Zechariah the Righteous, prophet, father of John the Baptist (I)

1. Who is Zechariah
2. Zakaria in the Qur'an
3. Pedigree
4. Zechariah's Craft
5. Guardianship of Mary the mother of Jesus
6. Zakariya's supplication
7. Son of Zechariah
8. Murder of the Prophet Zechariah
9. Yahya (John) and Jesus

Zechariah was a prophet who lived in the first century BC. His full name is Zakaria ibn Barkhiya (Dan or Frankincense) ibn Muslim ibn Saduq. He was born in Hebron and died in Jerusalem, having lived a long life on earth for about one hundred and twenty-five years. The name of Zechariah is closely related to the name of his son the prophet Yahya, who corresponds to John the Baptist in the Bible. The Old Testament prophet Zechariah is mentioned seven times in the Holy Book of the Koran under the name Zechariah.

Zakaria in the Qur'an

The first mention is presented in verses 3:38-41 of the Holy Book, which says that Zakaria cried out to God with a request to give him offspring, and he had a vision when the angels of the Lord conveyed to him God's message, a prophecy that “ Allah makes you glad with the news O Yahya, who will confirm the Word of God and will be a master, a self-controlled man and a prophet from among the righteous .” Further in the verse of the Holy Book of the Koran it is said that Zakaria, after the holy vision, doubted that this was possible: “ Lord! How can I have a son if old age has already overtaken me and my wife is barren? " To this, God answered him in a vision that “ So Allah does what He wills!” " But Zechariah still did not believe, and asked God to show him a holy sign. And then God told him: “ Your sign will be that you will talk to people only by signs for three days. Remember your Lord much and praise Him before sunset and in the morning .”

In the Holy Book of the Koran, the prophet Zechariah is mentioned among such names as Isa, Yahya and Ilyas, who, like Zechariah, are counted among the righteous. This is stated in verse 6:85 of the Holy Book of the Koran.

In the Holy Book of the Qur'an there is also a reference to what kindness God showed to his servant Zechariah, and is reminded of how he secretly cried out to his Lord saying: “ Lord! Truly, my bones have weakened, and gray hair has already spread over my head. But before, thanks to prayers to You, Lord, I was not unhappy ” (Sura Maryam (Mary), 4th verse). Zechariah's misfortune was that he was afraid of how his relatives could dispose of his inheritance if his wife did not give him an heir. He asked God to give him an heir who would be pious. God appeared to him in a holy vision and showed him in a prophecy that everything is real if Allah wants it: “ This is easy for Me, because first I created you, although you did not exist at all ” (Sura Maryam (Mary), 9th verse). And in response to Zechariah’s request, God sent him a sign, which said that Zechariah would not be able to talk to people “ for three nights, being in perfect health ” (Sura Maryam (Mary), 10th verse). The whole story is given in verses 19:2-11 of the Holy Book.

In verses 21:89, 90 of the Holy Book of the Koran there is a command to remember Zechariah, who “ called out to his Lord: “Lord! Do not leave me alone, and You are the Best of heirs.” We answered his prayer, gave him Yahya and made his wife capable of it. Verily, they hastened to do good, called upon Us with hope and fear, and were humble before Us .”

Pedigree

Zechariah's lineage goes back to Dawud or David and to Ya'qub. Zechariah was a God-fearing man who sincerely loved Allah, and he devoted his life to the search and acquisition of knowledge, which he sought to spread among the people on earth. The Koran's ninth and third suras describe some episodes from his life, and what the Koran describes corresponds to the information that is described in the Third Book of the New Testament, the Gospel of Luke. But only the Koran is the Scripture of God that has reached modern believers without any changes, while other Scriptures are either distorted or completely lost, and only the Koran should be relied upon when telling the story of the life of the prophet Zechariah.

The history of the construction of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, which is the third most important holy city for all Muslims, after Mecca and Medina, is closely connected with the name of Zechariah. It contains such important mosques for Islam as al-Aqsa and Qubbat al-Sakhra. Since ancient times, Muslims have called Jerusalem the City of the Holy House. In the ninth century, Muslims began to call Jerusalem the "Holy City" or Al-Quds, a name it retains throughout the Muslim world into modern times.

Even before Jerusalem was conquered by the Crusaders, the Arabs were devoted to Jerusalem's shrines and wrote texts of praise that praised the holiness of Jerusalem and encouraged Muslims to visit these shrines. Jerusalem in the medieval period stood at the head of Muslim science: many Muslim scientists were trained in its educational institutions, who later became interpreters of the Holy Book of the Koran, and then went throughout the Muslim world to bring their knowledge to Muslims and became the heads of Muslim communities.

Prayers

Troparion, tone 4

You were clothed with the garments of the priesthood in wisdom, / according to the law of God, you offered burnt offerings in a sacred manner, Zechariah, / and you were a lamp and a spectator of secret things, / bearing signs in you of grace - it is clear to all eyes./ And he was killed with a sword in the temple of God, the prophet of Christ, // with Pray to the Forerunner for our souls to be saved.

