Tafsir of Maryam 19:41

"The Truthful" (al-ṣiddīq): A form denoting intensity (mubālaghah). Its counterparts are al-ḍaḥḥīk (the frequent laugher) and al-naṭīq (the frequent speaker). It means the excess of his truthfulness and the abundance of what he believed in regarding the Unseen of Allah, His signs, His scriptures, and His messengers. The preponderance and dominance in this belief were for the scriptures and the messengers; meaning, he was a believer in all the prophets and their scriptures, and he was a prophet himself, as in His saying: "Rather, he came with the truth and confirmed the messengers" (al-Ṣāffāt: 37). Or, he was eloquent in truthfulness, for the foundation of prophethood is truthfulness, and one who confirms Allah through His signs and miracles is worthy of being such.

This sentence occurs as an interruption (iʿtirāḍ) between the mubdal minhu (the one replaced) and its badal (the replacement), namely, Abraham.

"When he said" (idh qāla): It is like your saying, "I saw Zayd, the excellent man, your brother." It is permissible for idh to be connected to "was" (kāna) or to "a truthful prophet" (ṣiddīqan nabiyyan), meaning: he was a possessor of the characteristics of the truthful and the prophets when he addressed his father with those addresses.

The meaning of the Messenger mentioning him and his story in the Book: That he should recite it to the people and convey it to them, as in His saying: "And recite to them the news of Abraham" (al-Shuʿarāʾ: 69). Otherwise, Allah—Exalted and Majestic is He—is the One mentioning him and presenting him in His revelation.

The tāʾ in "O my father" (yā abati): A substitute for the yāʾ of possession (yāʾ al-iḍāfah). One does not say yā abati (with the yāʾ), so as not to combine the substitute and that which is substituted. It is said: yā abatā, because the alif is a substitute for the yāʾ. Sībawayh likened this to ayniq (a plural of nāqah), where the yāʾ is a substitute for the dropped wāw.

Observe: When he intended to advise his father and exhort him regarding the great error and heinous act he was mired in—in which he disobeyed the command of the rational and stripped himself of the faculty of discernment, and fell into a stupidity beyond which there is no stupidity—how he arranged the speech with him in the best order and drove it in the most graceful manner, while employing courtesy, gentleness, kindness, softness, beautiful manners, and good character, following in that the advice of his Lord, Exalted and Majestic is He.

Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: "Allah revealed to Abraham (peace be upon him): 'You are My friend (khalīl), so make your character good, even with the disbelievers, and you shall enter the dwellings of the righteous. For My word has preceded for whoever makes his character good: I will shade him under My Throne, house him in the enclosure of Holiness, and bring him near to My neighborhood.'"

The sequence of his address:

1. First: He sought from him the cause of his error, as one who alerts him to his persistence and awakens him to his excess. For if the worshipped object were alive, discerning, hearing, seeing, capable of reward and punishment, beneficial and harmful—yet merely one of the creation—it would be a belittling of the intellect of one who deems it worthy of worship and describes it with Lordship. It would be recorded against him as manifest error and great injustice, even if he were the most noble of creation, like the angels or the prophets. Allah says: "And he does not command you to take the angels and the prophets as lords." Worship is the ultimate form of veneration; it is not deserved except by the One who possesses the ultimate bestowal: the Creator, the Provider, the Giver of life and death, the Rewarder and Punisher, from whom all blessings—both root and branch—originate. If it is directed to other than Him, it is nothing but injustice, arrogance, error, disbelief, and denial. What then of one who directs his worship to an inanimate object that has neither sense nor feeling? It does not hear your mention or praise, nor does it see your postures of submission.
2. Second: He invited him to the truth with gentleness. He did not label his father with excessive ignorance, nor himself with superior knowledge, but said: "I have a portion of knowledge that you do not have," which is the knowledge of the path to the straight way. "So do not be arrogant; suppose you and I are on a journey and I have knowledge of the guidance that you lack, follow me so I may save you from going astray."
3. Third: He discouraged him from his state, noting that the Devil—who rebelled against your Lord, the Most Merciful, from whom all your blessings come, and who is your enemy—is the one who mired you in this misguidance.
4. Fourth: He frightened him with the evil consequence. He did not explicitly state that the punishment was inevitable, but said: "I fear that a punishment will touch you," mentioning fear and "touching," and keeping "punishment" indefinite. He made the Devil’s guardianship greater than the punishment itself, just as the pleasure of Allah is greater than the reward itself.

He began each of the four pieces of advice with "O my father" to seek his favor and soften his heart.

"That He may test you in what..." In "what he does not hear" and "what has not come to you," it is permissible for mā to be relative or descriptive. The object in "does not hear and does not see" is omitted, as in your saying, "He has no hearing or seeing."

"Something" (shayʾan): It admits two possibilities:

1. It is in the place of an infinitive (maṣdar), meaning: "any benefit."
2. It is a direct object from their saying, "Spare me your face" (aghni ʿannī wajhak).

"Indeed, there has come to me of knowledge that which has not come to you": This indicates the renewal of knowledge for him.