He said “My Lord! Appoint for me a sign.” He said “Your sign is that you shall not speak to men save by tokens for three days. He sought the sign so that he might know when [his prayer] would be answered not because of any doubt regarding the source of this response. [God] made the sign of His proof that [Zachariah's] tongue was held [silenced] with created beings even as he was left free to glorify God. That is to say [God said] “do not refrain from speaking with Me for I do not deprive My friends of My intimate conversations munājāt.” and remember your Lord often...in your heart and your tongue in every moment. and glorify [Him] at evening and dawn”...in persistent prayer ṣalāt.
