14-SURAH IBRAHIM (ABRAHAM)

NAME: In the Ayah No.35, the prayer of Prophet Ibrahim has been narrated which gives the Surah its name.

TIME OF REVELATION: It is Maccan and from the subject-matters it is surmised that it was revealed when the believers were being subjected to all kinds of tortures.

Its period pertains to the time of migration of Muslims to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and thereafter, and it is probable that it might have been revealed after the Surah Ra’d.

CENTRAL THEME: is to elucidate the purpose for which messengers are sent down by God, and how through this arrangement the path leading to God is being lighted for mankind. Those who have closed their eyes to this great purpose have girded up their loins to oppose the divine messenger. Such people can receive only Allah’s wrath and the resulting doom and they are liable to receive the severest punishment.

ORDER OF THE AYAT: In Ayat Nos. 1 to 4 the purpose of sending the Messenger and Quran has been elucidated. In Ayat Nos. 5 to 17, some pages of the history of the prophets have been presented, which enlighten us as to what fate awaits those who oppose the Messenger and try to poke a spoke in the wheel of their missionary work. A glimpse of what punishment will be meted out to them in the Hereafter is also presented, which is hair-raising.

Ayat Nos. 18 to 23 depicting further their hopelessness, also narrate how the people of faith will be reaching their goal. In Verses Nos. 24 to

34 various consequences of belief and disbelief have been explained by means of examples; the disbelievers have been warned for their ungratefulness for the divine bounties and the people of faith have been shown the method of expressing their gratitude to God.

Ayat Nos. 35 to 41 present that prayer of Prophet Ibrahim which bears a historic significance. He was extremely anxious to keep his progeny and race safe from polytheism and to make their stand firm on monotheism, but his progeny (Bani Ismail) are today engaged in acts which are contrary to his wishes, his prayer, and his way of living.

Ayat Nos. 42 to 52 are the concluding part of the Surah and present a horrifying picture of the Doomsday and the punishment that will be unleashed on the disbelievers.

14 SURAH IBRAHIM (ABRAHAM) Verses (ayaat) 52

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

1. Alif. Lam. Ra.¹ (This is) a Book which We have sent down to you (O Prophet!) so that you may bring out mankind from darkness into light² (thereby) by the willingness of their Lord, to the path of the Al-Mighty and Worthy of Praise.³

2. Allah, to whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. And woe to the disbelievers for a severe punishment!

3. Those Who love the life of the world to the Hereafter,⁴ and debar (men) from the path of Allah, and seek to have it crooked⁵, they are far astray.

4. And We did not send a messenger (with Our message) except with the language of his people, in order that he might make it clear (the message) for them.⁶ Then Allah lets him go astray whom He will, and guides whom He will.⁷ He is the Al-Mighty, the All-Wise.

5. Verily We sent Moosa with Our signs, (saying) : “Bring out your people from darkness into light, and remind them of the annals ⁸ of Allah.” Surely therein are signs for every steadfast, thankful person.⁹

6. And (remind them of the time) when Moosa said to his people:¹⁰ “Remember Allah’s favour to you when He delivered you from Firaun‘s people who were afflicting you with dreadful torment , and were slaughtering your sons and letting your daughters alive;¹¹ and in that was a tremendous trial from your Lord.

1. For the explanation of the separate letters or the abbreviations, please see Note No. 1 Surah Baqarah and Note No. 1, Surah Yunus.

2.This is the most significant purpose for which Qur’an was revealed, that is to bring out the people from the darknesses of wrong beliefs and actions into the light of faith and righteous deeds. The responsibility of the Prophet is that he should try to bring out the people into the light by dawah and communication, explaining and reminding, by educating and counselling, and it is the task of Allah to guide people to accept this light. In other words those who accepted the light did so with the guidance of Allah, but their means of receiving light were the Prophet and Qur’an.

3.The meaning of bringing into light is to bring them on the path of Allah. Here two attributes of Allah have been mentioned: one that is He is ‘Aziz’ (Mighty) and the other that He is Hamid (Worthy of Praise). The idea is to clarify that this religion which is the only path which leads man to God is such that by following it man can establish a relationship with a Being that has power over the entire universe, and Who is the possessor of all the good and excellent attributes, therefore, by establishing a relationship with Him man will be benefited immensely and there will have no desire unfulfilled.

4. For whatever man likes most he is prepared to sacrifice other things. Those who love the world and its pleasures, they cannot think of giving up their worldly interests, even if for this purpose they have to sacrifice their interest in the Hereafter. Their excess love for the world prepares them to deny the Hereafter. If they do not openly deny the Hereafter, it does not mean that they have in reality made the Hereafter as their goal in life, because had they made Hereafter as their goal, then whatever step they would have taken would have been for achieving success in the Hereafter.

