38 Preface هُنالِكَ دَعا زَكَرِيّا رَبَّهُ ۖ قالَ رَبِّ هَب لي مِن لَدُنكَ ذُرِّيَّةً طَيِّبَةً ۖ إِنَّكَ سَميعُ الدُّعاءِYusuf AliThere did Zakariya pray to his Lord, saying: “O my Lord! Grant unto me from Thee a progeny that is pure: for Thou art He that heareth prayer1!The birth of Mary, the mother of Jesus, of John the Baptist, the precursor of Jesus, and of Jesus, the prophet of Israel, whom Israel rejected, occurred in that order chronologically, and are told in that order. They are all interconnected. Zakariya prayed for no ordinary son. He and his wife were past the age of parenthood. Seeing the growth of Mary, he prayed for some child from God,- “from Thee, a progeny that is pure”. Perhaps he had adoption in his mind. Did he want to adopt Mary? To his surprise, he is given a son in the flesh, ushered in by a special Sign. (R).