Tafsir of Ibraheem 14:37

(Our Lord): It is said in Al-Bahr that the supplication was repeated to express the desire for an answer and to emphasize seeking refuge in Him—Exalted is He. He used the plural pronoun because he had previously mentioned himself and his sons in his saying: "(And keep me and my sons) [from worshipping idols]." It has been objected that this would require a plural pronoun in "[Lord, they have led astray] many of mankind," yet a singular pronoun was used there. The correct view is that this is because the prayer he began with, and the initial matters he is paving the way for in order to receive an answer, starting from his words "(I have settled)," relate to his progeny. Therefore, describing His Lordship—Exalted is He—in relation to them is more conducive to acceptance and the answering of the request, and is an emphasis on the greater concern for what he intended to inform [God] of.

The word (min) in his saying "(of my descendants)" signifies "some of," and it is in the position of a direct object (maf’ul bihi); meaning, "I have settled some of my descendants." It is also permissible for the object to be omitted, with the prepositional phrase serving as its description and taking its place; meaning, "I have settled a progeny from among my descendants." The word "min" may imply partition or clarification. Some have claimed that "min" is redundant, following the school of Al-Akhfash, but this is not approved by those of sound insight, as is not hidden. The intended meaning of the "settled" is Ishmael—peace be upon him—and those who will be born to him, for settling him where he was, in a state of reassurance, inherently includes settling them. The reason for the generalization, as it is said, is his later saying: "(that they may establish [prayer])." It is well known that "settling" is literal for him and metaphorical for his children; therefore, whoever does not permit combining the literal and the metaphorical meanings must adopt the generalization of the metaphor.

This settling occurred after the events that transpired between him and his family. The story is that Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, was a Coptic woman given to him by Sarah. When Hagar bore Ishmael to him, Sarah became jealous and would not tolerate him being with her. So, he took her and her son out to the land of Mecca and placed them at the House, near a tree above the spot of Zamzam at the upper part of the Mosque. There was no one in Mecca at that time, nor was there any water. He placed beside them a pouch containing dates and a waterskin containing water. Then he turned to leave, and Hagar followed him, saying: "O Abraham, where are you going, leaving us in this valley where there is no companion and nothing?" She said this to him repeatedly, but he would not look back at her. Finally, she asked him: "Has Allah commanded you to do this?" He replied: "Yes." She said: "Then He will not abandon us."

She returned, and he—peace be upon him—continued until, when he reached the pass where they could not see him, he turned his face toward the House. At that time, it was raised from the earth like a hillock, and floods would flow and take from its right and left. He then prayed with these supplications, raising his hands: "(Our Lord, I have settled... that they may give thanks)." Then she began nursing her son and drinking from what was in the waterskin until it was finished. She became thirsty, and her son became thirsty. She began to look at him as he writhed in distress. She departed, disliking to watch him, and found Safa, the closest mountain to her. She stood upon it and faced the valley, looking to see if she could see anyone, but she saw no one. She descended until, when she reached the valley, she raised the hem of her garment and ran with the effort of one exhausted until she crossed it. Then she came to Marwah, stood upon it, and looked to see if she could see anyone, but she saw no one. She did this seven times, and that is why people perform sa’i between them seven times.

When she reached Marwah, she heard a sound. She said to herself, "Hush." Then she listened again and heard it again, so she said: "I have heard, if you have something to help." Suddenly, she was with the Angel at the place of Zamzam. He struck with his heel until water appeared. She began to bank it and draw from it into her waterskin while it was gushing. She drank and nursed her son. The angel said to her: "Do not fear abandonment, for here is the House of Allah, which this boy and his father will build, and Allah—the Sublime—does not abandon His people." Thereafter, a group from the tribe of Jurhum passed by. They saw a bird hovering and said: "This bird can only be over water." They sent their messenger, who looked and found the water. He came to them, so they approached, with the mother of Ishmael by the water. They said: "Will you allow us to share in your water, and we will share our milk with you?" She agreed. When Ishmael—peace be upon him—reached maturity, they married him to a woman from among them. The rest of the story is in the books of Sirah (biographies).

(In a valley of no cultivation): This is the valley of Mecca—may Allah honor it. He described it thus, rather than "uncultivated," to emphasize that it was not suitable for cultivation. Similar to His saying: "(A Quran in Arabic, free from any crookedness)." This was because of its rocky nature. Ibn ‘Atiyah said: "He did not describe it as lacking water, even though that was its state at the time, because he knew that Allah—the Sublime—would not abandon Ishmael and his mother in that valley, and that He—Sublime is He—would provide them with water. So, he looked with long-sightedness." Abu Hayyan said after reporting this: "It may be said that the absence of cultivation necessitates the absence of water, since there can be no crop except where there is water. Thus, he negated what is caused by water—the crop—due to the absence of its cause, which is water." Some said: "Seeking water was not his primary concern, because the valley is a place where floods occur, and one who needs water can store what suffices from them; the important thing for him was seeking the fruits. Thus, he described it as unsuitable for cultivation to manifest the perfection of their need for the One being asked."