5.This has been explained in Surah Aal-i- Imran, Note No. 125.

6. The object behind sending the prophets in the world was not to show wondrous acts, but to convey to the people the message of Allah. In view of this objective, the tradition of Allah was that in whatever nation He sent His messenger, he knew the tongue of that nation, so that he should be able to explain Allah’s message in clear terms. The appearance of the Arabian Prophet also followed this very divine tradition, and Qur’an too was revealed in Arabic, in order that he may be able to communicate with the Arab nation, which was the first direct addressee of that message, the grand message of Allah, and thus the task of convincingly conveying the Divine message to that nation may be satisfactorily accomplished.

7. After the satisfactory conveying of the message, only those people would accept the guidance who would be deserving to receive it in accordance with Allah’s will.

8. Means those historic days on which lesson providing events took place in the world by the will of God: on some nation the whip of Allah’s wrath cracked and some other group was lavishly rewarded by Allah’s bounties.

9. In these events there is sufficient provision for learning a lesson from the rise and fall of the various nations. But from such a guidance only those can benefit who have the qualities of patience and gratefulness in them: patience for persevering in the hope of receiving reward from Allah for bearing all sufferings in the path of Allah, and gratefulness for having received from Allah the blessing of His religion and the provision of spiritual tranquility that has been provided, and they should appreciate it fully.

10. That is: Said to Bani Israil.

11. This has been explained in Surah A’raf, Note No.205.

In the Bible it is narrated that the Egyptian king, fearing that the Israilis would outnumber the Egyptians, had ordered the midwives that whenever they would do midwifery work for an Israeli woman, then....

“If it is a son, you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, she shall live, then the pharao commanded all his peoples, every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.” (Exodus 1: 16, 22)

7. And when your Lord proclaimed: “If you are grateful, I will give you more¹², and if you are ungrateful, surely My punishment is severe.”¹³

8. And Moosa said: “If you show ingratitude, you and all on earth together, then Verily Allah is Rich (cares not He is Free-from all needs) Worthy-of-all Praise. “¹⁴

9. Have not¹⁵ the chronicles of those before, reached you? Of the people of Nooh, and A’d, and Thamud ? And of those who came after them? None knows them but Allah.¹⁶ Their messengers came to them with clear signs, but they thrust their hands into their mouths,¹⁷ and said: “Verily we deny that with which (message) you have been sent, and we are in grave doubt concerning that to which you call us.”

10. Their messengers said: “Is there a doubt about Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth ?¹⁸ He calls you that He may forgive you, your sins and give you respite for an appointed term.“¹⁹ They said: “You are but men like us; you wish to turn us away from what (gods) our forefathers used to worship. Well then bring some clear authority (miracle)”.

11. Their messengers told them: “We are but men like you, but Allah grants His graces to such of His slaves as He pleases.²⁰ It is not within our power to bring you an authority (miracle) except as Allah permits. And let all the believers put their trust in Allah.”

12. And why should we not put our trust in Allah, when He has shown us our ways ?²¹ We shall certainly bear with patience all the hurt that you may cause us. And let the trusting put their trust in Allah.”

12. Gratefulness essentially implies three things: First that for everything he gets, man must consider it a favour from Allah and not from anybody else; secondly a feeling of indebtedness and gratitude must be generated in his heart; and thirdly he should adopt an attitude of loyalty, worship and obedience towards his real benefactor.

When the slave adopts the attitude of gratefulness towards his Master, then he becomes deserving of more rewards.

13. In the Torah this matter is narrated thus:

“But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city.” (Det. 28: 15, 16)

14. In a hadith it is mentioned that Allah says:

“O My slaves! If all your preceding and following men and jinns turn as evil as the most evi1 man, it would not lessen anything in My kingdom. “ (Sahih Muslim, Kitabul Bir)

15. In the above verse the statement of Prophet Moosa was given. Here the addressees of Quran are being addressed.

16. It refers to that part of the nations’ histories which has gone behind the veil of the unknown. The period of the nation of Thamud was circa 2500 B.C. Thereafter till the time of Prophet Moosa, there were a number of nations to whom prophets were sent, and as a consequence of those nations’ rejecting the call of their prophets, the wrath and punishment of God overtook them and they were destroyed. These events are not preserved in the pages of history, but they are definitely known to Allah.

