وَ اذْكُرْ And mention فِی in الْكِتٰبِ the Book اِبْرٰهِیْمَ ؕ۬ Ibrahim اِنَّهٗ Indeed he كَانَ was صِدِّیْقًا a man of truth نَّبِیًّا a Prophet اِذْ When قَالَ he said لِاَبِیْهِ to his father یٰۤاَبَتِ O my father! لِمَ Why تَعْبُدُ (do) you worship مَا that which لَا not یَسْمَعُ hears وَ لَا and not یُبْصِرُ sees وَ لَا and not یُغْنِیْ benefits عَنْكَ [to] you شَیْـًٔا (in) anything یٰۤاَبَتِ O my father! اِنِّیْ Indeed [I] قَدْ verily جَآءَنِیْ (has) come to me مِنَ of الْعِلْمِ the knowledge مَا what لَمْ not یَاْتِكَ came to you فَاتَّبِعْنِیْۤ so follow me اَهْدِكَ I will guide you صِرَاطًا (to) the path سَوِیًّا even یٰۤاَبَتِ O my father! لَا (Do) not تَعْبُدِ worship الشَّیْطٰنَ ؕ the Shaitaan اِنَّ Indeed الشَّیْطٰنَ the Shaitaan كَانَ is لِلرَّحْمٰنِ to the Most Gracious عَصِیًّا disobedient یٰۤاَبَتِ O my father! اِنِّیْۤ Indeed I اَخَافُ [I] fear اَنْ that یَّمَسَّكَ will touch you عَذَابٌ a punishment مِّنَ from الرَّحْمٰنِ the Most Gracious فَتَكُوْنَ so you would be لِلشَّیْطٰنِ to the Shaitaan وَلِیًّا a friend قَالَ He said اَرَاغِبٌ Do you hate اَنْتَ Do you hate عَنْ (from) اٰلِهَتِیْ my gods یٰۤاِبْرٰهِیْمُ ۚ O Ibrahim لَىِٕنْ Surely, if لَّمْ not تَنْتَهِ you desist لَاَرْجُمَنَّكَ surely, I will stone you وَ اهْجُرْنِیْ so leave me مَلِیًّا (for) a prolonged time قَالَ He said سَلٰمٌ Peace (be) عَلَیْكَ ۚ on you سَاَسْتَغْفِرُ I will ask forgiveness لَكَ for you رَبِّیْ ؕ (from) my Lord اِنَّهٗ Indeed He كَانَ is بِیْ to me حَفِیًّا Ever Gracious وَ اَعْتَزِلُكُمْ And I will leave you وَ مَا and what تَدْعُوْنَ you invoke مِنْ besides دُوْنِ besides اللّٰهِ Allah وَ اَدْعُوْا and I will invoke رَبِّیْ ۖؗ my Lord عَسٰۤی May be اَلَّاۤ that not اَكُوْنَ I will be بِدُعَآءِ in invocation رَبِّیْ (to) my Lord شَقِیًّا unblessed فَلَمَّا So when اعْتَزَلَهُمْ he left them وَ مَا and what یَعْبُدُوْنَ they worshipped مِنْ besides Allah دُوْنِ besides Allah اللّٰهِ ۙ besides Allah وَهَبْنَا [and] We bestowed لَهٗۤ [to] him اِسْحٰقَ Ishaq وَ یَعْقُوْبَ ؕ and Yaqub وَ كُلًّا and each (of them) جَعَلْنَا We made نَبِیًّا a Prophet وَ وَهَبْنَا And We bestowed لَهُمْ to them مِّنْ of رَّحْمَتِنَا Our Mercy وَ جَعَلْنَا and We made لَهُمْ for them لِسَانَ a truthful mention صِدْقٍ a truthful mention عَلِیًّا۠ high
(19:41) (O Muhammad), recite in the Book the account of Abraham.26 Most surely he was a man of truth, a Prophet.
(19:42) (And remind people) when he said to his father: "Father! Why do you worship that which neither sees nor hears, and which can be of no avail to you?
(19:43) Father, a knowledge that has not reached you has come to me. So follow me that I may guide you to a Straight Way.
(19:44) Father, do not serve Satan,27 for Satan has indeed been a persistent rebel against the Most Compassionate Lord.
(19:45) Father, I fear that a punishment from the Most Compassionate Lord might strike you and you may end up as one of Satan's companions?"
(19:46) The father said: "Abraham, have you turned away from my gods? If you do not give this up, I shall stone you to death. Now begone from me forever."
(19:47) Abraham answered: "Peace be upon you. I shall seek pardon for you from my Lord. My Lord has always been kind to Me.
(19:48) I shall withdraw from you and all that you call upon beside Allah. I shall only call upon my Lord. I trust the prayer to my Lord will not go unanswered."
(19:49) Thereupon Abraham dissociated himself from his people and the deities they worshipped instead of Allah, and We bestowed upon him Isaac and Jacob and made each of them a Prophet;
(19:50) and We bestowed on them Our mercy, and granted them a truly lofty renown.28
26. From here onwards, the discourse is addressed to the Makkans who had compelled their own sons, brothers and all manner of relatives to leave their hearths and homes for the simple reason that they worshipped the One True God. The plight of these Muslims resembled that of the Prophet Abraham (peace be on him) who had earlier been forced by his father, and by his kith and kin, to say adieu to his homeland. The reason for recounting the Prophet Abraham’s (peace be on him) story to the exclusion of other Prophets, is that the Quraysh considered Abraham (peace be on him) to be their patriarch, bragging about their descent from him in order to reinforce their pre-eminence throughout the whole of Arabia.
27. The Qur’an says: ‘Do not serve Satan.’ This was said even though Abraham’s father and his people worshipped idols. The statement — “do not serve Satan’ — is made because those people followed the behests of Satan. We, thus, learn that worship does not only mean a set of rituals, but also covers obedience. Another point that emerges from this statement is that if a person unreservedly obeys someone, he is guilty of worshipping him even if he lavishes curses upon him. This is quite obvious given that human beings have never declared Satan to be the object of their devotional worship. On the contrary, they have always cursed him. (For further explanation see al-Kahf ‘18, nn. 49-50 above.)
27a. For further elaboration see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. “IM, al-Tawbah 9, n. 112, pp. 262-3.
28. This is intended to console and comfort the Muslim migrants who had been forced to forsake their homeland. They are being told that when Abraham surrendered his ties with his family, he courted no disaster. On the contrary, he eventually attained a much higher position. Likewise, the migration of the Prophet’s followers will not bring about their ruination. Rather they will rise to heights of eminence which the Makkan unbelievers could not even have dreamed of before the advent of Islam.