Surah 14

Ibrāhīm

(Abraham)

(Makkan Period)

Title

The title of this surah is derived from its reference to Abraham: 'And call to mind when Abraham prayed: "My Lord! Make this city secure"'' (see verse 35). The choice of Abraham as the title does not mean that this surah presents a biographical account of Abraham (peace be on him). As in other surahs, the title simply serves the purpose of marking it out from other surahs. It is a surah in which Abraham has been mentioned.

Period of Revelation

The general tenor of the surah is in line with those revealed in the last phase of the Makkan period of the Prophet's life. It appears to have been revealed around the same time as al-Ra'd. It is significant that in this surah we come across the statement: "Then the unbelievers told their Messengers: "You will have to return to the fold of our faith or else we shall banish you from our land" ' (verse 13). This clearly indicates that the surah was revealed at a time when the persecution of Muslims in Makka had reached its apex. In the manner of the earlier unbelievers, the Makkans were bent on banishing the believers from their land. As a consequence, the unbelievers are served with the same warning by God which was given to the unbelievers of the past: 'We will most certainly destroy these wrongdoers' (verse 13). Likewise, the believers are comforted in the same manner as believers before them: 'We will cause you to settle in the land as their successors' (verse 14). The tone of the concluding verses (see verse 42 ff.) also suggests that the surah was revealed in the last phase of the Makkan period.

Central Theme

The surah consists of an admonition and a warning addressed to those who rejected the Prophet's message and resorted to a wide variety of vile means to defeat his mission. The note of warning in the surah is more dominant than in the other surahs revealed around the same period. This is because the earlier surahs were devoted to admonition. However, admonition proved to be of no avail; in fact, admonition merely increased their obduracy, hostility, rebellion, and mischief and their propensity to perpetrate oppression and cruelty.