Ibrāhīm (14): Verses 37–41

Know that the Exalted and Sublime God recounts here that the Prophet Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) requested seven things in his supplication.

The First Request: Security (Amn)

This is His saying: {My Lord, make this city a sanctuary} (Al-Baqarah: 126).

Beginning the supplication by asking for the blessing of security indicates that it is the greatest of all blessings and good things, and that no matter of religious or worldly benefit can be perfected without it.

Some scholars were asked: Is security better, or is health better? They replied: Security is better. The evidence for this is that if a sheep breaks its leg, it will recover after some time and then return to grazing and eating. However, if a sheep is tied up near a wolf, it will refrain from eating until it dies. This indicates that the harm resulting from fear is more severe than the harm resulting from bodily pain.

The Second Request: Monotheism (Tawḥīd)

This is His saying: {And keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols} (Ibrāhīm: 35).

The Third Request: Settling His Offspring in the Valley

This is His saying: {Our Lord, I have settled some of my offspring in an uncultivated valley near Your Sacred House}.

• {Some of my offspring}: Meaning some of his progeny, which is Ismāʿīl and those who descended from him.
• {in a valley}: This is the valley of Mecca.
• {uncultivated} (ghayr dhī zarʿ): Meaning it has no crops, similar to His saying: {an Arabic Qur’an, free from any crookedness} (Az-Zumar: 28), meaning no crookedness occurs in it.

They mentioned several reasons for naming it The Sacred (al-Ḥarām):

1. God forbade violating or treating it lightly, and made the surrounding area a sanctuary (Ḥaram) due to its status.
2. It has always been inaccessible and mighty, feared by every tyrant, like something forbidden that deserves avoidance.
3. It is called Sacred because it possesses great sanctity and honor, and it is not permissible to violate it.
4. It was forbidden to the Flood (Noah’s Flood), meaning it was protected from it, just as it is called ʿAtīq (Ancient) because it was freed from it, and the Flood did not prevail over it.
5. It commanded those who go to it to forbid certain things to themselves that were previously permissible.
6. The place of the House was made sacred when the heavens and the earth were created, and it was surrounded by seven angels. It is like the Bayt al-Maʿmūr (The Inhabited House) built by Adam, which was then raised to the seventh heaven.
7. God forbade His servants from approaching it with blood, filth, and other things.

It is narrated that Hājar was a maidservant to Sārah, who gifted her to Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him). She bore him Ismāʿīl (peace be upon him). Sārah then said: I hoped that God would grant me a child from His intimate friend, but He prevented me and blessed him with my maidservant. She told Ibrāhīm: Send them away from me. So he moved them to Mecca while Ismāʿīl was an infant. When he returned, Hājar asked: To whom do you leave us? He replied: To God.

Then, he supplicated God with: {Our Lord, I have settled some of my offspring in a valley...} until the end of the verse. Then, she became thirsty, and the boy became thirsty. She took the boy to the site of Zamzam, and he struck the ground with his heel, and a spring gushed forth. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "May God have mercy on the mother of Ismāʿīl! If she had not hurried, Zamzam would have been a flowing spring."

Later, Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) returned after Ismāʿīl grew up, and he and Ismāʿīl engaged in raising the foundations of the House.

Al-Qāḍī said: Most of the matters mentioned in this account are far-fetched because it is not permissible for Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) to move his son to a place without food or water, especially since he could have moved them to another town in the Levant due to Sārah’s request, unless we say that God informed him that water and food would be found there.

I say: The appearance of the water of Zamzam can be considered a preliminary miracle (irhāṣ) for Ismāʿīl (peace be upon him), as this is permissible according to us (the Ashʿarites), unlike the Muʿtazilah, who consider it a miracle for Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him).

Then He said: {I have settled...} The lām (preposition) is connected to as-kantu (I settled), meaning: I settled a people from my offspring—Ismāʿīl and his descendants—in this barren valley so that they may establish the prayer.

Then He said: {so make the hearts of people incline toward them}. There are discussions regarding this:

Discussion 1: Al-Aṣmaʿī said that hawā (to incline/fall) means to fall from a high place to a low one (hawiyan with a fatḥa). It is also said that {incline toward them} means to desire them, or to hasten toward them, or to descend toward them. It is said: Hawā al-ḥajaru (the stone fell) from the mountaintop, meaning it descended and poured down. And hawā al-rajul (the man fell) if he descended from the mountaintop.

Discussion 2: This supplication encompasses both religion and the world.

