Tafsir of Al-`Ankabut 29:27

Surah Al-'Ankabut (The Spider): Verse 27

[27] And We granted him Isaac and Jacob, and We ordained among his descendants prophethood and the Scripture...

We have previously explained concerning the verse: {That We may expiate their sins from them and reward them} (Al-'Ankabut: 7) that the effect of God's mercy manifests in two aspects:

1. Security from severe punishment (in the Hereafter, certainly, due to God's promise to negate punishment for rejecting Shirk and affirm reward for affirming Tawhid).
2. Bestowal of good reward (in the Hereafter, certainly).

However, this is not necessarily realized in this world. Often, the disbeliever lives in luxury while the believer is hungry and worried about tomorrow. Yet, both are sought after in this life:

• Averting immediate affliction: This is indicated in the Prophet's (PBUH) supplication: "And protect us from the punishment of poverty and the Fire." The punishment of poverty points to averting immediate affliction.
• Immediate reward: This is indicated in the supplication: {Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good} (Al-Baqarah: 201).

Given this, when Abraham (peace be upon him) first established the declaration of Monotheism (Tawhid), God initially protected him from the immediate worldly punishment (the punishment of the Fire). When he repeated this declaration despite the people's persistence in denial and their harm to him, God granted him the subsequent reward: the immediate reward, enumerated by the statement: {And We granted him Isaac and Jacob}.

There is a subtlety here: God replaced all of Abraham's worldly conditions with their opposites when the people intended to punish him with fire.

1. When he was alone and unique, God replaced his solitude with abundance, filling the world with his descendants.
2. When his initial people and close relatives, including Azar, were misguided deviators, God replaced them with guided, guiding relatives—his descendants, among whom God placed Prophethood and the Scripture.
3. When he initially lacked status and wealth (the ultimate worldly pleasures), God gave him the reward of wealth and status. His wealth multiplied to the extent that God knew the number of his livestock. It is even said he had twelve thousand guard dogs with golden collars. As for status, it reached the point where praying for him became coupled with praying for all other Prophets until the Day of Resurrection. He became known as the "Elder of the Messengers" after being obscure, to the point where one of his people said: {We heard a youth speaking of them, who is called Abraham} (Al-Anbiya: 60)—a statement only made about someone unknown among the people.

Then, God Almighty said: {And We ordained for him in the Hereafter to be among the righteous}. This means that this [bestowal] is not just in this world, as happens to one whose good deeds are hastened or who is given respite to accumulate more sins. Rather, this is a down payment for him, and in the Hereafter, he has the reward of guidance and the message, which is his status as one of the righteous. Being a righteous servant is the highest rank, as we explained that the righteous one is one who remains as he ought to be. Food is called sālih (good/sound) if it remains as it ought to be. Whoever remains as he ought to be will not be in torment and will have every good reward he desires.

In the verse, there are two issues:

Ishmael was among his righteous offspring, having submitted to God's command regarding the sacrifice and obeyed God's decree. Why was he not mentioned? It is said that he is included in the statement: {And We ordained among his descendants prophethood}. However, his name was not explicitly mentioned because the goal was to demonstrate the favor upon Abraham through the gift of sons and grandsons. Thus, one son (the elder) and one grandson (the more prominent one) were mentioned. This is like when a ruler says, "The King such-and-such and the Prince such-and-such are in my service," without listing everyone, because mentioning one is to indicate the category, not to limit it. If others were mentioned, it would imply enumeration and inclusion of all, leading to the assumption that only those mentioned were present.

Since God made Prophethood a response to Abraham's supplication, and it is recommended for a father to be just between his two sons, why did Prophethood become more prevalent among Isaac's descendants than Ishmael's? We say that God divided time from Abraham until the Resurrection into two periods:

1. In the first period, God sent many Prophets with immense virtues, one after another, and sometimes simultaneously, all from the lineage of Isaac (peace be upon him).
2. In the second period, from the lineage of his other son, Ishmael, God brought forth one individual who encompassed all the virtues that were previously distributed among them, and He sent him to all creation—Muhammad (PBUH)—making him the Seal of the Prophets.

Since humanity followed the religion of Isaac's descendants for more than four thousand years, it is not unlikely that humanity will remain upon the religion of Ishmael's descendants for a similar duration.

[27] {And [mention] Lot, when he said to his people, "Indeed, you commit such immorality as no one among the worlds has committed before you. * Do you indeed approach men and cut off the way [to women] and commit what you do in your public gatherings?" But the answer of his people was not but that they said, "Bring us the punishment of Allah, if you should be of the truthful." * He said, "My Lord, grant me victory over the corrupting people."}