكَ هُوَ عَلَىَّ هَيِّنٌ وَقَدْ خَلَقْتُكَ مِن قَبْلُ وَلَمْ تَكُ شَيْـًٔا

Translations

[An angel] said, "Thus [it will be]; your Lord says, 'It is easy for Me, for I created you before, while you were nothing.' "
Sahih International · EN
[Allah] lui dit: «Ainsi sera-t-il! Ton Seigneur a dit: «Ceci m'est facile. Et avant cela, Je t'ai créé alors que tu n'étais rien».
Muhammad Hamidullah · FR

Tafsir

The angel said: “The matter is as you have said, namely that your wife is barren and that you have reached the limit of old age and weakness of bones. However, your Lord said: For your Lord to create John from a barren mother and a father who has reached the extreme old age is easy. And I created you before this, O Zechariah, whilst you were not something to be mentioned as you were non-existent”.

Al-Mukhtasar fi Tafsir al-Quran · Tafsir Center for Quranic Studies
Read Ibn Kathir (Ibn Kathir (abridged, English))
He said: "My Lord! How can I have a son, when my wife is barren, and I have reached the extreme old age. (8)He said: "Thus your Lord says: 'It is easy for Me. Certainly I have created you before, when you had been nothing!'") (19:8- (9) His amazement after the acceptance of His Supplication Zakariyya was amazed when his supplication was answered and he was given the good news of a son. He became extremely overjoyed and asked how this child would be born to him, and in what manner he would come. This was particularly amazing because his wife was an old woman who was barren and had not given birth to any children in her entire life. Even Zakariyya himself had become old and advanced in years, his bones had become feeble and thin, and he had no potent semen or vigor for sexual intercourse. The Answer of the Angel قَالَ (He said:) That is, the angel, in his response to Zakariyya and his was amazement. كَذَٰلِكَ قَالَ رَبُّكَ هُوَ عَلَيَّ هَيِّنٌ ("Thus says your Lord: 'It is easy for Me...'") Meaning the birth of the son will be from you and from this wife of yours and not from any other (woman). هَيِّنٌ (easy) Meaning, it is simple and easy for Allah to do. Then he (the angel) mentioned to him that which is more amazing than what he was asking about. The angel said that the Lord said, وَقَدْ خَلَقْتُكَ مِن قَبْلُ وَلَمْ تَكُ شَيْئًا (Certainly I have created you before, when you had been nothing!) This is similar to Allah's statement, هَلْ أَتَىٰ عَلَى الْإِنسَانِ حِينٌ مِّنَ الدَّهْرِ لَمْ يَكُن شَيْئًا مَّذْكُورًا (Has there not been over man a period of time, when he was not a thing worth mentioning?)[76:1]

Arabic text: Tanzil (Uthmani). Translations: Sahih International (en), Muhammad Hamidullah (fr). tanzil.net