Al-Hijr: (51-56) And inform them about the guests...

Issues in the Verse:

After establishing the truth of prophethood, followed by proofs of monotheism (Tawhid), and then describing the events of the Resurrection (the state of the wretched and the fortunate), God follows this by mentioning the stories of the Prophets (peace be upon them). This serves two purposes:

1. To encourage obedience, which leads to attaining the high ranks of the Prophets.
2. To warn against disobedience, which leads to the low ranks of the wretched.

The narrative begins with the story of Abraham (peace be upon him). The pronoun in {And inform them} (Wa nabbi'hum) refers back to {My servants} ('ibadi) mentioned earlier. The meaning is: "And inform My servants about the guests of Abraham."

It is said that anba'tu al-qawm inba'an and nabbattuhum tanbi'atan both mean "I informed them."

God mentioned in the verse that Abraham's guests brought him glad tidings of a son despite his old age, and of the salvation of the believers from Lot's people from punishment. They also informed him that God would inflict a devastating punishment upon the disbelievers among Lot's people. All of this strengthens what was previously stated: that God is Forgiving and Merciful to the believers, and His punishment is painful for the disbelievers.

The word Dayf (guest) originally is a verbal noun derived from ḍāfa, yaḍīfu (to host someone who seeks hospitality). It is used as a noun even though the guests were a group, hence its singular form.

Objection: How can they be called guests when they refrained from eating?

Answer: Since Abraham assumed they entered his house seeking hospitality, it was permissible to name them as such. Alternatively, anyone who enters a person's home and seeks refuge with them is called a guest, even if they do not eat.

God's statement: {When they entered upon him and said, "Peace,"} (idh dakhalū 'alayhi fa-qālū salāman) means, "We greet you with peace," or "May peace be upon you."

Abraham replied: {Indeed, we are fearful of you} (Innanā minka wajilūn). His fear was due to their refusal to eat (which implied they were not ordinary humans). Another reason for his fear was that they entered without permission or at an unusual time.

Al-Hasan recited: {lā tūjal} (with a ḍammah on the tā’), meaning "Do not fear," derived from awjalahu yūjluhu (to frighten him). It was also read as lā ta'jal or lā tuwājil from wājalahu (to fear him).

This story has already been discussed exhaustively in Surah Hud.

Regarding the statement: {They said, "Fear not. Indeed, we bring you good tidings of a learned boy"} (Qālū lā tūjal innā nubashiruka bi-ghulāmin 'alīm), there are several points:

First Point: Recitation Variants

Hamzah recited {innā nubashiruka} (with a fatḥah on the nūn and a light bā’), while the rest recited it with a shaddah (doubled bā’).

Second Point: Context of the Glad Tidings

{Indeed, we bring you good tidings} is a new sentence serving as a reason for forbidding fear (wajal). The meaning is: You are in a state of security, being given glad tidings, so do not fear.

Third Point: The Content of the Glad Tidings

They gave Abraham two pieces of good news:

1. The child would be a male (ghulām).
2. He would become 'alīm (learned/knowing).

There is a difference of opinion regarding the meaning of 'alīm:

• It was said they gave him glad tidings of prophethood after him.
• It was said they gave him glad tidings that he would be knowledgeable in religion.

Then God recounts Abraham's response: {Do you give me glad tidings while old age has touched me?} (A-tubashshirūnanī 'alā an massaniya al-shiab). The word {'alā} here means "in the state of" (ḥāl), i.e., the state of old age.

Regarding {Fayma tubashshirūn} (Then what do you bring tidings of?), there are two issues:

Objection 1: How could Abraham question God's ability to grant him a child in old age? Questioning God's power in this context is disbelief (kufr).

Objection 2: Why did he ask {Fayma tubashshirūn} when they had already explained what they were bringing tidings of? What is the purpose of this question?

The Judge's Answer: The best response is that he wanted to know whether God would grant him the child while keeping him in the state of old age, or whether God would restore his youth before granting the child. The reason for the question is that custom dictates that children are not conceived in complete old age; it usually happens during youth.

Objection: If this is the meaning, why did they reply: {We have brought you the truth, so do not be among the despairing} (Bashsharnāka bi-l-ḥaqqi fa-lā takun min al-qāniṭīn)?