• Religion: Because it includes people’s inclination to travel to that city for the sake of ritual worship and obedience to God.
• The World: Because it includes people’s inclination to bring livelihoods there due to trade, which leads to the expansion of their sustenance, and an increase in their food and clothing.

Discussion 3: The word {some} (min) in {so make the hearts of some people incline toward them} implies partiality (tabʿīḍ). The meaning is: Make the hearts of some people inclined toward them. Mujāhid said: If he had said, "the hearts of all people," the Persians, Romans, Turks, and Indians would have crowded there. Saʿīd ibn Jubayr said: If he had said "the hearts of people," the Jews, Christians, and Magians would have performed Ḥajj, but He said {some people}, meaning the Muslims.

Then He said: {and provide for them from the fruits}. There are two discussions:

Discussion 1: He did not say: "and provide them the fruits," but rather: {and provide for them from the fruits}. This indicates that what is sought in the supplication is the arrival of some fruits to them.

Discussion 2: It is possible that providing fruits to them means providing them through trade, or it means cultivating villages nearby to obtain fruits from them.

Then He said: {so that they may be grateful}. This indicates that the goal for an intelligent person regarding worldly benefits is to be free to perform acts of worship and establish obedience. For Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) clarified that he only requested the facilitation of benefits for his offspring so that they might be free to establish prayers and fulfill obligations.

The Fourth Request: Acknowledging God’s Omniscience

This is His saying: {Our Lord, indeed You know what we conceal and what we reveal}.

Know that when he requested God to facilitate and ease benefits for his offspring, he mentioned that he does not know the consequences of affairs or the ends of future matters, but that the Exalted is the Knower, encompassing all their secrets. He said: {Our Lord, indeed You know what we conceal and what we reveal}. The meaning is: You know our conditions, our benefits, and our harms better than we do.

It is said: What we conceal is the anguish resulting from the separation between me and Ismāʿīl, and what we reveal is the weeping. Or, what we conceal is the sorrow deeply rooted in the heart, and what we reveal is what occurred between him and Hājar when she asked him upon parting: "To whom do you leave us?" He replied: "To God, all of you." She asked: "Did God command you this?" He replied: "Yes." She said: "Then we shall not fear."

Then He said: {And nothing is hidden from God in the earth or in the heaven}. There are two opinions regarding this:

1. It is the saying of God, the Mighty and Majestic, confirming Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him), like His saying: {And thus they will be dealt with} (An-Naḥl: 34).
2. It is part of Ibrāhīm’s (peace be upon him) speech, meaning: Nothing is hidden from the One who knows the unseen in any place. The word {anything} (shay’) implies totality, as if it were said: Nothing at all is hidden from Him.

Then He said: {Praise be to God, who has granted me in old age Ismāʿīl and Isḥāq}. There are discussions here:

Discussion 1: Know that the Qur’an indicates that God granted Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) these two sons, Ismāʿīl and Isḥāq, in old age and decrepitude. The extent of this age is not known from the Qur’an; rather, it is referred to in narrations. It is said that when Ismāʿīl was born, Ibrāhīm was ninety-nine years old, and when Isḥāq was born, he was one hundred and twelve years old. Another opinion states Ismāʿīl was born when he was sixty-four, and Isḥāq at ninety. Saʿīd ibn Jubayr said: Ibrāhīm had no child until he was one hundred and seventeen years old.

He mentioned {in old age} because the favor of being granted a child at this age is greater, as this time is when one despairs of having offspring, and attaining a need at the time of despair is one of the greatest blessings. Also, giving birth at such an advanced age was a sign for Ibrāhīm.

If it is argued: Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) only made this supplication when he settled Ismāʿīl and his mother Hājar in that valley, and Isḥāq had not yet been born at that time, how could he say: {Praise be to God, who has granted me in old age Ismāʿīl and Isḥāq}?

We reply: Al-Qāḍī said this argument implies that Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) made this statement at a later time, not immediately following the previous supplication. It can also be said that he made this supplication after Ismāʿīl grew up and Isḥāq appeared, even if the apparent meaning of the narrations suggests otherwise.

Discussion 2: The preposition {upon} (ʿalā) in {upon old age} means with, similar to the poet’s saying:

Indeed, despite what you see of my old age, I know from where the shoulder meat is eaten.

It is in the position of a circumstantial adverb (ḥāl), meaning: He granted them to me while I was in a state of old age.

