him, and removed from him the distress that was upon him; and we gave his family, and the like of them with them, as a mercy from us, and a remembrance to those who serve us.
85 And Ishmael, and Idrîs, and Dhu ʼl Kifl[1], all of these were of the patient: and we made them enter into our mercy; verily, they were among the righteous.
And Dhu ʼnnûn[2], when he went away in wrath and thought that we had no power over him; and he cried out in the darkness, 'There is no god but Thou, celebrated be Thy praise! Verily, I was of the evildoers!' And we answered him, and saved him from the trouble. Thus do we save believers!
And Zachariah, when he cried unto his Lord, 'O Lord! leave me not alone; for thou art the best of heirs[3].' 90 And we answered him, and bestowed upon him John; and we made his wife right for him; verily, these vied in good works, and called on us with longing and dread, and were humble before us.
And she who guarded her private parts, and we breathed into her of our Spirit, and we made her and her son a sign unto the worlds. Verily, this your nation[4] is one nation; and I am your Lord, so serve me.
- ↑ That is, Elias, or, as some say, Joshua, and some say Zachariah, so called because he had a portion from God Most High, and guaranteed his people, or because he had double the work of the prophets of his time and their reward; the word Kifl being used in the various senses of 'portion,' 'sponsorship,' and 'double.' — Bâidhâvî.
- ↑ Literally, 'he of the fish,' that is, Jonah.
- ↑ See p. 27.
- ↑ The word 'ummatun' is here used in the sense rather of
