[3:39] And the angels called to him as he stood praying in the sanctuary at worship
When the petitioner asks and stays at the door, the request is granted to him. In this is an allusion to the fact that anyone who needs something from kings should stay at the door until the request is granted.
It is said that the ruling of God (s) is such that He only responds to the request of those who embrace service (khidma) to Him, and He casts those who turn away from obedience into the shame of loneliness.
[3:39 cont'd] that 'God gives you good tidings of John, who shall confirm a Word from God; a lord, and one chaste, and a prophet of the righteous'.
It is said he named him John (yaḥyā) because of the life (ḥayāt) of his heart through God. Exegesis tells us that the barrenness of his mother [returned to] life through him.
It is said that [he was named John] because the cause of life for anyone who believes in Him is through his heart.
His saying 'who shall confirm a Word from God (Allāh)' means his confirmation of the word Allāh by which he worshipped Him, or that he was brought into being (mukawwan) by the Word of God.
His saying 'a lord': The lord is one who is not in bondage to any created thing. He has been freed (taḥarrara) from captivity to his whim and from every created thing. It is said the lord is someone who has actualized his servanthood to [God] (s). It is said the lord is the one who is superior to the people of his age, and John was such.
It is said lord because he did not seek any station for himself, nor did he view himself as having any worth. When he dedicated himself in humility to God in every way, He caused him to rise above the group and made him a lord to all.
His saying 'and one chaste', i.e., liberated from passions and spared from carnal human properties despite being human. It is said [it means] being protected from the demands of his lower self, restraining from that by engaging in exaltation and seeking to draw near. It is said the uprootings (istiÌṣālāt) coming to him through the intuitions of realities prevented him from holding on to any preference for a worldly concern.
And a prophet of the righteous, i.e., he was worthy of attaining their rank.