(Near Your Sacred House): This is an adverbial modifier for "settled," like saying: "I prayed in Mecca at the Corner." Abu al-Baqa claimed it is an adjective of "valley" or in apposition to it. Some of the great scholars chose the first, as the intention is to show that this settling—despite the lack of its necessities—was solely for the sake of drawing near to Allah and seeking refuge in His Noble neighborhood. This is indicated by the reference to the title of "Sacred," which signals the dignity of the refuge and its immunity from distress. They said: The meaning of the House being "Sacred" (muharram) is that Allah has forbidden attacking it or treating it with contempt, or that it has always been protected and mighty, feared by tyrants in every era, or because it was prevented from the flood and thus did not succumb to it—hence it was called "Ancient" (‘atiq), according to what is said. Those who say it was called "Sacred" because visitors forbid themselves certain things that were previously lawful for them are further from the truth. He called it "a House" considering what it had been, for it was built before, or considering what it would be later. It touches upon the consideration of the title of "Sacredness" in this way.

(Our Lord, that they may establish prayer): Meaning, in order that they may establish prayer. The lam is for causal relation (jarrah), and the verb is in the subjunctive mood due to an implied an (to) after it. The prepositional phrase relates to the aforementioned "settled." Repeating the call and placing it in the middle is to show the utmost concern for the establishment of prayer, for it is the pillar of religion; that is why he singled it out from among all His rites. The meaning, according to what many have stated, is based on exclusivity; i.e., "I have not settled them in this barren valley, devoid of any comfort or provision, except that they may establish prayer near Your Sacred House and fill it with Your remembrance and worship—and whatever Your mosques and places of worship are filled with—seeking blessing from the spot which You have honored above all spots, seeking happiness in Your Noble neighborhood, drawing near to You by abiding near Your House, circling it, and bowing and prostrating around it, and seeking to bring down Your mercy with which You have favored the inhabitants of Your sanctuary." This exclusivity, according to what they mentioned, is inferred because when he said "(in a valley of no cultivation)," he negated that their inhabitation was for agriculture; when he said "(near Your Sacred House)," he established that it is a place of worship; when he said "(that they may establish)," he established that residing near it is an act of worship. He had already negated that it was for earning a living, so the exclusivity came together with what is in "(Our Lord)" as an indication that this is the intended goal.

It is related from Malik that a causal clause implies exclusivity. He argued using the verse "(That you may ride them)" to prohibit eating them. In Al-Kashf, it is stated that the exclusivity is derived from an implied, postponed element to which the prepositional phrase relates: "I settled them for this purpose—that they may establish prayer." He first reported that he settled them in a barren valley, in which he merged their need for visitors, and mentioned the reason for this choice as the honor of the neighborhood by saying "(near Your Sacred House)." Then he declared for the second time that he only chose this so they might inhabit Your Sacred sanctuary, and upon this, he built the following prayer. A sign that it does not relate to the first is the intervention of "(Our Lord)" the second time between the verb and its modifier. This is clear, and there is no way to derive this from the repetition of "(Our Lord)" except from this perspective. Some chose what we mentioned first regarding the derivation, saying: It is a subtle meaning, and the separation by the vocative does not contradict it because it is an interruption to emphasize the first and to remind of it, so it is like an alert; thus, there is no need for the prepositional phrase to relate to an implied postponed element, nor for the exclusivity to be derived from that. This is what should be relied upon. By making the vocative an emphasis for the first, the objection—that the vocative begins a new speech and what follows cannot relate to what precedes it, necessitating an implied modifier—is repelled. The way this is repelled is evident. It is also said: The lam is the lam of command, and the verb is in the jussive mood because of it; the intention is to pray for them to establish prayer, as if he requested them to establish it and asked Allah—Exalted is He—to grant them success in doing so. Its remoteness is obvious. Even more remote is what Abu al-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi said: that the lam relates to his saying "(and keep me and my sons from worshipping idols)."