So far as India is concerned, here also are found remains of the past nations that have been destroyed, e.g. Harappa, which is in Punjab and Mohenjodaro, which is in Sindh, and also Lothal in Gujarat. These are ancient townships that have been buried under the earth with their fully developed civilization and culture, which was discovered during the modern times. From the remains discovered it appears that their civilization was polytheistic, therefore, there should be no wonder if divine messengers were also sent to these nations, and in consequence of their rejection of the divine message God’s punishment might have visited them in the form of earthquakes and would have buried them, lock, stock and barrel means “entirely”. This period would have been after the period of the nation of Thamud and before that of Prophet Ibrahim, i.e. before/circa 2000 B.C. History has neither preserved their names nor the names of their prophets. Their knowledge is possessed by Allah only. However these remains provide a witness to the fact that in ancient India the whip of Allah’s wrath had cracked down in consequence of disbelief and polytheism.

17. Thrusting hand into the mouth is an idiom which means being enraged and expressing amazement.

18. That is: The message that we are presenting before you is the dawah of pure monotheism, whose authenticity is above board. It can create a doubt in the mind of only that person who also doubts that this universe was created by one Creator. If you certainly believe that the Creator of this universe is Allah alone, then where is the room to doubt His being the only God and His being worthy of worship?

19. That is: If you accept this message of monotheism which is being presented before you, then Allah will forgive you your acts of polytheism and sinning, which you have been committing till now, and instead of sending down His punishment on you He will allow you to have respite for the appointed term and let you live.

20. We never claimed that we are not humans, but some other creatures. We are but mortals like you, but Allah with His special favour granted us the office of His messengers.

It is elicited that the office of prophet hood is not such as a man would attain it by his efforts, but that it is a gift and grace from God, which He may grant to anybody He may like.

21. When a man with his full consciousness believes in Allah, then all his difficulties come to an end, because of his relationship with God and for him all avenues for success open up in life.

13. And those who disbelieved said to their messengers: “Verily we will drive you out from our land, or else you will return to our religion.”²² So their Lord revealed to them, “verily We will destroy the wrong-doers”.

14.” And verily We will make you to dwell in the land after them. This (reward) is for him who fears standing before Me and fears My Warning.”

15. And they sought judgment, and (the judgment was) that every obstinate tyrant meets with frustration.²³

16. Hell is in front of him,²⁴ and he will be made to drink boiling, festering water.²⁵

17. Which he will sip in gulps, but will not be able to swallow easily, death will come to him from every side, yet he will not die; and then will have to face a harsh punishment.

18. The example of those who disbelieve in their Lord is like this: Their deeds are like ashes which a strong wind scatters on a stormy day.²⁶ The have no control on anything that they have earned. That is the extreme- straying.

19. Do you not see that Allah has created the heavens and the earth with truth? If He will, He can remove you and bring in a new creation.²⁷

20. And that is no great matter for Allah.

21. And (it will so happen that) they all will appear before Allah. Then the weak ones will say to the arrogant ones: “Verily we were your followers, will you then avert from us anything of Allah’s punishment?” they will say: “Had Allah guided us, we should have guided you. Whether we rage or patiently endure is all the same for us, for us there is no place of escape.”²⁸

22. This is what the disbelievers said. It would not be correct to conclude from this that the prophets followed the religion of the disbelievers. The fact is that all prophets followed the religion of nature, that is they believed in one God, but since they were known to be propagating monotheism with their attainment of prophethood, the disbelievers thought that earlier they were their coreligionists. They assured them if they gave up their dawah work and returned to their original fold, they would not be disturbed.

23. That is: Their judgment was delivered in this world only, and it was given in such a way that Allah’s punishment overtook them and the opponents of the messengers were destroyed, and those who responded to the dawah of the messengers were saved.

24. After undergoing punishment in the world, they will have to undergo the terrible punishment in the Hell.

25. The image of this horrifying punishment sends shivers down our spine. If man gives it a serious thought, his heart would definitely melt and he would be anxious to seek out ways of saving himself from the punishment of the Hell.

From a reference to context it is seen that this warning is given to those who were in the forefront of the opponents of the prophet and were subjecting his followers to inhuman sufferings. In this verse they have been told that they might go on doing their worst, but in the very near future they would have to face the consequences in the form of the most painful punishment.

It should be noted that the severity of the punishment is matched with the depravity of the crime. Their beliefs were filthy, their deeds were filthy, and they used to eat and have filthy food and property. They deserved, therefore, to get as a punishment, a filthy thing like pus to drink.

26. Kufr or disbelief makes all deeds inconsequential, whether those deeds may be religious rites, apparent virtues or charity or welfare work. Those who might have performed virtuous deeds on the basis of their disbelief, would be burnt down on account of their disbelief, therefore, all their religious achievements will prove to be a heap of ashes only, which would be swept away by the Doomsday wind.

