Mary (Surah 19): Verses 41–45

Know that the purpose of this Surah is to establish Tawhid (monotheism), Nubuwwah (prophethood), and the Resurrection.

Those who deny Tawhid are those who affirm a deity other than Allah. They fall into two groups:

1. Those who affirm a living, rational, and understanding deity other than Allah (e.g., the Christians).
2. Those who affirm a lifeless, non-rational, and non-understanding object of worship (e.g., the idolaters).

Although both groups are misguided, the error of the second group (idolaters) is greater. After addressing the error of the first group, Allah speaks about the error of the second group, the idolaters, saying: {And mention in the Book...}

The conjunction 'Waw' (And) in {And mention} connects to the previous mention of the mercy of your Lord upon His servant Zakariyya (v. 2). It is as if, having finished the story of Jesus and Zakariyya (peace be upon them), the text says: "Since I mentioned Zakariyya's state, now mention Abraham's state."

Abraham (peace be upon him) was commanded to be mentioned because neither he, nor his people, nor the inhabitants of his town were engaged in scholarly study or reading books. Therefore, reporting this story exactly as it happened, without addition or subtraction, serves as a report of the unseen (al-ghayb al-ghayb) and an overwhelming miracle demonstrating his prophethood.

The story of Abraham (peace be upon him) was specifically introduced for several reasons:

1. His Status as the Father of the Arabs: Abraham (PBUH) was the father of the Arabs, who acknowledged his high status and the purity of his religion, as Allah says: {the religion of your father Abraham} (Al-Hajj: 78) and {And who would turn away from the religion of Abraham except one who fools himself?} (Al-Baqarah: 130). Thus, Allah essentially tells the Arabs: If you follow your ancestors as you claim, then follow your noblest ancestor, Abraham, in abandoning idol worship. If you follow reason, then examine the proofs Abraham presented to understand the falsehood of idol worship. In summary, follow Abraham, either by imitation or by deduction.

2. Refuting the Argument of Ancestral Tradition: Many disbelievers during the time of the Prophet (PBUH) argued, "How can we abandon the religion of our fathers and forefathers?" Allah narrated Abraham's story to show that he abandoned his father's religion and refuted his father's claim with evidence, prioritizing adherence to proof over adherence to the father. This teaches the disbelievers that prioritizing the father over proof is a rejection of the greatest and noblest father, Abraham (PBUH).

3. Challenging Blind Imitation: Many disbelievers clung to imitation (taqlid) and rejected reasoning, as Allah states: {They say, "Indeed, we found our fathers upon a religion..."} (Az-Zukhruf: 22) and {They said, "We found our fathers worshipping them."} (Al-Anbiya: 53). Allah narrated Abraham's adherence to the method of reasoning to alert them to the invalidity of this approach.

Then Allah describes Abraham (PBUH): {Indeed, he was a friend of the truth, a prophet.}

Regarding Siddiq (a friend of the truth/truthful one), there are two opinions:

1. It is an intensive form of being truthful—one whose habit is truthfulness, as the grammatical form implies (like khamir for one who habitually drinks wine).
2. It is one who constantly affirms the truth until he becomes famous for it.

The first opinion is stronger because one is not described as Siddiq unless their affirmation of the truth is itself truthful, returning the meaning to the first definition. If one asks, "What about Allah's statement: {And those who believe in Allah and His messengers—those are the Siddiqin and the martyrs} (Al-Hadid: 19)?" We reply: The believers in Allah and His messengers are truthful in that affirmation.

Every prophet must be truthful in everything they report because Allah has confirmed them, and the confirmer of Allah must be truthful; otherwise, it implies falsehood in Allah's word, necessitating the prophet's truthfulness in all speech. Furthermore, messengers are Allah's witnesses over people, as Allah says: {So how will it be when We bring from every nation a witness and bring you against them as a witness?} (An-Nisa: 41). A witness's testimony is only accepted if they are not known to lie.

If one asks about Abraham's statements: {Rather, the greatest of them did it} (Al-Anbiya: 63) and {Indeed, I am ill} (As-Saffat: 89), we reply that we have explained through clear evidence in the exegesis of those verses that neither statement was a lie.

Since it is established that every prophet must be a Siddiq, but not every Siddiq must be a prophet, this shows the closeness of the rank of Siddiq to the rank of the Prophet. This is why the text transitions from describing him as a Siddiq to describing him as a Prophet.

As for Nabi (Prophet), it means having a high status with Allah and with people. What status is higher than being the intermediary Allah appoints between Himself and His servants?

The phrase {He was a friend of the truth} is interpreted in two ways:

1. He became a Siddiq.
2. It means he existed as a Siddiq and a Prophet from the beginning of his existence until its end, characterized by truthfulness and purity.