In his saying "(that they may establish)" with the plural pronoun, according to what is in Al-Bahr, there is an indication that Allah informed him that his son Ishmael—peace be upon him—would have offspring there and would have descendants. (So make hearts of people): Meaning, hearts from among them, (incline toward them): meaning, hasten toward them in longing and love. "Min" is for partition. Hence it was said: If he had said "the hearts of people," the Persians and Byzantines would have crowded them. This is based on the apparent meaning of the answer to his prayer and that the plural possessive implies comprehensiveness. It is reported from Ibn Jubayr that he said: "If he had said 'the hearts of people,' the Jews and Christians would have made pilgrimage to the House." This was objected to on the grounds that it is not appropriate for the context, since the request was to direct hearts toward them for living with them, not directing them toward the House for pilgrimage—otherwise, it would have been said "incline toward it," which is the exact prayer for the city expressed in different wording. You know that there is no contradiction between the conditional statement in the report and the request being to direct hearts toward them for living with them. Such a conditional statement has come from Ibn Abbas and Mujahid as in Al-Durr al-Manthur and others, although some have made this a prayer for directing hearts to the House.

Ibn Abi Shaybah, Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, and Ibn Abi Hatim reported from Al-Hakam that he asked Ikrima, Tawus, and ‘Ata ibn Abi Rabah about this verse "(So make...)," to its end. They said: "The House—hearts incline toward it, they come to it." In another wording, they said: "Their longing is toward Mecca—that they may perform pilgrimage." Yes, it is contrary to the apparent meaning. It is permitted that "(min)" be for the beginning of a limit, as in your saying "The heart is sick from him," meaning his heart. It is as if it were said: "hearts of some people." Abu Hayyan objected to this, saying it is not apparent that it is for the beginning of a limit because there is no verb here to begin from for an end to conclude at, as it is not valid to begin making hearts from people. Some great scholars objected to this by saying: "There is a discussion here, for the action of 'inclining' of the hearts is begun for an end to which it concludes; does one not see his saying 'toward them'?" This needs reflection. It is as if there is an indication of what was said: that the "beginning" in the min of initiation is from its modifier, not absolutely. If we made it relate to "incline," the delay would not be apparent, and the mediation of the preposition would have a benefit.

Our master Al-Shihab mentioned, in explaining the "initiation" and preferring it over "partition," a discourse not free of discussion. He said: "Know that he said in Al-Idah that the intention may be for initiation without intending a specific conclusion when the meaning does not require anything but the starting point, like 'I seek refuge in Allah—Exalted is He—from the cursed Satan' and 'Zayd is better than ‘Amr'." It has been said that all meanings of min revolve around initiation, and partition here shows no benefit, as in his saying "(and the head has flared with white hair)." For the heart and bones of a person to be a part of him is an obvious meaning not intended for exposition. Therefore, it was made for initiation, and the modifier is settled for glorification, as if the inclination of the heart originated from his whole being, even though the inclination of a person's whole being is from the perspective of his heart, just as the sickness of a lover's heart originated from him, even though if it is sound, the whole body is sound. The verifiers among the commentators of Al-Kashshaf leaned toward this, but it is an obscure meaning, so reflect upon it.

Af’idah (hearts) is the first object of ij’al (make), and it is the plural of fu’ad. They interpreted it, according to what is in Al-Bahr and others, as the heart. But it is called fu’ad when the meaning of "burning/fervency" is considered, i.e., "the burning." It is said fa'adtu al-lahm (I roasted the meat), and lahm fa'id (roasted meat). It is said that al-af'idah here means "the masses of people" in the dialect of Quraysh, a view held by Ibn Bahr. The second object is the sentence "(incline)." The origin of hawa is to fall swiftly; in the speech of some, it is speed. It should have been followed by lam as in his saying: "Until when the palm of the child fell to it, it flew..." but it was followed by ila (to) to incorporate the meaning of "leaning," as in his saying: "It leans toward Mecca seeking guidance, the believers of the Jinn are not like the impure among them." Since the aforementioned was like the initial steps for the answer to his prayer and the granting of his request, he used the fa (so) in his saying "(So make...)."

Hisham read it as af'idah with a ya after the hamza; Al-Halwani confirmed this from him. This was explained as elongation/assimilation (ishba’), as in his saying: "I seek refuge in Allah from the scorpion, the one with raised stinger at the base of the tails." Since some believe this can only happen in the necessity of poetry, they said: Hisham read with the facilitation of the hamza like a ya, so the narrator expressed it as a ya, and those who misunderstood it thought it was a ya after the hamza. The intention of the ya is as a substitute for the hamza. The memorizer Abu ‘Amr al-Dani objected to this, stating that the transmitters from Hisham were among the most knowledgeable of the readings and their modes, and they were too exalted to be thought to believe such a thing. It was read as afidah in the form of daribah (striking), and it has two possibilities: First, that the hamza was moved before the fa, resulting in two hamzas, the second of which is quiescent, so it was changed to an alif; its measure is af'ilah, as was said of adur (houses), the plural of dar (house): the vowelized waw was changed to a hamza, then moved and changed to an alif, becoming adir. Second, that it is an active participle from afada ya'fidu meaning "to approach and draw near," and it is in the meaning of "hastening." It is an adjective for an omitted noun, i.e., "a group or groups of those who hasten."