27. Whoever would observe this universe with open eyes would clearly see great wisdom in its creation and order. There is nothing without a purpose in it. How can then the creation of man be without any purpose, when he is the most important member of this great assembly. The fact is that his Creator has created man for a very high purpose. Therefore, it is necessary that man should understand his purpose of creation and he should live his life according to that purpose. If he does not do so, it does not affect Allah in any way, it only takes him to his failure and frustration. Allah has power to wipe out the entire mankind from this world and to bring a new creation in its place. Actually, man should be grateful to God that He has given him this opportunity to pass away safely from the testing ground of this world to receive His everlasting bounties and favours.

28. This is the picture of the helplessness of the leaders and the eminent persons, whom the people followed blindly, and believed that they were leading them rightly. When on the Day of Judgment both the followers and the leaders will be pushed, in consequence of their sins, to receive their punishment the followers will request their leaders to find out a way for their escape from the punishment. But they will openly admit of their helplessness. At that time their followers will realize what a great blunder was committed by them in following these leaders.

Before the people meet this unseemly end Qur’an is warning them to take heed and to act intelligently, they should not be misled by the misguiding leaders, should accept the guidance of the messenger of Allah and should follow the path which Qur’an has opened for them.

22. And when the judgment will be given Satan will say: “Verily Allah promised you a promise of truth; and I promised you but I betrayed you.²⁹ And I had no authority over you except that I called to you and you obeyed me.³⁰ So do not reproach me, reproach yourselves. I cannot respond to your cry for help, nor can you respond to my cry for help. Verily I deny your earlier (attempt at) associating me with Allah.³¹ Surely for wrongdoers is painful punishment.

23. And those who believed and performed good deeds will be made to enter Gardens underneath which rivers flow-to dwell therein for ever with the permission of their Lord. Their greeting therein will be ‘Peace.’³²

24. Have you not contemplated how Allah has given the example of the holy Kalimah word? like a good tree, its root set firm, its branches reaching to the sky.

25. It brings forth its fruit at all times³³ by command of its Lord. Allah provides the examples for mankind so that they may understand.

26. And the example of an evil kalimah (word) is like that of an evil tree, it is uprooted from the surface of the earth, it has no stability .³⁴

27. Allah keeps firm those who believe with the firm word in the life of this world and (also) in the Hereafter,³⁵ and Allah will cause to the wrong-doers go astray. And Allah does what He wills.³⁶

28. Have you not seen those who have changed the blessing of Allah with ingratitude and caused their people to descend to the abode of destruction?³⁷

29. (That is) Hell, therein they will enter, an evil place to settle in.

29. When the Divine Court will deliver its final judgment as to who deserves to be rewarded and who to be punished, Satan will admit before all his followers that the promise which Allah had made about the occurrence of the Hereafter is quite true and whatever has happened that day was according to that, but the assurances which he had given them were all false and untrue. This confession of Satan will be a great blow for his followers, and it would add to their disgrace and disappointment.

It may be noted that the promises of Satan are those ideas which Satan plants in the hearts (minds) of people, e.g. if you invoke such and such person or idol, they would come to your help, and these personalities would be intercessors on your behalf before God, that the journey of life ends in this world and there is no life hereafter, therefore, enjoy as much as you can in the world. Such and other kinds of ideas are put in human minds by Satan, and when a man accepts these it becomes his line of thinking. In the modern times Satan has adopted new style to influence the human mind, he says: “God was created by man, otherwise He does not exist”, “Religion is a neurotic disease,” “To accept what we do not know is wrong, “Matter exists by itself and life is a dialectic reality, “ etc. etc.

30. Allah has not granted power to Satan to enable him to compel men to accept his misguidance and to act on his evil suggestions. What he can do at the most is to invite men towards evil and may entice and prompt them to do evil acts. Therefore, man cannot escape by putting the blame on Satan. Man himself is responsible for his own acts.

31. The meaning of Satan’s saying that earlier you had associated me with Allah is that in the world you had been obeying me in a manner in which Allah is obeyed. On my saying you denied monotheism, declared other than Allah as god, belied the Divine messengers, rejected Hereafter, denied the Shariah and gave the reins of your life in my hands so that I might run your life as I might wish. Thus you gave me the position of your god.

32. That is: In the Paradise the people of faith will be greeted with the salutation of ‘Peace’, and from every side this greeting of peace will be raised. Whenever they would meet, they would greet each other with salutation of peace. It can be imagined what a dignified life would be led by the people of faith in the Paradise, and how peaceful would be the atmosphere there. As against this the people in the Hell would be reproaching each other and they would receive curses from every side.

