Yahya (a): Difference between revisions

Yahya (a) was an Israelite prophet. He became a prophet when he was a child. The story of Yahya’s birth, despite the barenness of his parents, is mentioned in the Quran. Yahya (a) was known for his asceticism and his abundant weeping in awe of God.

In Shiite traditions, the martyrdom of Imam al-Husayn (a) is likened to Yahya’s tragic death, and the imamate of Imam al-Jawad (a), Imam al-Hadi (a), and Imam al-Mahdi (a) in their childhood is likened to Yahya’s prophethood in his childhood.

Mandeans consider themselves the followers of Yahya (a).  

In the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, there is a memorial known as Yahya’s grave.

Zachariah, Yahya’s father, was childless until his his elderly years. One day, when he saw Mary and the heavenly blessings that God had bestowed upon her, he asked God for a child: “My Lord! Grant me a good offspring from You! Indeed, You hear all supplications” (Quran 3:38). In his prayer, he mentioned his lack of heirs and his fear from his relatives after his death. In response, God promised him that he would have a child named Yahya, even though he was old and his wife was barren. Yahya’s mother, Elizabeth, was Mary’s aunt, and her miraculous pregnancy was simultaneous with that of Mary.  

Some have said that Yahya—derived from the root h-y-y (to live)— was so named because God took away the barrenness of Elizabeth and somehow “revived” her; others have said that it was because God made him alive with faith or with prophethood. No one was named so before him.  

Yahya became a prophet when he was a child. One of his characteristics was the fact that he was a confirmer of Jesus. Yahya followed and promoted the law of Moses, but when Jesus became a prophet, he followed him. According to historical sources, Yahya was six months older than Jesus and was the first person to confirm and believe in Jesus’ prophethood. Given his piety and chastity, the fact that he confirmed Jesus influenced many people.  

Allama Tabatabai states that “the book” in Quran 19:12 is Torah.

==Tragic Death==

According to a hadith, an Israelite king fell in love with one of his mahram relatives and wanted to marry her. Yahya (a) opposed this decision, and his opposition led to the hostility of the girl and her mother towards him. As a result, the girl’s mother prompted her daughter to ask for Yahya’s head as a condition for the marriage. The Israelite king agreed and beheaded Yahya and sent his head in a golden vessel to the girl.  

It is reported that the heavens and earth wept both when Yahya was killed and when Imam al-Husayn (a) was martyred. The Imam (a) would remember Yahya and his murder on his way to Karbala. According to a hadith, the weeping of the heavens and earth happened only for Yahya and al-Husayn (a).   

Among Yahya’s characteristics, five are specifically mentioned: believing in Jesus, leadership in knowledge and practice, a righteous prophet, asceticism, and nobility. About his asceticism and piety, it is mentioned that he would weep a lot in awe of God and would wear coarse clothes. In this regard, the Prophet (s) is reported to have said, “When Yahya went to Jerusalem in his childhood and saw rabbis putting on woolen shirts worshipping, he also put on coarse clothes and went to the temple to worship God.”  

It is said that whenever Zechariah was preaching and Yahya was among the audience, he would not mention anything about Hellfire or Paradise, as it would make Yahya weep a lot. Imam Ali (a) is reported to have said, “Yahya would weep a lot but would not laugh, Jesus would both laugh and weep, and Jesus’s manner was better than that of Yahya.”

According to a hadith, no one should say that he is better than Yahya, because Yahya never sinned and never paid attention to any women. However, some scholars have doubted the authenticity of this hadith as it appears to be against the Islamic teachings about the merits of marriage.  

==Yahya in the Quran==

Yahya’s name appears five times in four chapters of the Quran. The story of his birth, the fact that he was given “judgment” in his childhood, and some of his virtues are mentioned in the Quran. In surah Maryam, we read, “Peace be to him, the day he was born, and the day he dies, and the day he is raised alive!” (Quran 19:15). Referrig to this verse, Imam al-Rida (a) is reported to have said that Yahya will be safe and secure in three stations in which all mankind fear: birth, death, and resurrection.  

==Yanya in the Gospels==

There are several stories about Yahya (or John the Baptist) in the Gospels, which have many common points with the related Quranic verses. The story of the glad-tidings of Yahya’s birth to Zecheriah is mentioned in Luke in details.  

Later in his life, Yahya became known as the Baptist. He would preach and many people would come from different cities to listen to his sermons. He would speak against hypocrite clerics and other impious figures.  However, the most important mission of Yahya, as recorded in the Gospels, was affirming Jesus and his mission and baptizing him.  

One day, after a debate between a supporter of Jesus and a disciple of Yahya about whether Yahya was better or Jesus, Yahya’s disciples went to him and asked him about that; Yahya told them: “No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but I have been sent ahead of him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled.”

==Yahya in Hadiths==

According to a hadith, Ali b. Asbat said, “One day, I saw Imam al-Jawad (a) [in his childhood] coming to me. I looked carefully at him … so that I can describe him for my friends in Egypt. Then the Imam (a) prostrated himself and (a) said: ‘God has argued in the case of imamate as He argued in the case of prophethood, saying: “And We gave him judgement while still a child” (Quran 19:12), and said: “When he comes of age and reaches forty years” (46:15). So it is possible for someone to receive judgment when he is a child, and it is possible for him to receive it when he is forty years old.’”

The prophethood of Yahya in his childhood is adduced to prove the possibility of reaching the position of imamate in childhood.  

Mandeans are Aramaic-speaking people who believe that they follow Yahya and that their scripture belongs to Yahya. Their migration to Iran is believed to have taken place at the time of the Parthians. Apart from the Jews, they are one of earliest non-Arean immigrants who came to Iran from Palestine. Mandeans are monotheists. They have their own scripture, language, and script. They are mentioned in the Quran in several verses.  

There is disagreement as to where Yahya was buried. The most famous place is a grave in the Umayyad mosque, which is believed to be the place where Yahya’s headless body was buried, and it is believed that his head was buried in a mosque located in the Zabdani neighborhood in Damascus. According to some other reports, Yahya’s head was buried in the grave located at Nabi Yahya mosque in the Palestinian village Sebastia. Christians also have built a church near this mosque called Church of St. John the Baptist.

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