A name never given before
Partial overlapBiblical text
Lucas 1:57-66
57Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.
58And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.
59And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.
60And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.
61And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
62And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
63And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.
64And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.
65And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.
66And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.
Qur'an
Maryam 19:7-15
يَـٰزَكَرِيَّآ إِنَّا نُبَشِّرُكَ بِغُلَـٰمٍ ٱسْمُهُۥ يَحْيَىٰ لَمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُۥ مِن قَبْلُ سَمِيًّا
7(It was said unto him): O Zachariah! Lo! We bring thee tidings of a son whose name is John; we have given the same name to none before (him)
قَالَ رَبِّ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِى غُلَـٰمٌ وَكَانَتِ ٱمْرَأَتِى عَاقِرًا وَقَدْ بَلَغْتُ مِنَ ٱلْكِبَرِ عِتِيًّا
8He said: My Lord! How can I have a son when my wife is barren and I have reached infirm old age
قَالَ كَذَٰلِكَ قَالَ رَبُّكَ هُوَ عَلَىَّ هَيِّنٌ وَقَدْ خَلَقْتُكَ مِن قَبْلُ وَلَمْ تَكُ شَيْـًٔا
9He said: So (it will be). Thy Lord saith: It is easy for Me, even as I created thee before, when thou wast naught
قَالَ رَبِّ ٱجْعَل لِّىٓ ءَايَةً ۚ قَالَ ءَايَتُكَ أَلَّا تُكَلِّمَ ٱلنَّاسَ ثَلَـٰثَ لَيَالٍ سَوِيًّا
10He said: My Lord! Appoint for me some token. He said: Thy token is that thou, with no bodily defect, shalt not speak unto mankind three nights
فَخَرَجَ عَلَىٰ قَوْمِهِۦ مِنَ ٱلْمِحْرَابِ فَأَوْحَىٰٓ إِلَيْهِمْ أَن سَبِّحُوا۟ بُكْرَةً وَعَشِيًّا
11Then he came forth unto his people from the sanctuary, and signified to them: Glorify your Lord at break of day and fall of night
يَـٰيَحْيَىٰ خُذِ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ بِقُوَّةٍ ۖ وَءَاتَيْنَـٰهُ ٱلْحُكْمَ صَبِيًّا
12(And it was said unto his son): O John! Hold fast the Scripture. And we gave him wisdom when a child
وَحَنَانًا مِّن لَّدُنَّا وَزَكَوٰةً ۖ وَكَانَ تَقِيًّا
13And compassion from Our presence, and purity; and he was devout
وَبَرًّۢا بِوَٰلِدَيْهِ وَلَمْ يَكُن جَبَّارًا عَصِيًّا
14And dutiful toward his parents. And he was not arrogant, rebellious
وَسَلَـٰمٌ عَلَيْهِ يَوْمَ وُلِدَ وَيَوْمَ يَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ يُبْعَثُ حَيًّا
15Peace on him the day he was born, and the day he dieth and the day he shall be raised alive
In common
In both texts, the birth of Zechariah's son is celebrated as the fulfillment of a promise, and the name the child receives, John (Yohanan) in Luke, Yahya in the Qur'an, is presented as meaningful and unusual. In both traditions, the boy grows to become a figure of extraordinary righteousness, marked by austerity and compassion.
Differences
Luke (1:59-63) centers the naming episode on a very concrete family dispute: the relatives want to call the child "Zechariah," after his father, and it's only when Elizabeth insists on "John" and Zechariah confirms it in writing (regaining his speech in that instant) that the name is finally settled. The Qur'an doesn't describe this family dispute; instead, it's God himself who announces the name to Zechariah in advance (19:7), stressing that "We have not given this name to anyone before him," a claim of uniqueness Luke doesn't make in quite the same direct way. The Qur'an (19:12-14) also adds a brief but dense description of Yahya's character as an adult, calling him "pure" and "devoted to his parents," "neither arrogant nor disobedient," a portrait of virtue the New Testament develops differently, through John's preaching and baptizing in the wilderness (for example, in Matthew 3), rather than through a direct list of moral qualities as the Qur'an does.
Biblical text: Luke 1:57-66; John the Baptist's adulthood is developed in other New Testament books, not in Luke 1.
Qur'an: Surah 19 (Maryam), verses 7-15.