Al-Kashshaf states that this sentence is an interjection placed between the subject (Abraham) and its substitute (When he said...), similar to saying, "I saw Zayd, and your brother is an excellent man." Alternatively, idh (when) might relate to kana (was) or siddiqan nabiyyan, meaning he possessed the characteristics of both the truthful ones and the prophets when he addressed his father.

Regarding {O my father!} (Ya abati): The ta' is a substitute for the possessive ya' (my). It is not said as Ya abatiyy to avoid combining the substitute and the substituted. It can also be said as Ya abata because the alif substitutes for the ya'.

Allah narrates that Abraham (PBUH) addressed his father with four types of discourse:

{O my father, why do you worship that which does not hear, nor see, nor avail you in anything?}

He described the idols with three characteristics, each of which invalidates their claim to divinity. This is evident in several ways:

1. Worship requires ultimate beneficence: Worship is the peak of veneration, deserved only by the one who bestows ultimate favor—the Deity from whom all blessings originate, as established previously (referencing verses on Allah being the Lord). Just as one knows instinctively that one should not be grateful to something that has not bestowed favor, one should not worship it.
2. Lack of perception: If they neither hear nor see, nor distinguish between the obedient and the disobedient, what is the benefit of worshipping them? This implies that the Deity must possess knowledge of all things to prevent error in the object of worship.
3. Prayer is the essence of worship: If the idol cannot hear the supplicant's prayer, what is the use of worshipping it? If it cannot see who approaches it, what is the use of that approach?
4. Superiority of the worshipper: A being that hears, sees, benefits, and harms is superior to one devoid of these qualities. Since humans possess these qualities, how is it fitting for the superior being to worship the inferior one?
5. Inability to benefit or harm: If they can neither bring benefit nor inflict harm, there is no hope of gain or fear of loss from them, so what is the point of worship?
6. Inability to protect themselves: They cannot even protect themselves from being broken or destroyed, as Abraham demonstrated when he smashed them into pieces. How can they be relied upon to protect others?

Abraham criticized the idol from three aspects: it does not hear, it does not see, and it avails you nothing. He implies: Divinity belongs only to my Lord, who hears and answers the call of the caller, sees, as He said: {Indeed, I am with you both, hearing and seeing} (Taha: 46), and fulfills needs, as in {Or is He who answers the distressed one when he calls upon Him?} (An-Naml: 62).

Note that here, {worship} (ta'bud) refers to the act of worship itself. However, in the third type of discourse, {do not worship Satan}, the term refers to obedience (ta'ah), because they were not literally worshipping Satan. We do not abandon the apparent meaning here without evidence just because we did so elsewhere with supporting evidence.

If one asks whether Abraham's father believed these idols were gods capable of creation, or if he believed they represented stars which were the true deities, or if they represented intercessors, or if they were talismans based on astrological conjunctions, we respond:

• If he believed the carved wood itself was the creator, he was utterly insane, as recognizing that carved wood did not create the heavens and earth is a self-evident necessity. One who doubts this lacks basic necessary knowledge and should not be debated.
• If he followed the second view (stars/intercessors), these arguments do not invalidate that belief directly, as that belief requires proof that stars are not living or capable of creation, which this specific argument does not provide.

We respond: There is no dispute that a rational person knows carved wood cannot create the universe. His father followed the second view. Abraham presented this argument because they believed worshipping the idols brought benefit, either intrinsically (as talismans) or because the stars benefited or harmed. Abraham clarified that obeying them brings no benefit and ignoring them brings no harm, thus making worship inappropriate.

{...nothing, O my father! Indeed, knowledge has come to me that has not come to you, so follow me; I will guide you to a straight path.}

This statement is clear and was seized upon by both the followers of instruction (ahl al-ta'lim) and the followers of tradition (ahl al-taqlid). The former argue that he commanded adherence in religion where guidance is only gained through following. The latter also use this to argue for imitation. Some criticize this by saying: He commanded following so that guidance might be attained; thus, guidance is not attained except by following him. This creates a circular dependency (dawr) which is invalid.

The Response:

1. Guidance means explanation: The intended guidance (hidaya) here means explaining the proof, clarifying it, and making it evident. The questioner might then reply: I don't deny the necessity of proof, but grasping that proof requires a perfect soul free from error—that of an infallible Prophet or Imam. If you concede the necessity of a Prophet for this purpose, you have conceded the goal. The respondent might then say: I did not concede that grasping the proofs requires the Prophet's guidance; rather, this path (following him) is easier. Abraham invited him to the easier way.
2. The circular argument is refuted because the command {so follow me} is not a command of obligation but one of guidance/counsel.

