Quote:
{19:7} [He was told], "O Zechariah, indeed We give you good tidings of a boy whose name will be John. We have not assigned to any before [this] name."
The understanding that the name John was never given before John the Baptist is a popular understanding from this verse. That may be a historical fact, but I disagree that the Arabic so means. The word
سمِيّ is derived from سما , not from سَمّى . That is why I agree with Yusuf Ali on his choice of "one with distinction." I suggest,
{19:7} [It was said unto him,] "O Zechariah! We bring you glad tidings of a son whose name is John. We did not assign it to a dignitary before."