The angel said responding to Zachariah regarding what he wondered about: "The matter is as you say regarding your wife being barren, and your reaching extreme old age, but your Lord said: 'The creation of John in this manner is a simple matter easy for Me', then Allah Glorified be He mentioned to Zachariah what is more wondrous than what he asked about, saying: 'And I had surely created you before John, and you were not anything mentioned nor existing'."