Tafsir of Maryam 19:47-48

{He said: "Peace be upon you"} This is a "peace" of farewell and disassociation, similar to His saying: "For us are our deeds, and for you are your deeds. Peace be upon you; we seek not the ignorant" (Al-Qasas: 55), and His saying: "And when the ignorant address them, they say: 'Peace'" (Al-Furqan: 63). This is evidence for the permissibility of disassociating from the one being advised in such a situation. It is also possible that he was praying for his safety to win him over; do you not see that he promised him he would seek forgiveness for him?

If you ask: How was it permissible for him to seek forgiveness for a disbeliever and promise him that? I say: They have said that he intended to stipulate repentance from disbelief, just as religious commands and prohibitions are addressed to disbelievers with the intent of stipulating faith, and just as the ritually impure or the poor are commanded to pray or pay Zakat with the intent of stipulating ablution or the reaching of the nisab (threshold of wealth).

Others have said: He only sought forgiveness for him in his saying, "And forgive my father, for he was of those who have gone astray" (Ash-Shu'ara: 86), because he had promised him that he would believe. They cite as evidence His saying: "And the request of forgiveness of Abraham for his father was only because of a promise he had made to him" (At-Tawbah: 114).

However, one might say: That which forbids seeking forgiveness for a disbeliever is the revealed Law (al-sam’), whereas rational logic does not reject it. Thus, it is possible that the promise of forgiveness and its fulfillment occurred before the revelation of the Law, based on rational logic. Evidence for the validity of this is His saying: "Except for the saying of Abraham to his father: 'I will surely ask forgiveness for you'" (Al-Mumtahanah: 4). If he had been stipulating faith, it would not have been considered reprehensible or an exception to the rule of following his example. As for "because of a promise he had made to him," the one who made the promise was Abraham, not Azar—meaning: He did not say "Forgive my father" except because of his own statement "I will surely ask forgiveness for you." The reading of Hammad al-Rawiyah supports this: "He promised it to his father." And God knows best.

{Hafiyan (Gracious)} Al-Hafi is one who is eloquent and thorough in kindness and gentleness. One says: Hafiya bihi and tahaffa bihi.

{And I will withdraw from you} By withdrawal, he meant migrating to the Levant.

{And I will call upon my Lord} By "calling" (du'a), he meant worship, because it is a part of it and one of its mediums. From this is the saying of the Prophet (ﷺ): "Supplication is worship." This is indicated by His saying: "So when he had withdrawn from them and that which they worshiped other than Allah..."

It is also possible that it refers to the supplication mentioned by God in Surah Ash-Shu'ara. He alluded to their wretchedness in calling upon their gods in his saying: "It may be that I will not be, in my supplication to my Lord, wretched," along with his humility before God through the word "may be" ('asa) and the self-abasement contained therein.

{So when he had withdrawn from them and that which they worshiped other than Allah, We gave him Isaac and Jacob, and each [of them] We made a prophet. And We gave them of Our mercy, and We made for them a reputation of honor, high [and mighty].}