Tafsir of Ibraheem 14:35-36

{This land} Meaning the Sacred Land. May Allah increase it in security and protect it from every oppressor and tyrant, having answered in it the supplication of His friend (Khalil), Ibrahim, peace be upon him, {secure}.

If you ask: What is the difference between his saying: “Make this a secure land” (Al-Baqarah: 126) and his saying here: {Make this land secure}?

I say: In the first, he asked that it be made among the number of lands whose people are secure and unafraid. In the second, he asked that it be transformed from a state of fear it was previously in, to its opposite—security. It is as if he said: "It is a place of fear, so make it secure."

{And keep me} It is also recited as wa-ajnibni. There are three linguistic forms: jannabahu (to keep away), janabahu, and ajnabahu. The people of Hijaz say jannabni (with shadda), while the people of Najd say janabni and ajnabni. The meaning is: Establish us and cause us to persist in avoiding their worship.

{And my sons} He meant his sons from his own loins. Ibn Uyaynah was asked: "How did the Arabs worship idols?" He replied: "None of the descendants of Ishmael worshipped an idol," and he cited as evidence this verse: {And keep me and my sons from worshipping idols}.

They were merely stone monuments for every tribe. They said: "The House (the Ka'bah) is a stone; wherever we set up a stone, it is in the position of the House." They would circle that stone and call it al-dawwar. Thus, it is preferred to say "He performed tawaf (circumambulation) around the House," and not "He circled (dara) the House."

{They have led many of the people astray} I seek refuge in You to protect me and my sons from that. They are described as "misguiding" because people went astray on their account, as if the idols themselves led them astray—just as you say, "The world tempted them and deceived them," meaning they were tempted by it and deceived because of it.

{So whoever follows me} Upon my religion, being a Hanif (monotheist) and a Muslim like me, {then he is of me}—meaning he is a part of me due to his extreme closeness to me and his association with me. Similarly is the saying: "Whoever cheats us is not of us," meaning he is not part of the believers, given that cheating is not among their actions or attributes.

{And whoever disobeys me, then indeed You are Forgiving, Merciful} You forgive him for what has passed of his disobedience toward me if he repents and adopts obedience to me. It is also said: The meaning is, whoever disobeys me in matters other than shirk (polytheism).

{Our Lord, I have settled some of my descendants in a valley without cultivation, near Your Sacred House, our Lord, that they may establish prayer. So make hearts among the people incline toward them and provide for them from the fruits that they might be grateful.}