Kontakion, tone 3

(Similar to: Virgo today:)

Today the prophet and priest of the Most High,/ Zechariah, the Forerunner parent, offer/ a meal of his memory,/ faithful nourishment,/ drink for righteousness dissolved to all,/ for this sake he ends,// as divine secret place of God's grace.

Guardianship of Mary the mother of Jesus

The Koran says that the prophet Zechariah came from the clan of Imran, and Jesus, as well as his mother Mary, belonged to this holy blessed clan. Zechariah was appointed guardian of Jesus' mother Mary when she took up residence in the temple in Jerusalem. He visited Mary every day, trying to make sure that she would not need anything. Zechariah saw how God-fearing Mary was. There was always food in her prayer room, and even in summer you could find winter fruits, and in winter you could find summer fruits. Zechariah wondered where such fruits, rare at certain times of the year in those lands, appeared in Mary’s room, and one day he asked Mary about this, to which she replied that these fruits appeared in her room by themselves, miraculously, that is, their God sends: “ This is from Allah, because Allah gives food without any account to whomever He wishes ” (Sura Alu Imran (The Family of Imran), verse 37).

Links

• 	Related characters	Elijah (prophet) • Zechariah (priest) • Righteous Elizabeth • Salome • Herodias • Herod Antipas
  	Geographical locations	Jordan • Ein Karem • Macheron
  	Other	Mandaeans • Ivan Kupala • Deisis • “The Appearance of Christ to the People”

Zakariya's supplication

The Prophet Zechariah saw how absolutely and unquestioningly Mary, the future mother of the Messiah, worships God, how unshakable her faith is that God will feed her and send her food. These observations led Zechariah to the following conclusion: the Lord always hears and responds to our requests and prayers, no matter what our troubles and misadventures. After that, he accepted for himself the greatest concept of faith, the most important principle of correct belief, which is that those who are the righteous servants of God are sent by God with a holy prophecy and endowed with innumerable benefits - such as the fruits that appeared in the future mother of the Messiah Mary in the prayer room, whose appearance at this time of year was a real miracle of God. Seeing such a miracle, Zechariah decided to make a request to the Lord: he prayed to Allah to give him a righteous son, and this should have become a real miracle of God, because Zechariah’s wife was incapable of bearing children at that time, since she was already old and barren. But what seems impossible for a person has no boundaries and framework for God - Zechariah received this lesson from God while looking at Mary. He knew that his old age and his wife's old age, as well as her infertility, were all serious obstacles to having children, but Zechariah still asked the Lord to send him a child, and it was a righteous son that he asked for himself. Zechariah did not have many wealth that he could later leave to his son, passing it on as an inheritance. But he had something much more valuable: the knowledge he had collected throughout his life and his prophetic mission. And he was going to inherit these riches to his son.

The Lord gave an answer to his requests immediately: the Koran says “ Allah gives you joy with the news of Yahya, who will confirm the Word of God and will be a master, a self-controlled man and a prophet from among the righteous throughout the whole earth ” (Sura Alu Imran (The Family of Imran), 39th verse).

When Zechariah had a vision and God's angels brought the news that he would have a son, and this happened during his prayer, the prophet Zechariah was amazed and exclaimed that this was impossible, because his wife was incapable of childbearing, and the prophet Zechariah himself was elderly age by that time. But God sent Zechariah the truth about the same thing that Mary believed - if God wills something, it becomes possible. Zechariah made a request to Allah, asking God to send him a sign indicating that such a miracle would happen. The Lord in a vision informed him that such a sign of God would be that Zechariah would become mute for a while, and he would be able to communicate only through signs, but still he must continue his mission, tirelessly exalting God. Coming out of prayer after the vision, Zechariah had already lost the ability to speak.

Son of Zechariah

As reported in the Koran, the prophet Zechariah himself and his wife performed many good deeds; they were God-fearing and called to Allah, and the Lord gave them a righteous son, although both of them were already of advanced age. The Quran says: “ We answered his prayer, gave him Yahya (John) and made his wife capable of it. Verily, they hastened to do good, called upon Us with hope and fear, and were humble before Us ” (Surah Al-Anbiya (The Prophets), verse 90). At the birth of Yahya, God blessed him forever with the words: “ Peace be upon him both on the day of his birth, and on the day of his death, and on the day when he is resurrected!” "(Sura Maryam (Mary), 15th verse).