33. Kalimah tayyibah (holy Kalimah) means good and chaste words, which is the kalimah of monotheism, the foundation of the Islamic belief and the basis of faith. It has been likened to a good tree, whose roots are firmly fixed in the ground, and its branches are spread in the heaven. In other words, on the foundation of the Kalimah tawheed (monotheism) a huge tree of acts comes into existence, and the acts being righteous, the branches grow and achieve great heights, then as this ideal tree gives fruits every time in the same way the benefits of the kalimah of monotheism are available all the time, and in the Hereafter the manifestation of its fruits and blessings will be in the form of everlasting bounties.

34. Kalimah khabitha (evil kalimah) means evil words, false saying, whether it be polytheistic, atheistic, or talk of disbelief. It is likened to an evil tree, a vegetation which has no roots fixed in the ground. Similarly the roots of the evil tree are not fixed in the human nature, therefore, it can be easily rooted out. It is a useless kalimah, which deprives man of righteous acts, it provides nothing but distress and disappointment in the Hereafter.

35. By a firm word is meant the kalimah of tawheed (monotheism). The ayah means that those who adopt the word of monotheism, i.e. who believe in one God, they are provided with a strong foundation. On this foundation their beliefs get strength, their ideas and character become steadfast and firm. In this way in this battlefield of life Allah gives them strength and steadfastness, and when they reach their graves, i.e. the world of Barzakh, there also they get firmness. In a hadith the Prophet has said:

“When a Muslim is questioned in his grave, he gives witness that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is Allah’s messenger. This is the point about which it is stated: ‘ Allah keeps firm those who believe with the firm word in the life of this world and also in the Hereafter’

“(Bukhari, Kitabut Tafseer).

Similarly, they will have firmness in their stance on the Day of Judgment, on account of which they will enjoy everlasting success.

36. What Allah wills is in keeping with His wisdom, and all His decisions are wise.

37. It is an allusion to Quraish, who were the leaders of the Arab nation, and who had led the nation to destruction by adopting the polytheistic customs and rites.

30. And they set up rivals to Allah that they may mislead (men) from His path.³⁸ Say: “Enjoy (your brief life) but verily you are destined to go to Hell.”

31. Tell My slaves who have believed, to establish salat and to spend in charity of what We have given them, secretly and openly,³⁹ before a day comes in which there will be neither mutual buying nor befriending.

32. It is Allah who created the heavens and the earth, and send down water (rain) from the sky, thereby producing fruits as provision ; for you, and made the boats to serve you, that they may sail through the sea by His command, and has made the rivers to be of service to you.⁴⁰

33. And has made the sun and the moon, constant in their courses, to be of service to you, and has made the night and the day for your service .⁴¹

34. And He gave you of all that you asked for. ⁴² If you count the blessing of Allah, you will not be able to reckon them.⁴³ Verily, man is an extreme wrong-doer and ungrateful.⁴⁴

35. And (recall) when Ibrahim prayed: “O my Lord! Make this city (Makkah) secure for peace⁴⁵ and preserve me and my sons from worshipping idols.⁴⁶

³⁶. “My Lord! They (idols) have indeed led many of mankind astray.⁴⁷ Then whoever follows me, he verily is of me. And whoever disobeys me so (O Lord) indeed you are Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful.⁴⁸ ”

37. “O our Lord! I have settled some⁴⁹ of my offsprings in an uncultivable valley⁵⁰,⁵¹ near Your Sacred House our Lord! that they may establish salat,⁵² so incline the hearts of men (with kindness) towards them,⁵³ and provide⁵⁴ them with fruits in order that they may be thankful.

38. For explanation Notes Nos. 29 and 200 of Surah Baqarah may be seen.

39. In Makkah when the elementary commands of the Shariah were revealed, the command for establishing salat and spending in the way of Allah was given with emphasis, which shows the importance of these two acts. Moreoever, it also becomes clear that a Muslim may or may not be amenable to pay Zakat, he should nevertheless be spending in the way of Allah, and such a spending is desirable in both ways, secretly and openly. The amount spent in the cause of Allah secretly is free of the element of exhibitionism and hypocrisy, and spending openly encourages others to do the same, but in this way ‘also it should be free of exhibitionism and hypocrisy.

40. This is an argument in favour of Allah’s over lordship, that He has provided all these things for your sustenance, then how did you make others as your gods. Has anybody any share in providing this system of sustenance? If not, and it is a fact that none has a share in it, then how have they become gods ? And what is the meaning of associating others with Allah in worship when it is exclusively only Allah’s right ?

41. ‘Musakhkhar’ the word used here does not mean that these things have been made to obey man’s commands, as people generally understand. But it means that these things have been made for service to man, who will receive immense benefits through them.

