A Name No One Had Carried

Allah (swt) said: O Zakariyyā, verily We give you the glad tidings of a son — ismuhu Yaḥyā lam najʿal lahu min qablu samiyyā. Here we have another attribute of Yaḥyā. Allah (swt) says: We have not given that name to anyone before him. His name is Yaḥyā.

The first person to be named Yaḥyā in the whole history of the world was Yaḥyā (peace be upon him). This was a new name, that was chosen for Yaḥyā (peace be upon him) before he was delivered — and this name was given to him by Allah (swt). The name Yaḥyā was not chosen by Zakariyyā or his wife; the name Yaḥyā was chosen by Allah (swt); Allah is the One who named him Yaḥyā.

And he asked the same question: how can this happen, when I am old and my wife is barren? Allah (swt) says here: qāla kadhālika qāla rabbuka huwa ʿalayya hayyinun wa qad khalaqtuka min qablu wa lam taku shayʾā — He said: your Lord says, it is easy for Me; certainly I have created you before, when you had been nothing. Allah (swt) said: it is easy for Me to create Yaḥyā this way. You were nothing before — just as you were nothing, it is easy to create Yaḥyā (peace be upon him).