[3:40] He said, 'My Lord! How shall I have a boy when old age has overtaken me, and my wife is barren?' He said, 'So it will be'. 'God does what He will'.
It is said there was a long time between his petition and the reply, and because of that he said, 'How shall I have a boy?'
It may mean that he said, 'By what right of mine could there be this reply to me, if not by Your favor?'
It may mean that he said, 'How shall this be: by adoption or sexual procreation?'
It may mean whether this was to be from a woman other than his wife, who was [also] of advanced age, or from taking a slave as a concubine. So it was said to him, 'No, not through these means, for both (you and your wife) have suffered the loneliness together, so the good news of the son is for both of you.'