42. That is: Whatever were the physical needs of men they were all fulfilled, for example air for breathing, water for quenching thirst, food for removing hunger, and mate for sexual needs. All these requirements which are man’s natural needs have been fulfilled by his Creator. Similarly the most important requirement of his nature is guidance, and this need has also been fulfilled by his Creator.

43. If man ponders seriously, he cannot but admit that his Creator has blessed him with countless bounties, and there are his incalculable obligations. If he would contemplate over one morsel of his food, a sense of gratitude would rise in his heart considering what arrangements his Lord has made to prepare this one morsel of food for him. Heaven and earth, rains, winds and heat of the sun, etc., how has He made all these things helpful that the seed which had to pass through several stages became corn and the corn after passing through various stages became the morsel, which he is now comfortably eating. When it is not possible for man to count his own hair or the stars in the sky, then how can he count the favours and blessings of Allah?

44. This is the condition of the common man that he is neither prepared to pay the dues of nor to be grateful to His Lord for His immense favours.

45. By this city is meant Makkah, and Prophet Ibrahim prayed for its being made a city of peace because this distinctive feature of the city might make people to turn their attention towards it, thinking that this characteristic has been earned by the city on account of its being the center of monotheism, and therefore, it should be kept completely free from all kinds of polytheism and idolatry.

Allah granted this prayer and declared Makkah as haram (sacred) where fighting is forbidden forever.

46. At that time idolatry was common, and on account of the pressure from the environment man is liable to be influenced by such mischievous practices. Therefore, Prophet Ibrahim prayed for himself and for his children that they may be saved from this mischief, because without the guidance and blessings of Allah it is not possible for man to keep away from this mischief.

47. That is: These idols had been the cause of straying of many men; This statement of Prophet Ibrahim is a historical fact, since most of the big nations of the world had been practicing idolatry, and this practice is continued from the time of Prophet Nooh (Noah) till this day. The present day man has made great progress in the field of amassing knowledge, but even great civilized nations are today known to practise idolatry, that is the same lack of real knowledge which was the bane of the people of Prophet Ibrahim’s time. Idolatry’s being unreasonable is obvious, but it exercised such a magical spell over the people that they stuck to it. And in our country we see such scenes that the idolaters make their own gods and then take them in processions and drown them in lakes, rivers, or sea. Can it not be termed as bankruptcy of intelligence? If not, then what is it?

48. Prophet Ibrahim placed his matter in the hands of God and referred to the two attributes of Allah with a view to pointing out that there cannot be any laxity or slackness in His forgiveness and mercy, however if His slaves are not deserving to receive it, then none can help them.

49. That is: Ismail.

50. That is: The waterless and grassless valley of Makkah, which is situated at the foot of the hills. A desert land, instead of a green and cultivable land, was selected for the House of God (Baitullah) because the idea was that the cause of attraction for the people should be the inducement of religion and not the allurement of worldly charms, and they should get a purified environment where there should be full provision for the growth of faith and development of a virtuous soul.

51. By the Sacred House is meant the House of Ka’ba, which is most sacred and extremely holy. Prophet Ibrahim settled Ismail, from his offsprings, in Makkah, and he settled Ishaq in Palestine. The generations that followed Prophet Ismail was called Bani Ismail and the Quraish are from his progeny and Prophet Muhammad was born among them. One thing that has become evident from Prophet Ibrahim’s prayer is that he said this prayer after the construction of the House of Ka’ba, and that he settled his son Ismail in Makkah when the construction of the House of Ka’ba had been completed. At another place Qur’an has clarified that Ismail also had participated with Prophet Ibrahim in the construction of House of Ka’ba. As for the fantastic narratives which state that Prophet Ibrahim left Ismail as a suckling infant with his mother Hajra quite helpless in the desert of Makkah or such other narratives are such as are not in accordance with what Qur’an has stated, nor do these appear to be believable. It is not correct to think that these narratives have emanated from the Prophet, as Allama Sayed Sulaiman Nadvi has stated in Arzul Qur’an:

“This (i.e. ayah No.39 of Surah Ibrahim) proves that at the time of Ismail’s arrival at Makkah, Ishaq had been born. It is proved by the Torah that Ismail was older than Ishaq by thirteen years. The hadith narrated by Ibn Abbas, recorded in Bukhari’s Kitabur Ruya and Kitabul Anbiya concerning Ismail’s infancy is not a ‘marfu’ hadith, i.e. the link of its narrators does not go back up to the Prophet (except for a few incidental sentences), therefore, it is from the ‘Israiliyat’ of Ibn Abbas, and its proof exists even today. The long hadith that is recorded in Bukhari, except for the mention of Jerham and Makkah, is found, word by word, in Midrash and Talmud. “

— (Arzul Qur’an, Vol. II, page 440).

