Surah Ibrahim 14:35-41 - Quran Translation Commentary

³⁶. “My Lord! They (idols) have indeed led many of mankind astray.⁴⁷ Then whoever follows me, he verily is of me. And whoever disobeys me so (O Lord) indeed you are Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful.⁴⁸ ”

37. “O our Lord! I have settled some⁴⁹ of my offsprings in an uncultivable valley⁵⁰,⁵¹ near Your Sacred House our Lord! that they may establish salat,⁵² so incline the hearts of men (with kindness) towards them,⁵³ and provide⁵⁴ them with fruits in order that they may be thankful.

38. O our Lord! Indeed, you know what we hide and what we proclaim. Nothing in the earth and in the heaven is hidden from Allah.⁵⁵

39. “Praise be to Allah who has given me, in my old age, Ismail and Is’haq⁵⁶! Verily, my Lord is the Hearer of Prayer.”

"⁴⁰. O my Lord! Make me an establisher of salat and my off springs too: ⁴¹. O our Lord! Accept my prayer.⁵⁷

41. “O our Lord! Forgive me and my parents and believers on the day when the reckoning will be established.”⁵⁸

Commentary

45. By this city is meant Makkah, and Prophet Ibrahim prayed for its being made a city of peace because this distinctive feature of the city might make people to turn their attention towards it, thinking that this characteristic has been earned by the city on account of its being the center of monotheism, and therefore, it should be kept completely free from all kinds of polytheism and idolatry.

Allah granted this prayer and declared Makkah as haram (sacred) where fighting is forbidden forever.

46. At that time idolatry was common, and on account of the pressure from the environment man is liable to be influenced by such mischievous practices. Therefore, Prophet Ibrahim prayed for himself and for his children that they may be saved from this mischief, because without the guidance and blessings of Allah it is not possible for man to keep away from this mischief.

47. That is: These idols had been the cause of straying of many men; This statement of Prophet Ibrahim is a historical fact, since most of the big nations of the world had been practicing idolatry, and this practice is continued from the time of Prophet Nooh (Noah) till this day. The present day man has made great progress in the field of amassing knowledge, but even great civilized nations are today known to practise idolatry, that is the same lack of real knowledge which was the bane of the people of Prophet Ibrahim’s time. Idolatry’s being unreasonable is obvious, but it exercised such a magical spell over the people that they stuck to it. And in our country we see such scenes that the idolaters make their own gods and then take them in processions and drown them in lakes, rivers, or sea. Can it not be termed as bankruptcy of intelligence? If not, then what is it?

48. Prophet Ibrahim placed his matter in the hands of God and referred to the two attributes of Allah with a view to pointing out that there cannot be any laxity or slackness in His forgiveness and mercy, however if His slaves are not deserving to receive it, then none can help them.

49. That is: Ismail.

50. That is: The waterless and grassless valley of Makkah, which is situated at the foot of the hills. A desert land, instead of a green and cultivable land, was selected for the House of God (Baitullah) because the idea was that the cause of attraction for the people should be the inducement of religion and not the allurement of worldly charms, and they should get a purified environment where there should be full provision for the growth of faith and development of a virtuous soul.

51. By the Sacred House is meant the House of Ka’ba, which is most sacred and extremely holy. Prophet Ibrahim settled Ismail, from his offsprings, in Makkah, and he settled Ishaq in Palestine. The generations that followed Prophet Ismail was called Bani Ismail and the Quraish are from his progeny and Prophet Muhammad was born among them. One thing that has become evident from Prophet Ibrahim’s prayer is that he said this prayer after the construction of the House of Ka’ba, and that he settled his son Ismail in Makkah when the construction of the House of Ka’ba had been completed. At another place Qur’an has clarified that Ismail also had participated with Prophet Ibrahim in the construction of House of Ka’ba. As for the fantastic narratives which state that Prophet Ibrahim left Ismail as a suckling infant with his mother Hajra quite helpless in the desert of Makkah or such other narratives are such as are not in accordance with what Qur’an has stated, nor do these appear to be believable. It is not correct to think that these narratives have emanated from the Prophet, as Allama Sayed Sulaiman Nadvi has stated in Arzul Qur’an:

“This (i.e. ayah No.39 of Surah Ibrahim) proves that at the time of Ismail’s arrival at Makkah, Ishaq had been born. It is proved by the Torah that Ismail was older than Ishaq by thirteen years. The hadith narrated by Ibn Abbas, recorded in Bukhari’s Kitabur Ruya and Kitabul Anbiya concerning Ismail’s infancy is not a ‘marfu’ hadith, i.e. the link of its narrators does not go back up to the Prophet (except for a few incidental sentences), therefore, it is from the ‘Israiliyat’ of Ibn Abbas, and its proof exists even today. The long hadith that is recorded in Bukhari, except for the mention of Jerham and Makkah, is found, word by word, in Midrash and Talmud. “

— (Arzul Qur’an, Vol. II, page 440).

And Allama Ibn Katheer, quoting this long hadith in which the infancy of Ismail has been narrated, has remarked:

“This hadith is the saying of Ibn Abbas, however its one part is ‘marfu’ (i.e. its narrator is stated to be the Prophet), and in its one part strange things are recorded, and it appears that Ibn Abbas has quoted it from the Israili literature, and it is also narrated therein that at that time Ismail was an infant.” -(Al-Bidayah wan Nihayah Vol. I, page 156).

52. Salat is the foremost purpose of the construction of the House of Allah (Baitullah), and Prophet Ibrahim had settled his son Ismail here in order that the generations that would come after Ismail might carry on the establishment of salat under the shadow of the Sacred House. But Quraish, who happened to be from the progeny of Ismail adopted idolatry instead of establishing prayer. What a great deviation it is from the way of Prophet Ibrahim!

53. And Allah inclined the hearts of the people towards them in such a way that Bani Ismail became the centre of attraction for all Arabs.

54. Its explanation has been given in Note No 146, Surah Baqarah."

55. That is: Allah knows the secret thoughts of our hearts, and also nothing is hidden from Him, either in the heavens or the earth.

56. It becomes clear that when Prophet Ibrahim said this prayer his another son Ishaq was already born. The Bible states that when Ismail was born, the age of Prophet Ibrahim was 86 years, and at the birth of Ishaq he was 100 years old, i.e. Ishaq was born 14 years after Ismail, and both of them were born in Canaan (Palestine). “Abraham was eighty six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abraham.” (Gen. 16:16) “Abraham was a hundred years old when his son. Isahac was born to him.” (Gen.21:5) In other words the event of construction of the House of Ka’ba and settling Ismail in Makkah took place when Ismail was fourteen years old.

57. It is learnt that in the Shariah of Prophet Ibrahim salat or prayer enjoyed the foremost importance, and this is such a pillar of faith for establishing which a Momin should pray for Allah’s guidance, and should pray to Allah that his children should also become establisher of salat.

58. The prayer for the forgiveness for his father, which Prophet Ibrahim said has been explained in the comments No.210 and 211, Surah Taubah. Here those Notes should be kept in view. When the Day of Reckoning will be established means when the Day of Judgment will occur, when everybody will have to appear before Allah and he or she will have to place the accounts of his or her practical life before Him. The pages of the Bible are blank about this most important prayer of Prophet Ibrahim, it is not recorded therein. But the Qur’an has preserved it. This is an automatic refutation of the charge that Muhammad (Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) has copied his facts from the Bible.