Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:125

"And who is better in religion..."

"Who submits his face to Allah" He purifies his soul for Allah and makes it sound for Him, knowing no Lord or object of worship other than Him.

"And he is a doer of good" He is one who performs good deeds and abandons evil ones.

"Inclining toward truth (Ḥanīfan)" This is a state (ḥāl) of the one who follows, or of Abraham, as in His saying: "Rather, the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth, and he was not of the polytheists" (Al-Baqarah: 135). He is the one who taḥannafa, meaning he turned away from all religions toward the religion of Islam.

"And Allah took Abraham as an intimate friend (Khalīl)" This is a metaphor for His choosing him and distinguishing him with an honor resembling the honor of a khalīl (intimate friend) to his khalīl.

The khalīl is the mukhāl (the one who is intimate with you), meaning the one who agrees with you in your traits (khilāl), or who walks with you on your path—derived from khall, which is a path in the sand—or who fills your gaps (khilal) just as you fill his, or who enters into your private dwellings and veils.

If you ask: What is the position of this sentence? I say: It is a parenthetical sentence that has no place in grammatical inflection (iʿrāb), similar to what appears in poetry, such as their saying: "And the calamities are many..."

Its benefit is to emphasize the necessity of following his religion, for whoever reaches such a level of proximity to Allah that He takes him as an intimate friend is worthy of having his religion and path followed. If you were to consider it conjoined to the sentence before it, it would have no meaning.

It is said: Abraham (peace be upon him) was sent to a friend of his in Egypt during a famine that afflicted the people, seeking provisions. His friend said, "If Abraham were seeking provisions for himself, I would provide them, but he seeks them for his guests." So, his servants passed by a sandy plain and filled their sacks with it, out of shyness before the people.

When they informed Abraham (peace be upon him), the news distressed him, and his eyes welled up. His wife went to one of the sacks, took out the finest white flour, and baked bread. Abraham (peace be upon him) awoke and smelled the scent of the bread. He asked, "Where did you get this?" His wife replied, "From your Egyptian friend." He said, "Rather, it is from my Friend, Allah, the Almighty." Thus, Allah named him Khalīl (Intimate Friend).