Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:127

"And when Abraham was raising..." This is a conjunction connected to "And when Abraham said." Although idh (when) is for the past, the present tense form is preferred, despite the story being in the past, to bring this matter to mind so that people may emulate him in performing arduous acts of obedience while earnestly beseeching acceptance, and so that they may know the greatness of the Built House and thus revere it.

"...the foundations of the House." Qawa'id is the plural of qa'idah, which is the foundation, as Abu Ubaydah stated. It is a noun that has become a descriptive term by common usage, to the extent that its qualified noun is neither mentioned nor implied. It is derived from qu'ud (sitting) in the sense of stability. It is perhaps a metaphor derived from the opposite of standing. From this is the supplication: "May Allah sustain you (qa'adaka)," meaning may He make you remain and be firm. Raising the foundations in this sense is a metaphor for building upon them, as the apparent meaning of raising something is to make it high and elevated, and a foundation does not rise but rather remains as it is. However, before building upon it, its state was one of being low. When it was built upon, it shifted to a state of elevation, in the sense that the state of being built upon caused it to attain that elevation. Thus, the word "raising" was used for the act of building upon it, and "raising" was derived from that, meaning to build upon them.

It is said that qawa'id refers to the pillars of the structure, and every pillar is a foundation for what is above it. Thus, the meaning of raising them is the building of the pillars themselves. The justification for the plural in this interpretation is clear. In the first interpretation, it is because the house is square and every wall has a foundation. This latter view is weakened by the fact that it shifts the word "foundations" from its immediate, primary meaning, unlike the shift of "raising" in the first interpretation.

It is also said that "raising" means elevation and honor, and "foundations" retains its previous literal meaning; this is an allusive metaphor (isti'arah tamthiliyyah). This is far-fetched, as there would be no benefit in mentioning "foundations." The preposition min (of) is either partitive, connected to "raising," or a circumstantial qualifier for the "foundations." He did not say "the foundations of the House" immediately, because the ambiguity followed by clarification contains a degree of attention and focus that denotes magnification, as is not hidden.

"...and Ishmael." A conjunction connected to "Abraham." Putting him after the object (Abraham), even though he is late in rank, is an indication that his involvement in the raising of the structure and the work was secondary to the involvement of Abraham, peace be upon him; it has been reported that he was handing him the stones. It is said that they were both building at opposite sides or in turns. Some went to the extreme, claiming that "Ishmael" is a subject whose predicate is omitted—i.e., "and Ishmael says: Our Lord..."—leaning toward the view that Abraham, peace be upon him, was the sole builder and Ishmael had no involvement at all, based on what was narrated from Ali—may Allah ennoble his countenance—that he was a small child at that time. The correct view is that this report is not authentic.

Note: Chroniclers have mentioned regarding the nature of this House, its antiquity, its origin, what its doors were made of, how many times Adam performed pilgrimage to it, what Abraham built it from, who helped him, and where the Black Stone came from—matters not contained in the Great Qur’an nor in authentic hadith, some of which contradict others. This is their habit in narrating tales and traditions. Among the famous accounts is that the Kaaba was sent down from heaven in the time of Adam, having two doors facing the east and the west. Adam performed pilgrimage from the land of India, and the angels met him for forty leagues. He circumambulated the House and entered it. Then it was raised to heaven during the time of the flood of Noah, peace be upon him. Then it was sent down again in the time of Abraham, who visited it, raised its foundations, and made its two doors into one. Then Mount Abu Qubays underwent labor and split open to reveal the Black Stone, which was a white jewel from the jewels of Paradise; Gabriel had brought it down and it was hidden during the time of the flood until the time of Abraham, who placed it in its spot. It then turned black due to the touch of menstruating women.

If this report and its likes are authentic, according to the People of Allah, they contain allusions and symbols "for whoever lends an ear while he is a witness":

• Its descent in the time of Adam is a sign of the manifestation of the realm of the Beginning and the Return, and the knowledge of the realm of light and the realm of darkness in his time, rather than the realm of absolute Oneness.
• His intention to visit it from the land of India is a sign of his turning, through formation and balance, from the realm of dark physical nature to the station of the Heart.
• The meeting of the angels is a sign of the attachment of the vegetative and animal powers to the body and the appearance of their effects in it before the effects of the Heart, during the forty days in which his two entities were formed and his clay was fermented, or his turning through wayfaring from the dark realm of the soul to the station of the Heart.
• The angels receiving him signifies the psychological and physical powers welcoming him with the acceptance of manners, beautiful ethics, virtuous qualities, and the practicing and moving through stations before reaching the station of the Heart.
• His circumambulation of the House is a sign of his arrival at the station of the Heart and his wayfaring within it with fluctuations of states.
• His entry is a sign of his establishment and uprightness within it.
• Its raising to heaven during the flood is a sign of people being veiled by the dominance of desire and the flood of ignorance in the time of Noah from the station of the Heart, remaining in heaven at the Much-Frequented House, which is the heart of the world.
• Its descent again in the time of Abraham is a sign of people being guided in his time to the station of the Heart through his guidance.
• Abraham raising its foundations and making it a house with one door is a sign of the Heart's ascension to the station of Oneness, for he was the first to manifest the Oneness of Essence, indicated by the Almighty's saying, narrating from him: "I have turned my face toward Him who created the heavens and the earth, inclining toward truth, and I am not of the polytheists."
• The Black Stone is a sign of the Spirit, which is the command of Allah—Exalted is His Majesty—His right hand, and the place of His secret.
• The labor of Abu Qubays and its splitting is a sign of its manifestation through spiritual struggle and the movement of the body’s instruments when used in contemplation and worship in the pursuit of its appearance. Hence, it was said: "It was hidden," meaning veiled by the body.
• Its blackening due to the touch of menstruation is a sign of it being clouded by the dominance of the psychological powers over the Heart, their seizure of it, and their blackening of the luminous face that faces the Spirit.

"Our Lord, accept from us..." Meaning, they say: "Our Lord." This is how Ubayy recited it. The sentence is a circumstantial clause for the subject of "raising." It is said it is a conjunction to what preceded it, by making the "saying" linked to "when." Acceptance is a metaphor for reward and approval, because every deed that Allah accepts, He rewards its doer and approves of it. Asking for reward for a deed is evidence that the reward is not an obligation, otherwise it would not be requested. Choosing the tafa''ul form is a confession of inadequacy, as it implies the effort involved in acceptance, even if acceptance and approval are the same regarding Allah—Exalted is His Majesty—for it is impossible to conceive of "effort" in His regard. It is possible that the intended meaning of "acceptance" is approval only, without reward, because the ultimate goal that the sincere seek from their service is for their actions to be placed in the position of acceptance and approval by the Master, and reward is not something that even crosses their minds. Perhaps this is more appropriate for the state of the Friend (Abraham) and his son Ishmael, peace be upon them.

"...indeed You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing." This is a justification for the request of acceptance. It means: "All-Hearing of our supplication" and "All-Knowing of our intentions." With this, the exclusivity implied by the definition of both predicates is correct. It also signifies the negation of showing off and hypocrisy in supplication and action, which is a condition for acceptance. The emphasis of the sentence is to demonstrate the perfection of the strength of their certainty in its content. The attribute of "Hearing" is placed first—even though the request for acceptance is subsequent to the action—due to proximity and because it does not have the same comprehensiveness as "Knowledge."