Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:114

(And the seeking of forgiveness by Abraham for his father was not [due to anything] except a promise he had made to him)—i.e., that he would grant him success in attaining faith and guide him toward it, as is suggested by His explaining it with: (that he was an enemy to Allah). This sentence is a resumption to establish what preceded and to repel the contradiction that appears according to the outward meaning.

Abu al-Shaykh and Ibn ‘Asakir narrated from the path of Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah, from ‘Amr ibn Dinar, that he said: "When Abu Talib died, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to him: 'May Allah have mercy on you and forgive you; I will continue to seek forgiveness for you until Allah the Exalted forbids me.' So, the Muslims began seeking forgiveness for their dead who had died as polytheists, upon which Allah the Exalted revealed: (It is not for the Prophet and those who believe to ask forgiveness for the polytheists)—the verse. They said: 'But Abraham sought forgiveness for his father!' Thus, the Exalted revealed: (And the seeking of forgiveness by Abraham for his father was not...)—(except for a promise he had made)."

Talhah read: "And he did not seek forgiveness" (wa ma istaghfara), and from him: "And he does not seek forgiveness" (wa ma yastaghfiru), as a narration of the past situation—not that the seeking of forgiveness will occur after the Day of Resurrection, as is imagined from what will come later, if Allah the Exalted wills.

The exception is mufarragh (discontinuous/vacuous) from the most general of causes; meaning: his (peace be upon him) seeking of forgiveness for his father did not arise from any cause except for a promise he had made—that is, Abraham (peace be upon him) promised him (i.e., his father) by saying: (I will surely ask forgiveness for you) and his saying: (I will ask forgiveness for you from my Lord). Thus, the promise was from Abraham (peace be upon him). This is indicated by what has been narrated from al-Hasan, Hammad al-Rawiyah, Ibn al-Sumayqa’, Ibn Nahik, and Mu'adh al-Qari that they read: (wa’adaha abahu)—with a ba (in abahu). This is one of the three letters that Ibn al-Muqaffa’ distorted in the Quran, which is not to be paid attention to after the recitation of more than one of the Salaf (predecessors) in that way, even if it is considered shadh (irregular).

The essence of the meaning of the verse is: It was not for you to seek forgiveness after the truth had become clear, and the seeking of forgiveness by Abraham (peace and blessings be upon him) was only due to a promise [made] before it became clear. And [the meaning of] "And it became clear to him" is that the seeking of forgiveness by Abraham (peace be upon him) was before the truth became clear. This is indicated by the words of the Exalted: (But when it became clear to him)—that is, to Abraham (peace be upon him)—(that he)—that is, his father—(was an enemy to Allah)—meaning he persisted in his enmity toward the Exalted and in not believing in Him, and this was when it was revealed to him (peace be upon him) that he was persisting in disbelief. Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, and a group narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that this "clarification" was upon his death as an infidel, and Qatadah held this view. It is said: The first [interpretation] is more appropriate for the description of "enmity," and the matter is of little consequence.

(He dissociated himself from him)—meaning he severed the connection between himself and him. The intent is that he cleared himself of seeking forgiveness for him and shunned him entirely. In this, there is an exaggeration that does not exist in [the phrase] "leaving him" or its likes.

(Indeed, Abraham was surely Awwah)—that is, frequently sighing (ta’awwuh). According to a group, this is a metonymy for complete compassion and tenderness of heart. Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim, and others narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn Shaddad that a man said: "O Messenger of Allah, what is al-Awwah?" He replied: "The humble, the beseeching, the prayerful." Abu al-Shaykh narrated from Zayd ibn Aslam that it is the one who beseeches and leans toward Allah the Exalted, like the state of a sick person sighing from his illness, which is close to the previous [definition]. From Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), Mujahid, Qatadah, ‘Ata’, al-Dahhak, and ‘Ikrimah: it is "the believer" in the Abyssinian language. From ‘Amr ibn Sharhabil: it is "the merciful" in that language. Ibn Mas‘ud limited his interpretation to this. From al-Sha‘bi: it is "the glorifier" (al-musabbih). Al-Bukhari narrated in his Tarikh that it is the one who hangs upon [the mercy of] Allah the Exalted. Al-Bayhaqi narrated in Shu‘ab al-Iman and others from Ka‘b that Abraham was described as al-Awwah because whenever he remembered the Fire, he would say: "Oh for the Fire, Oh!" Abu al-Shaykh narrated the same from Abu al-Jawza’. When the interpretation of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is established, it is not appropriate to deviate from it. Yes, what the group held is not contradictory to it, and its relevance to our subject is evident, as is not hidden.

