Al-Qur'an Surah Maryam Verse 6

Mufti Taqi Usmani

who inherits me and inherits the house of Ya‘qūb. And make him, My Lord, a favourite one.”

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

who will inherit ˹prophethood˺ from me and the family of Jacob, and make him, O  Lord, pleasing ˹to You˺!”

Ruwwad Translation Center

who will inherit [prophethood] from me and from the house of Jacob, and make him, O Lord, well pleasing to You.”

A. J. Arberry

who shall be my inheritor and the inheritor of the House of Jacob; and make him, my Lord, well-pleasing.'

Abdul Haleem

to be my heir and the heir of the family of Jacob. Lord, make him well pleasing [to You].’

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Inheriting me and inheriting the Children of Ya'qub; and make him, my Lord, acceptable!

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

"(One that) will (truly) represent me, and represent the posterity of Jacob; and make him, O my Lord! one with whom Thou art well-pleased!"

Abul Ala Maududi

one that might be my heir and the heir of the house of Jacob; and make him, Lord, one that will be pleasing to You.

Ahmed Ali

Who will be heir to me, and heir to the house of Jacob; and make him obedient to You, O Lord."

Ahmed Raza Khan

“He being my successor and the heir of the Descendants of Yaqub (Jacob); and my Lord, make him a cherished* one.” (* Make him a Prophet among the Descendants of Israel.)

Ali Quli Qarai

who may inherit from me and inherit from the House of Jacob, and make him, my Lord, pleasing [to You]!’

Ali Ünal

Who will be my heir (in my duty) and heir to (the straight way of) the House of Jacob; and make him, my Lord, one with whom You are well-pleased.

Amatul Rahman Omar

`Who may be an heir to me and inherit (the divine blessings promised to) the House of Jacob and make him, my Lord! well-pleasing (to You).´

English Literal

(He) inherits me and (he) inherits from Jacob`s family, and my Lord make him accepted/approved/satisfied .

Faridul Haque

"He being my successor and the heir of the Descendants of Yaqub (Jacob); and my Lord, make him a cherished * one." (* Make him a Prophet among the Descendants of Israel.)

Hamid S. Aziz

But I fear my kinsfolk after me, since my wife is barren; then grant me from Thy presence a successor,

Hilali & Khan

"Who shall inherit me, and inherit (also) the posterity of Ya'qub (Jacob) (inheritance of the religious knowledge and Prophethood, not the wealth, etc.). And make him, my Lord, one with whom You are Well-pleased!".

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And I fear my kinsfolk after me, and my wife is barren, so grant me from Thyself an heir

Mohammad Habib Shakir

Who should inherit me and inherit from the children of Yaqoub, and make him, my Lord, one in whom Thou art well pleased.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

Who shall inherit of me and inherit (also) of the house of Jacob. And make him, my Lord, acceptable (unto Thee).

Muhammad Sarwar

who will be my heir and the heir of the family of Jacob. Lord, make him a person who will please you".

Qaribullah & Darwish

who will be my heir and an heir to the House of Jacob, and make him, my Lord, satisfied'

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

"Who shall inherit me, and inherit (also) the posterity of Ya`qub. And make him, my Lord, one with whom You are well-pleased!"

Wahiduddin Khan

to be my heir and to be the heir [of the blessings] of the House of Jacob; and make him, O my Lord, acceptable to you."

Talal Itani

To inherit me, and inherit from the House of Jacob, and make him, my Lord, pleasing.”

Tafsir jalalayn

who may inherit from me (read yarithn in apocopated form as a response to the imperative statement [fa- hab l, `grant me'], or read yarithun as an adjectival qualification of waliyyan, `a successor') and inherit (also read in both ways [mentioned]), from the House of Jacob, my forefather, [inherit] knowledge and prophethood, and make him, my Lord, acceptable', that is, pleasing to you.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

يَرِثُنِي

and my wife is barren. So give me from Yourself an heir. Who shall inherit me,

The reason for his fear was that he was afraid that the generation that would succeed him would be a wicked generation. Thus, he asked Allah for a son who would be a Prophet after him, who would guide them with his Prophethood and that which was revealed to him.

In response to this I would like to point out that;

he was not afraid of them inheriting his wealth. For a Prophet is too great in status, and too lofty in esteem to become remorseful over his wealth in this fashion. A Prophet would not disdain to leave his wealth to his successive relatives, and thus ask to have a son who would receive his inheritance instead of them. This is one angle of argument.

The second argument is that Allah did not mention that he (Zakariyya) was wealthy. On the contrary, he was a carpenter who ate from the earnings of his own hand. This type of person usually does not have a mass of wealth. Amassing wealth is not something normal for Prophets, for verily, they are the most abstentious in matters of this worldly life.

The third argument is that it is confirmed in the Two Sahihs, in more than one narration, that the Messenger of Allah said,

لَاا نُورَثُ مَا تَرَكْنَا فَهُوَ صَدَقَة

We (the Prophets) do not leave behind inheritance (of wealth). Whatever we leave behind, then it is charity.

In a narration recorded by At-Tirmidhi with an authentic chain of narrations, he said,

نَحْنُ مَعْشَرَ الاَْنْبِيَاءِ لَا نُورَث

We, Prophets do not leave behind inheritance (of wealth).

Therefore, the meaning in these Hadiths restricts the meaning of Zakariyya's statement,
فَهَبْ لِي مِن لَّدُنكَ وَلِيًّا
(So give me from yourself an heir. Who shall inherit me,

inheritance of Prophethood.

For this reason Allah said,

وَيَرِثُ مِنْ الِ يَعْقُوبَ

and inherit (also) the posterity of Yaqub.

This is similar to Allah's statement,

وَوَرِثَ سُلَيْمَـنُ دَاوُودَ

And Suleiman inherited from Dawud. (27;16)

This means that he inherited Prophethood from him. If this had meant wealth, he would not have been singled with it among his other brothers. There also would have been no important benefit in mentioning it if it was referring to wealth. It is already well-known and established in all of the previous laws and divinely revealed creeds, that the son inherits the wealth of his father. Therefore, if this was not referring to a specific type of inheritance, then Allah would not have mentioned it.

All of this is supported and affirmed by what is in the authentic Hadith;

نَحْنُ مَعَاشِرَ الاَْنْبِيَاءِ لَا نُورَثُ مَا تَرَكْنَا فَهُوَ صَدَقَة

We Prophets do not leave behind any inheritance (of wealth). Whatever we leave behind, then it is charity.

Mujahid said concerning his statement,
يَرِثُنِي

وَيَرِثُ مِنْ الِ يَعْقُوبَ
(Who shall inherit me, and inherit (also) the posterity of Yaqub).

"His inheritance was knowledge, and Zakariyya was one of the descendants of Yaqub."

Hushaym said, that Ismail bin Abi Khalid informed us that Abu Salih commented about the Ayah;
يَرِثُنِي

وَيَرِثُ مِنْ الِ يَعْقُوبَ
(who shall inherit me, and inherit (also) the posterity of Yaqub),

"He would be a Prophet like his forefathers were Prophets."

Allah's statement,

وَاجْعَلْهُ رَبِّ رَضِيًّا



and make him, my Lord, one with whom You are well-pleased!

means "Make him pleasing to You (Allah) and your creation. Love him and make him beloved to your creatures, in both his religion and his character.