And Allama Ibn Katheer, quoting this long hadith in which the infancy of Ismail has been narrated, has remarked:

“This hadith is the saying of Ibn Abbas, however its one part is ‘marfu’ (i.e. its narrator is stated to be the Prophet), and in its one part strange things are recorded, and it appears that Ibn Abbas has quoted it from the Israili literature, and it is also narrated therein that at that time Ismail was an infant.” -(Al-Bidayah wan Nihayah Vol. I, page 156).

52. Salat is the foremost purpose of the construction of the House of Allah (Baitullah), and Prophet Ibrahim had settled his son Ismail here in order that the generations that would come after Ismail might carry on the establishment of salat under the shadow of the Sacred House. But Quraish, who happened to be from the progeny of Ismail adopted idolatry instead of establishing prayer. What a great deviation it is from the way of Prophet Ibrahim!

53. And Allah inclined the hearts of the people towards them in such a way that Bani Ismail became the centre of attraction for all Arabs.

54. Its explanation has been given in Note No 146, Surah Baqarah."

38. O our Lord! Indeed, you know what we hide and what we proclaim. Nothing in the earth and in the heaven is hidden from Allah.⁵⁵

39. “Praise be to Allah who has given me, in my old age, Ismail and Is’haq⁵⁶! Verily, my Lord is the Hearer of Prayer.”

"⁴⁰. O my Lord! Make me an establisher of salat and my off springs too: ⁴¹. O our Lord! Accept my prayer.⁵⁷

41. “O our Lord! Forgive me and my parents and believers on the day when the reckoning will be established.”⁵⁸

42. And do not think that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers are doing.⁵⁹ He only gives them respite till a day when eyes will remain string⁶⁰ (in horror).

43. They will be running (in fright), their heads raised,⁶¹ their gaze not returning⁶² towards them and their hearts in flight.⁶³

44. And warn mankind of a day when punishment will come upon them,⁶⁴ then the wrongdoers will say Our Lord ! “Reprieve us for a little while, we will obey your call, and will follow the messengers.” (They will be asked): “Did you not swear before that there would be no decline for you ?”⁶⁵

45۔ And you lived in the dwellings of those who wronged themselves,⁶⁶ and it had become clear to you how We dealt with them, and presented examples for you.”⁶⁷

46. Verily they plotted their plot, but with Allah was the answer for their every plot, although their plot was such as could move the mountain.⁶⁸

47. So do not think that Allah will fail to keep His promise to His messengers.⁶⁹ Verily Allah is All -Mighty, Capable to punish.⁷⁰

55. That is: Allah knows the secret thoughts of our hearts, and also nothing is hidden from Him, either in the heavens or the earth.

56. It becomes clear that when Prophet Ibrahim said this prayer his another son Ishaq was already born. The Bible states that when Ismail was born, the age of Prophet Ibrahim was 86 years, and at the birth of Ishaq he was 100 years old, i.e. Ishaq was born 14 years after Ismail, and both of them were born in Canaan (Palestine). “Abraham was eighty six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abraham.” (Gen. 16:16) “Abraham was a hundred years old when his son. Isahac was born to him.” (Gen.21:5) In other words the event of construction of the House of Ka’ba and settling Ismail in Makkah took place when Ismail was fourteen years old.

57. It is learnt that in the Shariah of Prophet Ibrahim salat or prayer enjoyed the foremost importance, and this is such a pillar of faith for establishing which a Momin should pray for Allah’s guidance, and should pray to Allah that his children should also become establisher of salat.

58. The prayer for the forgiveness for his father, which Prophet Ibrahim said has been explained in the comments No.210 and 211, Surah Taubah. Here those Notes should be kept in view. When the Day of Reckoning will be established means when the Day of Judgment will occur, when everybody will have to appear before Allah and he or she will have to place the accounts of his or her practical life before Him. The pages of the Bible are blank about this most important prayer of Prophet Ibrahim, it is not recorded therein. But the Qur’an has preserved it. This is an automatic refutation of the charge that Muhammad (Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) has copied his facts from the Bible.

59. Although the addressee is the Prophet, the purpose is to warn the common people that by the repressed condition of the truth and the temporary superiority of the falsehood they need not be misled to believe that the world is disorderly and God is unaware of what is happening in this world. The fact is that Allah is very much aware of what is happening in the world, but since He has fixed the Day of Resurrection for reckoning and for the reward and punishment, He is giving reprieve to the people to enable them to earn good or evil as they like. This is not disorderliness, but wise planning.

60 That is: On the Day of Resurrection such horrifying scenes will be seen by the people that the eyes of the wrongdoing persons will remain staring in terror. They did not believe in the occurrence of the Day of Resurrection, therefore, they will be wonder-struck by these scenes, wondering in what world have they come !