Discussion 3: The connection between His saying: {Our Lord, indeed You know what we conceal and what we reveal, and nothing is hidden from God in the earth or in the heaven} and His saying: {Praise be to God, who has granted me in old age Ismāʿīl and Isḥāq}. It is as if it was in his heart to ask God to help them and their offspring after his death, but he did not explicitly state this request. Instead, he said: {Our Lord, indeed You know what we conceal and what we reveal}, meaning: You know what is in our hearts and innermost thoughts. Then he said: {Praise be to God, who has granted me in old age Ismāʿīl and Isḥāq}. This apparently indicates that they will remain after his death, and that his heart is occupied with concern for them. Thus, this was an implicit supplication for their well-being and aid after his death, through allusion and suggestion. This indicates that engaging in praise when in need of supplication is better than direct supplication. The Prophet (peace be upon him) narrated from his Lord that He said: (Whoever is occupied by My remembrance from asking Me, I will give him better than what I give to those who ask).

Then He said: {Indeed, my Lord is the Hearer of supplication}.

Know that when he mentioned the supplication through allusion and suggestion rather than clear and explicit expression, he said: {Indeed, my Lord is the Hearer of supplication}, meaning: He knows the intended meaning whether you state it explicitly or not. The phrase Samīʿ ad-Duʿā’ (Hearer of supplication) comes from the saying: The king samiʿa (heeded/accepted) the speech of so-and-so. Hence, {God hears whoever praises Him} (Samiʿa Allāhu liman ḥamidah).

The Fifth Request: Establishing Prayer

This is His saying: {My Lord, make me an establisher of prayer, and [many] of my offspring}. There are several issues here:

Issue 1: Our companions (the Ashʿarites) use this verse as evidence that the actions of the servant are created by God. They say that His saying, recounting Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him): {And keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols}, indicates that refraining from prohibitions only happens through God. And His saying: {My Lord, make me an establisher of prayer, and [many] of my offspring}, indicates that performing obligations only happens through God. This is an explicit statement that Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) was insistent that everything comes from God.

Issue 2: The structure of the verse is: My Lord, make me an establisher of prayer, and [make] some of my offspring [establishers of prayer]. The word {and [many] of} (wa min) in {and [many] of my offspring} is for partiality (tabʿīḍ). He mentioned this partiality because he knew, through God’s informing him, that there would be a group of disbelievers among his offspring, as stated in: {My covenant does not include the wrongdoers}.

The Sixth Request: Acceptance of Supplication

When the Prophet (peace be upon him) supplicated God regarding the aforementioned requests, he supplicated God to accept his supplication, saying: {Our Lord, and accept my supplication}. Ibn ʿAbbās said this refers to his worship, based on His saying: {And I will withdraw from you and those you invoke other than God} (Maryam: 48).

The Seventh Request: Forgiveness

This is His saying: {Our Lord, forgive me and my parents and the believers on the Day the reckoning is established}. There are two issues here:

Issue 1: One might ask: Seeking forgiveness only occurs after a preceding sin. Does this indicate that a sin had occurred from him, even though he was certain that God would forgive him? How then could he ask for the attainment of something he was certain would occur?

The answer is: What is intended is turning to God and cutting off hope except from His grace, generosity, and mercy.

Issue 2: If someone asks: How was it permissible for him to seek forgiveness for his parents when they were disbelievers?

The answer is multifaceted:

1. The prohibition against this is only known through divine instruction (tawqīf). Perhaps he did not find a prohibition against it and thus assumed it was permissible.
2. He intended his parents to be Adam and Eve.
3. It was conditional upon their eventual acceptance of Islam.

One might argue: If that were the case, that seeking forgiveness would not have been voided, nor would His saying have been voided: {Except for the statement of Ibrāhīm to his father, 'I will certainly ask forgiveness for you'} (Al-Mumtaḥinah: 4). Some said his mother was a believer, which is why his father was singled out in His saying: {But when it became clear to him that he was an enemy to God, he disassociated himself from him} (At-Tawbah: 114). And God knows best.

Regarding His saying: {on the Day the reckoning is established}: There are two opinions:

1. Yaqūm (is established) means it stands firm, metaphorically derived from a person standing over something. The evidence is their saying: Qāmat al-ḥarb ʿalā sāqihā (The war stood upon its leg), similar to His saying: Tarajjalat al-shams (The sun stepped down), meaning its light shone and became firm as if it stood on a leg.
2. It is a metaphor where the establishment is attributed to the Reckoning, similar to His saying: {And ask the town} (Yūsuf: 82), meaning ask its people. And God knows best.

Verse 42