Many have stated that it is a fa‘al form for exaggeration derived from ta’awwuh (sighing), and the analogy of its verb is that it should be triliteral, because the forms of exaggeration are derived from it. Qutrub narrated a triliteral verb for it, saying: It is said "Ah, ya’uhu" (sighs), like "qama, yaqumu," [meaning] "awhan." Others rejected this and said: It is only said "awwah" and "ta’awwah." The poet al-Muthaqqib al-‘Abdi said: When I rose to prepare it [the camel] at night, I sighed with the sigh of a sorrowful man. The root of ta’awwuh is his saying "Ah" and similar utterances of a sorrowful person. In al-Durrah of al-Hariri, it is stated that the most eloquent is to say in ta’awwuh: awh with the ha kasrah, dammah, or fathah, with kasrah being the most common, upon which is the poet’s saying: So "awh" for remembering her when I remember her, and after there is a land between us and the sky. Some have doubled the waw and silenced the ha, saying awwh, and some flipped the waw to an alif, saying ah, and some deleted the ha and kasrahed the waw, saying aw. Then he mentioned that the conjugation of the verb is awwah and ta’awwah, and the verbal noun is al-ah and al-ah.

(Halim)—that is, patient with injury and forgiving of transgression. Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: "Part of his (peace be upon him) forbearance was that when a man from his people would harm him, he would say: 'May Allah the Exalted guide you.'" Perhaps interpreting it as "the master" (al-sayyid), according to what is narrated from the Hibr (Ibn ‘Abbas), is metaphorical. The sentence is a resumption to explain what compelled the Prophet (peace be upon him) to make the promise of seeking forgiveness for his father, despite the latter's unpleasantness and poor character toward him, as signaled by his (peace be upon him) words: (If you do not desist, I will surely stone you, so leave me for a long time).

It is said: It is a resumption to explain what compelled him to seek forgiveness. It was objected that its outward meaning implies that Abraham's (peace be upon him) seeking of forgiveness for his father was out of abundant mercy and excessive forbearance, which contradicts the beginning of the verse, as it indicates that it was only due to a promise and nothing else. Perhaps the meaning is that the cause for seeking forgiveness is nothing but the promise arising from what was mentioned, so there is no problem. In it, there is confirmation of the necessity of avoidance after the clarification, as if it were said: He (peace be upon him) dissociated himself from him after the clarification, and he was in the perfection of tenderness of heart and forbearance, so it is necessary that others be even more distancing and dissociating. Some allowed that the doer of "promised" is the father, and "him" is Abraham (peace be upon him), meaning: except for a promise his father made to him, which is the promise of faith.

The Shaykh of our Shaykhs, Sibghat Allah Effendi al-Haydari, said: "Perhaps this is more apparent in the interpretation, for the appearance of the context is that this verse is a refutation of what is raised against the first verse by the objection of Abraham’s seeking forgiveness for his infidel father. It suffices for it that he was [alive] during his father's lifetime, as this is taken to mean requesting forgiveness for him by way of success in faith, as established previously, without need for the tradition of the promise. Thus, 'except for a promise he made to him' becomes like filler according to the first redirection of the pronoun. Unlike this redirection, the outcome of it is that Abraham's seeking forgiveness for his father does not stand as an objection to what we mentioned, for it was only issued by him (peace be upon him) upon his [the father's] faith, as his promise of it preceded... so he thought he had fulfilled the promise and acted according to the requirement of the covenant, so he sought forgiveness for him. But when it became clear to him that he would not fulfill and would never believe, or he did not fulfill and did not believe, he dissociated himself from him."

...[The author continues with an exhaustive analysis of the theological and historical reconciliation of the hadiths concerning Abraham's intercession for his father on the Day of Resurrection, ultimately rejecting overly complex or "forced" interpretations in favor of maintaining the clear message of the Quranic text regarding the boundaries of intercession for polytheists.]