Tafsir of Ibraheem 14:37

{من ذريتي} Some of my children, namely Ishmael and those born from him.

{بواد} A valley, which is the valley of Mecca.

{غير ذي زرع} In which there is absolutely nothing of cultivation, just as in His saying: {A Quran in Arabic, without any crookedness} (Az-Zumar: 28), meaning there is no crookedness in it; there is nothing in it but uprightness and nothing else.

The Sacred House (al-Bayt al-Muharram) It is called "the Sacred House" because Allah has forbidden violating it or treating it with contempt. He made its surroundings a sanctuary due to its status, or because it has always been protected and cherished, feared by every tyrant—like a sacred object that must be avoided. Or, it is because it is respected and of great sanctity, such that it is not permissible to violate it. Or, it is because it was forbidden to the Flood, meaning it was protected from it, just as it is called "the Ancient" (al-Atiq) because it was freed from it, so no one could seize it.

{ليقيموا الصلاة} The *lam* is connected to "I have settled" (*askantu*). That is: I did not settle them in this valley—which is desolate and empty of any comfort or provision—except so that they might establish prayer at Your Sacred House, and populate it with Your remembrance, Your worship, and that with which Your mosques and places of worship are populated. They seek blessings from the spot You have honored above all other spots, seeking happiness in Your noble proximity, drawing near to You by staying at Your House, circling it, and bowing and prostrating around it, seeking to bring down the mercy with which You have favored the inhabitants of Your sanctuary.

{أفئدة من الناس} "Hearts of people." The *min* (from) denotes partitivity. This is evidenced by what is narrated from Mujahid: "If He had said 'the hearts of the people,' the Persians and Romans would have crowded you out of it." It is said: If He had not said *min*, they would have crowded it until the Romans, Turks, and Indians were there. It is also possible that *min* is for initiation (starting point), like saying "The heart is sick from me" (meaning: my heart). It is as if it were said: "hearts of people." The genitive was made indefinite in this example to match the indefiniteness of "hearts," so that it applies to *some* hearts.

{تهوي إليهم} They hasten toward them and fly toward them out of longing and yearning, from the saying: "It swoops down upon its mountain passes like a falcon." It is also recited as *tuhwa ilayhim* (passive voice), from *hawa ilayhi* and *ahwahu ghayruhu*. And *tahwi ilayhim* (from *hawa yahwi*), meaning to love; it is given the meaning of "yearning," so it is made transitive.

{وارزقهم من الثمرات} Along with their dwelling in a valley that has nothing of them, by having them brought to them from the lands.

{لعلهم يشكرون} The blessing of being provided with various fruits while present in a desolate valley that has no vegetation, trees, or water. There is no doubt that Allah, the Exalted, answered his prayer and made it a safe sanctuary to which the fruits of all things are brought as a provision from Him. Then He favored it with the presence of various fruits, surpassing every fertile region and the most prosperous and fruit-abundant lands. In which land of the East or West do you see the wonder that Allah shows you in a valley without cultivation? It is the gathering of early crops and fruits of different seasons—spring, summer, and autumn—in a single day. This is not strange among His signs.