Tafsir of Ibraheem 14:40

"My Lord, make me an establisher of prayer" (مقيم الصلاة): It means one who keeps it upright, which is a metaphor derived from "I straightened the stick" (aqamtu al-‘ud) when one makes it straight. By this supplication, he intended constancy in that regard. Some have suggested the meaning is "one who is perseverant in it." Some great scholars have incorporated both aspects into the interpretation, holding that the second meaning serves as a qualification for the first—derived from the noun form—while the deviation from the verb form is akin to how the first [meaning] is taken from the root of the word, as it has been said. Thus, it does not necessitate the usage of the word in two metaphorical senses simultaneously.

The unification of the first-person pronoun, despite his supplication also encompassing his offspring—where he said: {and from my descendants}—is to indicate that he is the one to be emulated in this, and his offspring are followers of him; for their mention is by way of digression. The word "min" (from) is for partition (tab‘id) and is a conjunction—as Abu al-Baqa’ stated—to the first object of the verb "make" (ij‘al); meaning: "and [make] some of my descendants establishers of prayer."

In the Shihabiyyah annotations, it is stated that the prepositional phrase is, in reality, an attribute for that which is conjoined to the first object; meaning: "and [make] some of my descendants..." Were it not for this estimation, the structure would be weak. He, peace be upon him, specifically restricted this supplication to "some" of his descendants because he knew from the Divine side that some among them would not be establishers of prayer, either by being disbelievers or believers who do not pray. It is also permitted that he knew—from his examination of the habit of God, the Exalted, regarding past nations—that there would be those among his descendants who would not establish it. This is like his saying: {And make us Muslims [in submission] to You and from our descendants a nation Muslim [in submission] to You}.

{My Lord, and accept [my] supplication}: Its apparent meaning is this supplication of mine, which concerns making me and some of my descendants establishers of prayer; and for that reason, the plural pronoun [in "our prayer" or "our supplication" in some readings] was used. It has been said that "supplication" here means "worship," i.e., "accept my worship." This is countered by the argument that it would then be more appropriate to say "our supplication" (du‘a'ana).

Ibn Kathir, Abu ‘Amr, Hamzah, and Hubayrah on behalf of Hafs recited: (du‘a'i) with a silent ya in the connective reading (wasl). In a narration by Al-Bazzi from Ibn Kathir, it is reported that he joins and stops with a ya. Qunbul said: He performs ishmam (gesturing) of the ya in the connective reading without fixing it, and he stops upon it with an alif.