THE STORY OF THE PROPHET ZECHARIAH - Summer Fruits at Mary's Room during Winter

Maryam (Mary) binti Imran lives in a room upstairs in the Baitul Maqdis neighborhood. There Mary never interacted with the outside world. The only people who visited her were Zechariah (Zakaria/Zakariya) as her caregiver. Mary grew to become a girl in the room. She always worshiped God Almighty with great solemnity and deep love.

Zechariah (Zakaria/Zakariya) cared for Mary with full of love and affection, indeed at that time Zechariah had not been blessed with a child who was very expected. At every leisure time, Zechariah always came to visit Mary in a Baitul Maqdis neighborhood. He checked Mary's condition, took care of her needs, and provided everything that made Mary feel calm, safe, and comfortable. Not even one day Zechariah neglected his responsibilities as a Mary's caregiver.

One day, Zechariah visited Mary's room as usual by going up the stairs. He brought delicious food for Mary. Arriving at the top floor, he saw Mary was in worship room and she was worshiping, reciting, and prostrating to Allah SWT. However, Zechariah was surprised to see something strange in the worship room. It turned out that he saw summer fruits located in front of Mary who was worshiping. He thought, from where the fruits came to Mary's room, even though it was winter and of course there were no summer fruits. Zechariah also did not feel that anyone other than himself had come to visit Mary. So he approached Mary and immediately asked after Mary prostrated and raised her head, "O Maryam, where did you get this foods, but not someone other than myself who visited you and you did not come out of this worship room? Besides these fruits are summer fruits that cannot be bought on the market in winter like this. "

Mary replied, "This is the gift of Allah SWT to me. And why do you feel surprised and amazed? Allah Almighty gives sustenance to anyone He wills without calculation ".

Surah Ali Imran verse 37:

فَتَقَبَّلَهَا رَبُّهَا بِقَبُولٍ حَسَنٖ وَأَنۢبَتَهَا نَبَاتًا حَسَنٗا وَكَفَّلَهَا زَكَرِيَّاۖ كُلَّمَا دَخَلَ عَلَيۡهَا زَكَرِيَّا ٱلۡمِحۡرَابَ وَجَدَ عِندَهَا رِزۡقٗاۖ قَالَ يَٰمَرۡيَمُ أَنَّىٰ لَكِ هَٰذَاۖ قَالَتۡ هُوَ مِنۡ عِندِ ٱللَّهِۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَرۡزُقُ مَن يَشَآءُ بِغَيۡرِ حِسَابٍ  ٣٧

37.  So her Lord accepted her with good acceptance and caused her to grow in a good manner and put her in the care of Zechariah. Every time Zechariah entered upon her in the prayer chamber, he found with her provision. He said, "O Mary, from where is this [coming] to you?" She said, "It is from Allah. Indeed, Allah provides for whom He wills without account."

Since then, Zechariah realized that Mary was not an ordinary girl like the other girls. Moreover, when summer arrived, Zechariah also saw orange fruit in Mary's room. Mary is a woman chosen by Allah SWT who will have a noble position and play an important role in life in this world. So Zechariah loved Mary. He is increasingly trying to nurture and look after Mary as well as possible.

Allah SWT has shown the glorious signs of Mary as a special holy girl. Mary always devotes her life to Allah SWT. He never left his room under any circumstances, because he wanted to fulfill his mother's vows. And from the womb of Mary, a great prophet named Isa Al-Masih will be born.

Reference:

·        As Sayyid, Kamal and Anis, Selma (Translator). 2005. Kisah-kisah Terbaik Alquran. Jakarta: Pustaka Zahra.

·        mafiadoc.com_25-kisah-para-nabi_5a17d36a1723ddce5c8a2001 (PDF)