Tafsir of Al Imran 3:33

{ "إن الله اصطفى آدم ونوحا وآل إبراهيم وآل عمران على العالمين" }

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Jews said: "We are the children of Ibrahim, Ishaq, and Yaqub (peace be upon them), and we follow their religion," whereupon this verse was revealed. It is also said that when the Christians of Najran exceeded the bounds regarding Isa (peace be upon him), calling him the son of Allah and taking him as a god, this verse was revealed as a refutation of them, informing them that he was from the progeny of humans who undergo the stages [of development] impossible for the Divine. This is the aspect of the verse’s connection to what preceded it.

The Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) stated regarding the connection: When the Exalted [Allah] explained that "The religion with Allah is Islam," and that the disagreement of the People of the Two Books concerning it was only due to envy and insolence, and that attaining His pleasure, forgiveness, and mercy is contingent upon following the Messenger (peace be upon him), He began to verify his Prophethood and that he is from the household of the ancient Prophethood. He began by declaring the exalted ranks of the Messengers (peace be upon them), then followed this with the mention of the origin of Isa and his mother and the manner of his invitation to the people toward belief, to establish the truth and invalidate the excess and negligence the People of the Two Books held regarding them. He then explained their argumentation regarding Ibrahim, their claim of belonging to his creed, and He cleared His exalted presence of the Judaism and Christianity they were upon. Then, He affirmed that all the Messengers were callers to the worship of Allah and His Oneness, and that all their nations were commanded to believe in any Messenger who came to them confirming what they already possessed, to establish the obligation of belief in the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the necessity of obeying him, as will be detailed hereafter. This is a sound perspective.

He began with Adam (peace be upon him) because he is the first of the species; he followed him with Nuh (peace be upon him) because he is the "second Adam" and the second father, for there is no one on the face of the earth who is not of his lineage, due to the saying of the Exalted: "And We made his descendants those who remained." He mentioned the family of Ibrahim to encourage those who acknowledge their selection to believe in the Prophethood of the one who is the centerpiece of their necklace, and to incline them toward acknowledging his selection by virtue of him being from their group. He mentioned the family of Imran—despite their inclusion within the first "family"—to show special concern for the matter of Isa (peace be upon him), due to the complete persistence of disagreement regarding his status. This is what prompted the addition of the "family" to the latter two, but not the first two.

It has been said that the intended meaning of "family" in both instances is the person himself, meaning: He chose Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim, and Imran, and the mention of the "family" in both cases is out of concern for their status. But this is of no value. The meaning of the family of Ibrahim, as Muqatil said, is Ismail, Ishaq, Yaqub, and the Tribes. It is narrated from Ibn Abbas and al-Hasan (may Allah be pleased with them) that they are those who were upon his religion, like the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him) in one of the interpretations. The intended meaning of the family of Imran is Isa (peace be upon him) and his mother, Maryam bint Imran ibn Mathan, from the descendants of Sulayman ibn Dawud (peace be upon them), as stated by al-Hasan and Wahb. It is said that they refer to Musa and Harun (peace be upon them), in which case "Imran" is the Imran ibn Yashar, the father of Musa, as stated by Muqatil—there being eighteen hundred years between the two Imrans. The manifest [meaning] is the first opinion, because the Surah is named "Al-Imran," and the story of Isa and Maryam is not explained in any Surah more extensively than it is in this one. As for Musa and Harun, no part of their story is mentioned in it, which proves that the mentioned Imran is the father of Maryam. Furthermore, it supports the idea that the intended meaning is the father of Maryam because Allah the Exalted mentioned her selection afterward and explicitly stated it, saying: "When the wife of Imran said..." and so on. It is apparent that this is an explanation of the manner of the selection referred to by His saying: "And the family of Imran." Thus, it is in the category of repeating a name in two sentences; the mind assumes that the second is the first, like saying, "Honor Zayd, for Zayd is a virtuous man." If the second were different from the first, it would confuse the listener. The preference for the latter opinion—that Musa is paired with Ibrahim in mention—does not hold the same weight as the preference for the first, as is not hidden.

"Al-Istifa" (selection) is choosing; its root is taking the best of something, like istisfa. Because it implies the meaning of distinction, it is made transitive with ‘ala (upon/over). The meaning of "the worlds" (al-'alamin) is the people of the time of each of them, i.e., He chose each of them over the worlds of his time. This includes the angels, and interpreting it otherwise is contrary to the original [meaning].