Answer: They clarified that God was granting him the child while maintaining his state of old age. The statement {so do not be among the despairing} does not necessarily imply that he was despairing. This is proven by his response, which indicates otherwise: {And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord except the misguided?} (Wa man yaqnaṭu min raḥmati rabbihi illā aḍ-ḍāllūn).

Another Answer: When a person intensely desires something and the time when he expects it to happen has passed, his joy upon receiving the news becomes immense. This strong joy can overwhelm him, dulling his understanding and sharpness. Perhaps, in that state of joy, he uttered confused words.

Another Opinion: He enjoyed the good news so much that he repeated the question to hear the glad tidings again, seeking pleasure and further reassurance, similar to his later request: {but [I ask] that my heart may be reassured} (Al-Baqarah: 260).

Another Opinion: He was asking: Are you bringing tidings based on God's command, or based on your own judgment and effort?

Nāfi' recited {tubashshirūn} with a light kasrah on the nūn throughout the Qur'an. Ibn Kathīr recited it with a kasrah and a shaddah. The rest recited it with a fatḥah on the nūn and a light nūn.

• The kasrah with shaddah implies tubashshirūnanī (You give me glad tidings), where the nūn of the plural is assimilated into the nūn of possession.
• The kasrah with a light nūn is due to omitting the plural nūn to avoid the heaviness of two identical letters, seeking ease. Abū Hātim suggested Nāfi' omitted the yā’ along with the nūn. This was refuted by saying he only omitted one letter, the nūn which is the sign of the nominative case. Furthermore, omitting two letters is permissible, as seen in {wa lā taku} and {wa lā takun}.
• The fatḥah on the nūn is for the non-possessive form, where the nūn is the sign of the nominative case and is always fatḥah.

Regarding {We have brought you the truth} (Bashsharnāka bi-l-ḥaqq): Ibn 'Abbās said this means what God decreed. The meaning is that God decreed that Isḥāq (Isaac) would emerge from Abraham's loins, and that from Isḥāq's loins would emerge many Prophets, just as many emerged from Adam's loins. Thus, {bi-l-ḥaqq} refers to this meaning.

{So do not be among the despairing} is a prohibition to Abraham against despairing. We have mentioned often that prohibiting someone from an action does not imply that the person was actually doing it, as in {And do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites} (Al-Ahzab: 1).

Then God recounts Abraham's statement: {And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord except the misguided?} There are two issues here:

This statement is true because despairing of God's mercy only occurs when one is ignorant of certain matters:

1. Ignorance of God's absolute power to do it.
2. Ignorance of God's knowledge of the servant's need for it.
3. Ignorance of God being free from stinginess, need, and ignorance. All these factors lead to misguidance, which is why he said: {And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord except the misguided?}

Abū 'Amr and Al-Kisā'ī recited {yaqnaṭ} (with a kasrah on the nūn), and similarly {lā taqnaṭū}. The rest recited it with a fatḥah on the nūn.

These are two linguistic patterns: qaṇiṭa yaqnaṭu (like ḍaraba yaḍribu), and qaṇiṭa yaqnaṭu (like * 'alima ya'lamu*). Abū 'Ubaydah narrated qaṇiṭa yaqnaṭu (with a ḍammah on the nūn).

Abū 'Alī al-Fārisī stated that qaṇiṭa yaqnaṭu (with a fatḥah in the past tense and kasrah in the present tense) is the most eloquent form, supported by their consensus on {min ba'di mā qaṇiṭū} (after they despaired) [Ash-Shūrā: 28]. Abū 'Ubaydah's narration suggests that qaṇiṭa with a fatḥah is more common, because the present tense of a verb following the pattern fa'ila usually comes as yaf'alu or yaf'ilu (like fasiqa yafsuqu and yafsiqū), and rarely as yaf'alu. And God knows best.

{He said, "Then what is your business, O messengers?"} {They said, "Indeed, we have been sent to a criminal people,} {Except the family of Lot. Indeed, we will save them all,} {Except his wife. We have decreed that she is among those who remain behind."} (71)