Yahya, the son of the prophet Zechariah, grew up as an unusual boy - even as a child, he was unusually wise for his age, as was noted by the people, and this wisdom was given to him from above. The child was ordered to adhere to the Taurat strictly, and he treated people from the people with mercy and compassion. God created this child sinless and righteous, and the Quran says that Yahya was not disobedient or proud. By his nature, the Prophet Yahya was a very virtuous man, he is called pious and righteous in the Holy Book of the Koran, his name is placed on a par with the names of Isa (Jesus) and Ilyas. Yahya behaved very meekly with his parents and grew up as a God-fearing boy. Yahya spent his childhood under the supervision of his father, the prophet Zechariah, and from his earliest years he was at the temple of Jerusalem, faithfully serving God. Yahya loved to be alone with himself, adhered to an ascetic lifestyle, and in his daily life he was unpretentious and was content with only the most necessary things. Yahya treated people and animals with care, took care of his parents, and prayed to Allah with them. He was always seen only in a friendly and cheerful mood. He carried out priestly activities and tirelessly reminded people that they should worship Allah, because Allah Almighty is the creator of everything that exists in this world.

The miraculous incident that happened to the family of the prophet Zechariah was the result of the fact that the prayers of him and his wife were heard by God, and this served as a wonderful lesson for humanity.

Hymnography

In the Orthodox tradition, Zacharias, as the father of John the Baptist, is remembered during the divine service on the days of celebrating the conception of John the Baptist (September 23 (October 6)) and his Nativity (June 24 (July 7)). The first texts of the devotions to Saint Zechariah are contained in the Typikon of the Great Church (IX century) and in the Studian-Alexievsky Typikon (1034). The festive sequence includes the 6th stichera on “Lord, I cried”, the singing of “God is the Lord” at Matins, the troparion of the 8th tone, according to the 9th song of the canon - luminaries; The liturgy for the blessed indicates the singing of 3 and 6 songs of the canon to Saint Zechariah, the prokeimenon from Psalm 109. The Jerusalem Typicons contain liturgical instructions similar to the Studite Rule.

In modern worship, the following of Zechariah includes:

• troparion of the 4th tone;
• kontakion 3rd tone;
• canon of the 1st tone by Theophanes with an acrostic Greek. Τὸν Προδρόμοιο τοκῆα κροτῶ σοφὸν ἀρχιερῆα (Forerunners, I applaud the wise bishop) [6];
• irmos;
• cycle of 3 stichera-like;
• 3 stichera - Samoglana, Sedalen and Luminary.

Murder of the Prophet Zechariah

Mother Mariam, following her vow, brought her daughter to the temple in Jerusalem, where she left her in the care of the prophet Zechariah, who was chosen to be the teacher-guardian of Mariam, the mother of the Messiah Isa, by lot, and she learned Taurat thanks to him. Zechariah was the husband of her aunt, that is, Isa and Yahya are related to each other. Zechariah witnessed many of the miracles that were revealed by Allah to Maryam.

The times in which Zechariah lived were such that services in the temple of Jerusalem were performed around the clock, and people from the clan of Harun served in this temple. During this period, there was no prophet in Jerusalem, and the people of Israel turned to God with prayers to send him to them, and then the Almighty made Zechariah their prophet. But not all the Israeli people accepted Zechariah as a prophet; many of the people rejected him. And when the prophet Isa ibn Maryam was born, the people of Israel killed Zechariah. When Maryam gave birth to Isa, the Jewish people accused her of debauchery, but the newborn baby protected his mother from the people miraculously from his cradle. But the Jewish people took out their anger on the prophet Zechariah when men from among the people broke in and killed him. Tradition says that Zechariah was killed in Jerusalem.

Notes

Wikisource has texts on the topic Zechariah (priest)

1. Myths of the peoples of the world, vol. 1, p. 462
2. [www.jstor.org/stable/3140343 John Macpherson. Zacharias: A Study of Matthew 23:35. The Biblical World. The University of Chicago Press]
3. [www.pravenc.ru/text/182665.html Zechariah] // Orthodox Encyclopedia
4. M. B. Piotrovsky ZAKARIYA // Islam: Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M.; The science. Main Editorial Board of Oriental Literature, 1991. - 315 p.: ill. ISBN 5-02-016941-2 ( P.74
   )
5. Absent from Slavic Menaions

Yahya (John) and Jesus

When Zechariah's son Yahya was born, he was about a hundred years old, and this happened six months before the prophet Isa (Jesus) was born. Subsequently, Yahya helped Isa preach for his people, following the mission of Jesus. His birth was sent down by Allah Almighty in order to confirm to the people of Israel that the prophetic mission of the prophet Isa is true. The name of the prophet Yahya is mentioned in the Koran five times, and it was he, as tradition testifies, who predicted the prophetic mission of Isa.

After he came of age, Yahya began his prophetic mission, preaching among the people of Israel the religion preached by the prophet Musa. He recognized the prophetic mission of the Prophet Isa (Jesus) as soon as he learned about it, and began to call his people to a new faith, guided in his priestly preaching activities by the Injil. But the majority of the inhabitants of Israel did not accept the new religion and preferred to still follow Taurat.

At first, King Herod, who led the Jews, treated the prophet Yahya well, but then the prophet Yahya refused to recognize the marriage with a relative that King Herod, the head of the kingdom of the Jews, was about to enter into. Then the head of the Jews, the king, ordered the capture and execution of the prophet Yahya, and he was beheaded. Prophet Yahya died a martyr's death in the name of faith.