It was read as afidah with a fatha on the hamza without elongation and a kasra on the fa followed by a dal. It is either an adjective from afada (of the measure of khashinah), meaning "hastening" as in the other reading, or its origin is af'idah and the vowel of the hamza was moved to what precedes it, then it was dropped; this is a famous way among morphologists and reciters. The former said: If the hamza moves after a quiescent sound letter, it remains or its vowel moves to what precedes it and it is deleted; it is not allowed to make it "between-between" because it resembles the meeting of two quescents. The author of Al-Nashr from the latter said: The vowelized hamza after a quiescent sound letter—like mas'ulan, af'idah, qur'an, and zam'an—has only one way, which is movement, though a second way is reported, which is "between-between," but it is very weak. Others besides him said the same; thus, what was said—that the way is to pronounce it "between-between"—is not the way. Umm al-Haytham read it as afudah with a broken waw instead of the hamza. The author of Al-Lawami' said: It is the plural of wafid (delegate), and the reading is good, but I do not know this woman; rather, Abu Hatim mentioned her.

Abu Hayyan said: "It is possible that the hamza was replaced in fu'ad then pluralized, and the waw was kept in the plural as it was in the singular, or it is the plural of wafid as the author of Al-Lawami' said, and it was inverted, since the origin is awfidah, and the plural of fa'l on af'ilah is irregular, like najd and anjidah, wahy and awhiyah." Umm al-Haytham is a woman from whom something of the languages of the Arabs was transmitted. Zayd ibn Ali—may Allah be pleased with both of them—read it as afadah in the measure of imarah. It appears that the hamza is a substitute for the broken waw, as they said ashaha in wishah (sash), so the measure is fa'alah, meaning "possessors of delegationship/arrival." It is also possible that it is the verbal noun of afada—ifadah—meaning "possessors of usefulness," and they are the people who provide benefit and are benefited from. Muslimah ibn Abdullah read tahwa with a damma on the ta, passive from ahwa (to cause to incline), the transitive form of the intransitive hawa, as if it were said: "It is being hastened with them toward them." Ali—may Allah ennoble his countenance—a group of his family, and Mujahid read tahwa as a present tense of hawa (meaning "to love"), and it was made transitive with ila for the reason previously mentioned.

Since the aforementioned was like the prerequisites for answering his prayer and granting his request, he came with the fa in his saying "(So make...)" and (Provide them): meaning, my descendants whom I settled there. It is also permitted that he intended them and those who join them from the people. He did not specify the prayer for the believers among them, as in his saying "(...and provide its people with fruits—those among them who believe in Allah and the Last Day)," out of contentment, it is said, with the mention of establishing prayer. (Of the fruits): of their types, by placing villages near them in which this occurs, or by having them brought to them from distant regions. Both things have occurred, such that in Mecca are gathered the early crops and various fruits of different seasons—spring, summer, and autumn—all in one day. Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim reported from Muhammad ibn Muslim al-Ta'ifi that Taif was once a land of Palestine, but when Abraham—peace be upon him—made this prayer, Allah—Exalted is He—lifted it and placed it where He placed it as a provision for the Sanctuary. In another narration, Gabriel—peace be upon him—uprooted it and came and circled the House with it seven times, and that is why it was called Taif (Tawaf). Then he placed it near Mecca. Something similar is reported from Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with them both. Ibn Abi Hatim reported from Al-Zuhri that Allah—Exalted is He—moved a village from the villages of the Levant and placed it in Taif due to the prayer of Abraham—peace be upon him. The apparent meaning is that Abraham—peace be upon him—did not intend by this prayer the transport of cultivable land from Palestine or a village from the Levant; rather, his intention—peace be upon him—was that He—Sublime is He—provide them with fruits, which does not depend on transport. Let it be considered what the wisdom in that is. I am not certain of its authenticity, nor do I deny—and I seek refuge in Allah—that Allah, the Majestic, is capable of all things and that He—Sublime is He—does what He wills and judges what He desires.

(That they may give thanks): for that blessing by establishing prayer and performing all the rites of servitude. It is argued from this that the attainment of worldly benefits is only for the purpose of being aided by them in the performance of acts of worship and the establishment of obedience. It is not hidden what is in his prayer—peace be upon him—of observing good manners and adhering to the laws of supplication, presenting needs, bringing down mercy, and soliciting kindness. Therefore, He bestowed upon him good acceptance and granted the requested. There is no wonder in that coming from the Friend of the Merciful—peace be upon him.