{...a straight path. O my father, do not worship Satan. Indeed, Satan has ever been, to the Most Merciful, a disobedient one.}

This means: Do not obey him, for he is disobedient to Allah. Abraham repelled his father from accepting Satan's path by citing the most repulsive characteristic: disobedience to Allah.

Abraham, in his profound sincerity, mentioned only Satan's disobedience to Allah, not his enmity toward Adam (PBUH). Perhaps the magnitude of this disobedience overwhelmed his thought, focusing his mind solely on it. Furthermore, disobedience to Allah stems from weak judgment; one whose judgment is weak is unworthy of attention or weight.

If one asks if this argument requires proving the existence of the Creator, the existence of Satan, Satan's disobedience to the Merciful, that disobedience necessitates rejecting all his counsel, and that the father's belief stemmed from obeying Satan—and since the father likely denied the Merciful God (affirming only Nimrod)—how can this argument stand?

We reply: The decisive argument against Azar's doctrine is the first one: {why do you worship that which does not hear, nor see, nor avail you in anything?} This subsequent statement serves as a warning and caution, prompting the father to reflect upon the initial proof. Under this interpretation, the objection is nullified.

{...a disobedient one. O my father, indeed I fear that there will touch you a punishment from the Most Merciful, and you will become to Satan a friend [or ally].}

Al-Farra interpreted {I fear} (akhāfu) as "I know." However, the majority hold it to its literal meaning. The first interpretation is only valid if Abraham knew his father would die upon that disbelief, which is not established. Therefore, it must be taken literally: it was possible for the father to believe and receive reward, or persist and die in disbelief, thus deserving punishment. One in this state is fearful, not certain.

One is only called fearful when the potential harm reaching another causes distress to one's own heart (e.g., "I am afraid for my son").

Regarding {and you will become to Satan a friend} (waliyyan), several meanings are suggested for waliy:

1. Companionship in Hell: If he incurs Allah's punishment, he will be with Satan in the Fire. The relationship (wilayah) is the cause of companionship, and using the cause for the effect is metaphorical, as true friendship is negated by Allah: {Close friends, that Day, will be enemies to one another, except for the righteous} (Az-Zukhruf: 67). Satan himself will disown them on the Day of Resurrection. This objection only applies if the punishment refers to the Hereafter; if it refers to worldly punishment, the objection falls away.
2. Alliance through Abandonment: The punishment (ʿadhāb) refers to divine abandonment (khidhlan). "I fear that the abandonment of Allah will touch you, and you will become allied with Satan, and Allah will disown you," as Allah says: {And whoever takes Satan as an ally instead of Allah has certainly suffered a clear loss} (An-Nisa: 119).
3. Successor/Follower: Waliy means one who follows (tāli), just as rain that follows another shower is called waliy.

If one asks why becoming Satan's waliy is considered worse and greater than the punishment itself: The Response: Since the pleasure of Allah ({And the pleasure of Allah is greater} [At-Tawbah: 72]) is greater than the reward, the alliance with Satan, which is the opposite of Allah's pleasure, must be considered greater than the punishment itself.

Abraham (PBUH) structured his discourse beautifully:

1. He first pointed out what prohibits idol worship (lack of hearing, sight, utility).
2. He commanded adherence to his reasoning and abandonment of imitation.
3. He warned that obeying Satan is intellectually impermissible.
4. He concluded with a deterrent threat against proceeding improperly.

Crucially, Abraham delivered this excellent discourse with gentleness and kindness. His repeated address, {O my father}, demonstrates intense love and eagerness to save him from punishment and guide him to the right path. He concluded by stating his fear of the punishment, showing his deep attachment to his father's well-being. This was done for several reasons:

1. Fulfilling the right of fatherhood: Allah commanded kindness to parents (Al-Isra: 23), and guiding to religion is the greatest form of kindness. Adding politeness and gentleness to this is light upon light.
2. The nature of the guide: The guide to truth must be gentle and kind, avoiding harshness, as harshness causes the listener to turn away, effectively leading to misguidance.
3. Divine Command: It is narrated that Allah revealed to Abraham: "You are My intimate friend (Khalili), so perfect your character, even with disbelievers, and you will enter the entrances of the righteous. My word has preceded that whoever perfects his character, I will shelter him under My Throne, settle him in My holy sanctuary, and bring him near to My presence."

Verses 46–48

{He said, "Do you reject my gods, O Abraham? If you do not desist, I will surely stone you. And leave me for a long while."}

{Abraham said, "Peace be upon you. I will ask forgiveness for my Lord for you; indeed, He has ever been to me most gracious.}

{And I will withdraw from you and that which you invoke besides Allah and will call upon my Lord. Perhaps I shall not be, in my supplication to my Lord, unhappy."}