Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:127

Raising (yarfaʿu): A narrative of a past state.

The Foundations (al-qawāʿid): The plural of qāʿidah, meaning the base and origin for what is above it. It is a dominant adjective meaning "the fixed/stationary." From this comes the expression qaʿadaka Allāh, meaning "I ask Allah to make you sit/stay," i.e., to make you firm. Raising the foundations refers to building upon them, for when one builds upon them, they are moved from a state of lowness to a state of height, becoming elongated after having been short.

It is also possible that it refers to the courses of the building, as every course is a foundation for what is built upon it and placed above it. The meaning of "raising the foundations" is raising them through construction, for when one places a course upon a course, one has raised the courses.

It is also possible the meaning is: "And when Ibrahim was raising what had settled of the House," meaning he made its settled, low state high and elevated through building. It is narrated that it was founded before Ibrahim, and he built upon the foundation.

It is narrated that Allah sent down the House as a ruby from the rubies of Paradise, with two doors of emerald, one eastern and one western. He said to Adam (peace be upon him): "I have sent down for you that which is to be circumambulated, just as My Throne is circumambulated." Adam traveled from the land of India toward it on foot, and the angels met him and said: "Your pilgrimage is accepted, O Adam; we have performed pilgrimage to this House two thousand years before you." Adam performed forty pilgrimages from India to Makkah on foot. It remained as such until Allah raised it to the fourth heaven during the days of the Flood, where it is the Bayt al-Maʿmūr (the Frequented House). Later, Allah commanded Ibrahim to build it, and Gabriel showed him its location.

It is said that Allah sent a cloud that shaded it, and it was called out: "Build upon its shadow; do not exceed it and do not fall short." It is said he built it from five mountains: Mount Sinai, Mount Zaita, Lebanon, Al-Judi, and he founded it from Hira.

Gabriel brought him the Black Stone from heaven. It is said that Mount Abu Qubays split open to reveal it, as it had been hidden there during the days of the Flood; it was a white ruby from Paradise, but it turned black when touched by menstruating women during the Age of Ignorance. It is said that Ibrahim was building while Ishmael handed him the stones.

"Our Lord" (Rabbanā): Meaning, they were saying, "Our Lord." This verb is in the position of an accusative state (ḥāl). Abdullah (Ibn Masʿud) made it explicit in his recitation, meaning: "They were raising them while saying, 'Our Lord'."

"Indeed, You are the Hearing" (innaka anta al-samīʿ): To our supplication. "The Knowing" (al-ʿalīm): Of our inner thoughts and intentions.

If you ask: Why was it not said "the foundations of the House," and what is the difference between the two expressions? I say: In leaving "the foundations" indefinite and then clarifying them after the ambiguity, there is a majesty for the status of the clarified object that is not present in adding it (to the House).

"Muslims to You" (muslimīna laka): Devoting our faces to You, from His saying: "He who submits his face to Allah" (2:112), or "submitting," as it is said aslama lahu, sallama, and istaslama when one humbles and yields. The meaning is: "Increase us in devotion or yielding to You." It is recited as muslimīna (plural), as if they intended themselves and Hajar, or they treated the dual as a plural because it is a subset of it.

"And from our descendants" (wa min dhurriyyatinā): And make from our descendants. "A nation Muslim to You" (ummatan muslimatan laka): The "from" (min) is for partition or clarification, like His saying: "Allah has promised those among you who believe" (24:55).

If you ask: Why did they single out their descendants in their supplication? I say: Because they are most deserving of compassion and counsel, as in: "Protect yourselves and your families from a Fire" (66:6). Also, when the children of prophets are righteous, others become righteous through them and follow them in goodness. Do you not see how the leaders of scholars and the great ones, when they are on the path of rectitude, become the cause for the rectitude of those behind them? It is said that by "the nation," they meant the nation of Muhammad (peace be upon him).

"And show us" (wa arinā): Derived from raʾā (to see), meaning to perceive or know. Therefore, it does not take more than two objects. It means: "Show us our rites of pilgrimage" or "teach them to us." It is recited as arinā with a quiescent rāʾ, by analogy to fakhdh in fakhdh. This has been deemed weak, because the kasrah (vowel) is transferred from the dropped hamzah as a sign of it, so dropping it is an injustice. Abu Amr recited it with the ishmām (gesturing) of the kasrah. Abdullah recited: "And show them their rites."

"And accept our repentance" (wa tub ʿalaynā): For what we have committed of minor sins, or seeking repentance for their descendants.

"And raise among them" (wa ibʿath fīhim): Among the Muslim nation. "A messenger from among them" (rasūlan minhum): From their own selves. It is narrated that it was said to him: "Your request has been answered," and he was in the end of times. So Allah sent Muhammad (peace be upon him) among them. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "I am the prayer of my father Ibrahim, the glad tidings of my brother Isa, and the vision of my mother."

"Reciting to them Your verses" (yatlū ʿalayhim āyātika): Reading to them and conveying what is revealed to him of the proofs of Your oneness and the truthfulness of Your prophets. "And teaching them the Book" (wa yuʿallimuhum al-kitāb): The Quran. "And the Wisdom" (wa al-ḥikmah): The Law (Sharīʿah) and the explanation of rulings. "And purifying them" (wa yuzakkīhim): Cleansing them from polytheism and all filth, as in His saying: "And he makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil... And who would be averse to the religion of Ibrahim except one who makes a fool of himself? And We had chosen him in this world, and indeed he, in the Hereafter, will be among the righteous. When his Lord said to him, 'Submit,' he said, 'I have submitted to the Lord of the worlds'" (2:130-131).