61. After rising from the graves they will run towards the place where they have to appear before God, and He alone knows how much distance they will have to traverse before reaching there.

62. That is: Being terrified and in horror they will be simply staring without blinking their eyelids.

63. Due to the intensity of the anxiety and fear their condition will be most pathetic, and their hearts will be as if they are flying. In reality it is faith which grants strength to the hearts, and since their hearts were empty of faith, their being totally upset and dumbfounded is an essential corollary .

64. Warning people of the punishment of the Doomsday by this emphatic command points to the fact that this is the most important point of the Quranic Dawah, which needs to be presented in a sufficiently lucid way and in a forceful manner before the people. To shake the present unaware world and to warn the people of the unimaginable punishment of the Day of Resurrection is the most important duty of the followers of Qur’an and also the great demand of the time.

65. That .is: You used to say with full confidence that you were not to go anywhere else from this world. Life is confined to this world only and the Hereafter does not exist. Now you have realized your mistake, at a time when the time for mending has passed. This hour is meant for the, declaration of the results.

66. Means the land of Arabia, where in different regions the remains of the various destroyed nations are found, e.g. the remains of the nation of Thamud in the Valley of Hijr, etc.

67. For your admonition and lesson historical events were also presented, and various examples were narrated, as in this Surah the examples of Kalimah Tayyibah and Kalimah Khabitha were given. But you did not take lesson from anything.

68. That is: These nations had hatched most dangerous plots against the messengers of Allah, but Allah caused every plot of theirs to misfire. So now (O Quraish!) do you think that your plotting will succeed against our Last Messenger ?

69. The address is to the Prophet and the purpose is to comfort the Prophet and his followers that they need not worry about the plotting of the enemies, for Allah will help His present messenger in the same way as he had helped His other messengers in the past. It is not possible that Allah’s promise will not be fulfilled.

70. Allah is Mighty, therefore, everybody is under His control. He is Capable of inflicting punishment, therefore, He will definitely punish the wrong-doers who oppose His messenger and plot against him.

On the day when the earth will be changed to another earth, and also the heaven, and (all men) shall be marshalled forth before Allah, the one, the Almighty. You will see the guilty on that day bound together in chains. (AL-Quran)

48. On the day when the earth will be changed to another earth, and also the heaven,⁷¹ and (all men) shall be marshalled forth before Allah, the one, the Almighty.⁷²

49. You will see the guilty on that day bound together in chains.

50. Their garments will be of pitch and their faces covered with fire.

51. It will be so that Allah may repay each soul what it has earned; verily Allah is swift at reckoning.

52. This (the noble Qur’an) is a message for mankind⁷³ in order that they may be warned thereby, and that they may know that He is only One God, and that men of understanding may be reminded.⁷⁴

71. On the Day of Resurrection there will be caused such changes in the earth and the heaven, that they will appear in new form and with a new system and order. In a hadith the form of the earth of the Resurrection Day has been described as under: “On the Day of Resurrection, people will be gathered on the reddish white earth, which will be like the round form of a loaf of flour. There will be no sign of anybody’s house, etc. on it. “When in the past matter has undergone many changes, till it acquired the present shape of the earth, then it is not impossible for it to assume a new form in the future, and surely its Creator has power to change its components and the physical laws. In short on the Day of Resurrection the present world will be replaced by a new world, in which the time and place will have different norms, and at that time people will realise the might of Allah in its true perspective, and they will know that Allah was capable of changing their world into a different world.

72. On the Day of Resurrection man will rise as man, that is, with soul arid body; and all mankind whether king or beggar, man or woman, an ordinary person or a V.I.P., all will have to appear before Allah so that they may account for whatever they have been doing in the world, and may receive their reward or punishment according to their deserts. This is Quran’s concept of the Hereafter which satisfies the requirements of intelligence and justice. As opposed to this the polytheists of India believe in transmigration of soul, according to which a person’s soul travels from one body to another body, either of a man or an animal, and no occasion arises when it has to appear before its Lord. Not appearing before God is a concept which is against the requirements of intelligence, and justice and is false according to Qur’an.

73. That is Qur’an is Allah’s message and this , message is not reserved for Arabs only but is for all the nations and peoples of the world.

74: This is the main mission of Qur’an: First to awaken the people who are indifferent to God and the Hereafter and to inform them of the adverse consequences of their disbelief. Secondly Tawheed (Monotheism), that is to inform the people that there is no god except Allah, nor is there anybody else worthy of being worshipped. Thirdly to remind and admonish those who use their intelligence that they should live a responsible life in the world.