Tafsir of Hud 11:69

(And Our messengers came to Abraham) - They were the angels. It is narrated from Ibn Abbas that they were twelve angels. Al-Suddi said: eleven, in the form of youths of the utmost beauty and radiance. The author of al-Finan related that they were ten, among them Gabriel. Al-Dahhak said: nine; Muhammad ibn Ka‘b said: eight; and al-Mawardi related that they were four, though he did not name them.

In a narration from Uthman ibn Muhaysin, they were Gabriel, Israfil, Mika’il, and Raf’ail (peace be upon them). In a narration from Ibn Abbas and Ibn Jubayr, they were three, the first ones only. Muqatil said: Gabriel, Mika’il, and the Angel of Death (peace be upon them). Some chose to limit it to the view that they were three, for that is the minimum that the plural form indicates, and there is nothing to rely upon for anything more. The arrival (al-maji') was attributed to them, rather than being "sent," because they were not sent to him (peace be upon him), but rather to the people of Lot, based on His saying, "Indeed, we have been sent to the people of Lot." They only came to him out of the desire to deliver the glad tidings.

It is said: Since the intention of this noble surah is to mention the conduct of the ancient nations with the messengers sent to them and the descent of punishment upon them, and since not all of the people of Abraham (peace be upon him) were those upon whom the punishment descended—rather, it descended specifically upon the people of Lot—the style used in the preceding passages, such as "And to 'Ad [We sent] their brother Hud" and "And to Thamud [We sent] their brother Salih," was departed from here. Then, it returned to that form where it is said, "And to Madyan [We sent] their brother Shu'ayb."

The ba in His saying, "with the glad tidings" (bi-al-bushra), denotes accompaniment; that is, they were accompanied by glad tidings. By "the glad tidings," it is said, is meant the absolute good news, which includes the news of a child from Sarah, due to His saying, "So We gave her good tidings of Isaac," and His saying, "And We gave him good tidings of a forbearing boy," and so on. It also includes the news of the absence of harm befalling him, due to His saying, "And when the fear had left Abraham and the glad tidings had reached him," for the disputation [regarding the people of Lot] branches out from their arrival. It is said that the first tidings were from Mika’il and the second from Israfil (peace be upon them). Others say that the glad tidings refer to the destruction of the people of Lot, for the destruction of the oppressors is among the greatest things that the believer is given glad tidings of. This is objected to by the fact that his (Abraham's) pleading regarding them contradicts this. Al-Zamakhshari favored the view that it is the news of the child, and that this is what is intended by "glad tidings" in what follows. The reason for the disputation branching out from it will be mentioned, God willing. In al-Kashf, this preference is justified by saying: because it is most appropriate for the absolute term, and because of His saying in al-Dhariyat: "And they gave him good tidings of a learned boy," then He says after it: "So what is your business, O messengers?" He further adds: Although His saying "And when the fear had left Abraham..." might imply two separate glad tidings, it is possible in each instance to apply it to one, but that is contrary to the apparent meaning.

Since the report of the arrival of the messengers (peace be upon them) invites the listener to ask what they said, the answer is given: (They said, "Peace!") meaning: We greet you with peace. It is in the accusative case as the object of a deleted verb, and the sentence is the muqul al-qawl (the content of the statement). Ibn ‘Atiyyah said: It is valid for it to be the object of "they said" as a narration of the meaning of what they said, not a narration of their exact wording. This is also narrated from Mujahid and al-Suddi; hence, the verb "to say" acts upon it. This is like saying to a man who says "There is no god but God": "You have spoken the truth and sincerity." Others said: The accusative is governed by "they said" due to it containing the meaning of "mentioning," as if it were said: They mentioned peace.

(He said, "Peace!") meaning: Upon you be peace. Beginning with an indefinite noun in this manner is permissible, as established in grammar. He (peace be upon him) greeted them with a better greeting than theirs, because his was a nominal sentence indicating continuity and stability; thus, it is more eloquent. The original meaning of "peace" (salam) is safety from that which harms.

Hamzah and al-Kisa'i read salmun in the second instance without an alif, with a kasra on the sin and a sukūn on the lam. This is, as is said, a dialect variant of salam, like hurm and haram. Ibn ‘Atiyyah said: It is possible that "peace" here means the opposite of war. This is supported by the fact that when they refrained from eating his food, and he feared them, he said it, meaning: I am at peace, not at war, for they would not eat the food of one with whom they were at war. This is objected to by the fact that it indicates this statement came after the food was presented, whereas His saying "And he did not delay..." is explicit to the contrary. In al-Kashshaf, it is mentioned that Hamzah and al-Kisa'i read it with a kasra on the sin and sukūn on the lam in both instances, which contradicts what is transmitted in the books of recitation. Ibn Abi ‘Ablah read "He said: salaman" in the accusative like the first, and it is narrated from him that he read it in the nominative in both.

(And he did not delay in bringing) - meaning: Abraham (peace be upon him) was not slow to bring it. (The roasted calf) - fa-ma is negative, and the pronoun in labitha refers to Abraham, and an ja'a is in the position of a genitive, depending on the verb. The omission of the preposition before an and anna is standard. Ibn al-‘Arabi related that an means "until." It is also said that an and what follows it is the subject of labitha, meaning: his coming was not delayed. This is narrated from al-Farra’ and chosen by Abu Hayyan.

It is said: ma is the masdariyyah (infinitive) particle, and the infinitive is the subject, or it is a relative noun meaning "that which." An ja'a involves the omission of an added noun—i.e., "the duration of his coming"—which is the predicate. But this is weak. The calf (al-‘ijl) is the young of a cow. The ba in bi-‘ijl is for transitiveness or accompaniment. Hanidh is the fat one from which its grease drips; it is from the verb hanadhta al-faras, meaning: you have made the horse sweat under the jall (blanket), as if its grease is like the blanket upon it, or as if what drips from it is the sweat of a blanketed animal. Al-Suddi limited himself to "the fat one" in his interpretation of His saying, "a fat calf." It is said it is the one roasted on hot stones in a trench, and this has come in a narration from Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, and Qatadah. In another narration from Mujahid, it is interpreted as "the cooked one." He (peace be upon him) brought the calf because his wealth consisted of cows, which were the best of what he had, and it was his habit (peace be upon him) to honor the guest; hence he hastened the provision. This is from the etiquette of hospitality, as it shows concern for the guest's needs. His bringing the whole calf, even though they seemingly only needed part of it, is proof that it is from etiquette to present more to the guest than what they eat. There is a difference of opinion as to whether this calf was prepared before their arrival or after they arrived. There are two opinions. Abu Hayyan chose the former because the swiftness of bringing it indicates that. The author chooses the latter because it shows greater concern and is more eloquent in honoring, and swiftness is not an explicit proof for the former, as is not hidden.