وَحَنَانًا مِّن لَّدُنَّا
And (made him) Hananan from Us,
Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn Abbas said,
وَحَنَانًا مِّن لَّدُنَّا
(And Hananan from Us),
"This means mercy from Us."
Ikrimah, Qatadah and Ad-Dahhak all said the same.
Ad-Dahhak added,
"Mercy that no one would be able to give except Us."
Qatadah added,
"With it, Allah had mercy upon Zakariyya."
Mujahid said,
وَحَنَانًا مِّن لَّدُنَّا
(And Hananan from Us),
"This was gentleness from His Lord upon him."
The apparent meaning is that Allah's statement Hananan (affection, compassion) is directly related to His statement,
وَاتَيْنَاهُ الْحُكْمَ صَبِيًّا
(and We gave him wisdom while yet a child),
meaning, "We gave him wisdom, compassion and purity."
This means that he was a compassionate man, who was righteous.
Hanan means the love for affection and tenderness (towards others).
Concerning Allah's statement,
وَزَكَاةً
and Zakatan,
This is related to His statement,
وَحَنَانًا
(And Hananan).
The word Zakah means purity from filth, wickedness and sins.
Qatadah said,
"The word Zakah means the righteous deed."
Ad-Dahhak and Ibn Jurayj both said,
"The righteous deed is the pure (Zakah) deed."
Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn Abbas said,
وَزَكَاةً
(and Zakatan),
"This means that he was a blessing."
وَكَانَ تَقِيًّا
and he was pious.
meaning that he was pure and had no inclination to do sins.
Allah said;
وَبَرًّا بِوَالِدَيْهِ وَلَمْ يَكُن جَبَّارًا عَصِيًّا