From this, some have inferred from the verse the superiority of the Prophets over the angels. The aspect of selection in all the Messengers is that the Exalted singled them out with sanctified souls and the spiritual qualities and bodily perfections appropriate for them, to the extent that they were distinguished, as it is said, from the rest of creation. They were made treasuries of Allah’s secrets, the manifestation of His Names and Attributes, the place of His special revelation from His servants, and the landing site for His revelation and the conveyer of His command and prohibition. This is evident in the chosen ones mentioned in the verse among the Messengers. As for Maryam, she has the greater share of some of that.

It is said: Adam was selected because He created him with His Hands, taught him the names, caused the angels to prostrate to him, and placed him in His proximity. Nuh was selected because he was the first Messenger sent with the prohibition of daughters, sisters, aunts, and all those with whom marriage is forbidden (mahram), and that he is the father of humanity after Adam, and by the answering of his prayer regarding both the disbelievers and the believers. The family of Ibrahim was selected because He placed in them Prophethood and the Book; it is enough of an honor for them that the Master of the Chosen is from among them. Isa and his mother were selected because He made them a sign for the worlds. If the family of Imran refers to Musa and Harun, the aspect of the selection of Musa (peace be upon him) is Allah the Exalted speaking to him and the Torah being written by His Hand; the aspect of Harun’s selection is his being made a minister for his brother. As for the selection of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), it is understood by a fortiori reasoning (mafhum al-awla), and it was not explicitly stated to indicate that he is beyond need of it, due to the fame of his being a "friend" (khalil) of Allah, and his being the elder of the Prophets and the leader of the Messengers. As for the selection of our Prophet (peace be upon him), it is understood from his inclusion in the family of Ibrahim, as we have indicated. Added to this is that the context of this discussion is for that very purpose, as indicated by the explanation of the connection in the speech of the Shaykh al-Islam. It is narrated from the Imams of the Household that they recite "and the family of Muhammad over the worlds," and upon this, there is no question.

Some people said: The intended meaning of the family of Ibrahim is Muhammad (peace be upon him), as if he were made "the family" as an exaggeration in praising him. The flaw in this is that although our Prophet is, in reality, equal to all the Prophets, let alone merely the family of Ibrahim, this intention here is far-fetched. Similar in remoteness—in fact, exceeding it—is what some mentioned in the verse, that when He commanded them to follow him (peace be upon him) and obey him, and made his obedience and following a cause for Allah’s love for them, and his disobedience a cause for Allah’s wrath upon them and the withdrawal of His love from them, He confirmed this by following it with what is Allah's custom of selecting His Prophets over their opponents, suppressing, humiliating, and destroying them to frighten those rebels against following him (peace be upon him). Thus, He mentioned the selection of Adam over the higher world, for He favored him over all the angels and made them prostrate to him and made Satan cursed for his rebellion; and the selection of Nuh over the world despite their great numbers, for He destroyed them with the flood while saving Nuh and his followers; and the selection of the family of Ibrahim over the world despite the world being disbelievers, for He made their religion prevalent and humiliated those who opposed them; and the selection of Musa and Harun over the world, for He made the magicians—despite their numbers—vanquished by them, and Pharaoh—despite his greatness and the dominance of his troops—vanquished, and He destroyed them. That is why He specifically mentioned Adam, Nuh, and the two families, and did not mention Ibrahim and our Prophet (peace be upon him), as Ibrahim was not victorious. This speech is to explain that our Prophet (peace be upon him) will be victorious, and the intended meaning is not selection by Prophethood, so that the reason for the specification would not be hidden. Thus, the weakness of the inference for their superiority over the angels becomes apparent.

The flaw in this is that the immediate understanding of "selection" is choosing and picking, not victory over enemies. Moreover, the context is far removed from this interpretation. Ibn Asakir and others have narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he interpreted "selection" here as choosing for the Message. A similar interpretation is found in what Ibn Jarir narrated from al-Hasan. Furthermore, interpreting the family of Imran as Musa and Harun is something the mind does not lean toward, as you have known. It is as if the one who proposed this, when it was not possible for him to apply "selection" in the sense he desired to Isa (peace be upon him), was forced to interpret it contrary to the apparent meaning. You know that the verse is independent of entering into such straits.