قَالَ رَبِّ ٱجْعَل لِّىٓ ءَايَةً ۚ قَالَ ءَايَتُكَ أَلَّا تُكَلِّمَ ٱلنَّاسَ ثَلَٰثَ لَيَالٍ سَوِيًّا
3:42.
Important Words:
آیة (token). They say أیاآیة i.e. he put or set up a sign, token or mark by which a person or thing might be known. آیةmeans, a sign, token or mark by which a person or thing is known, a message or communication sent from one person to another; a person or individual; a whole company of people; a verse or a chapter of the Quran; a miracle, an evidence or a proof; an example or a warning; a Divine commandment (Lane, Aqrab & Mufradat), See also 2:130.
سویا is derived from سوی (sawwa) which again is derived from سوی (sawiya) which means, it became straight and even and rightly set. سواہ (sawwa) means, he made it equal, uniform, even. سوی (sawiyyun) means, equal, symmetrical, smooth and even; straight; whole; in good condition. غلام سوی means, a young man uniform in make or symmetrical, without disease and without fault or defect (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
Zachariah beseeches God to appoint for him a token or to give him a commandment (the word آیة also meaning 'a commandment' as given under "Important Words" above) by acting upon which he might give palpable expression to his feeling of extreme gratefulness for the most unusual favour God has bestowed upon him.
The commandment enjoining upon Zachariah to abstain from talking and to devote himself fully to the remembrance and glorification of God was a spiritual measure calculated to recuperate his exhausted physical powers. He had not become deprived of his power of speech, as the Gospels seem to suggest, as a punishment for his not believing in the words of God (Luke 1:20-22). See also 3:42.
In view of the meaning of the word سویا given under "Important Words" above, the verse, besides the meaning given in the text, also signifies that Zachariah was commanded by God not to speak to his people for three days and nights while he was without any defect or disease and was in perfect state of health. The very word used in this verse about Zachariah contradicts the Biblical statement of his having been struck dumb.
3:42.
The commandment enjoining upon Zachariah to abstain from talking and to devote himself fully to the remembrance and glorification of God was a spiritual measure calculated to recuperate his exhausted physical powers. He had not become deprived of his power of speech, as the Gospels seem to suggest, as a punishment for his not believing in the words of God (Luke 1: 20-22).