یٰبَنِیْۤ O Children اِسْرَآءِیْلَ (of) Israel! اذْكُرُوْا Remember نِعْمَتِیَ My Favor الَّتِیْۤ which اَنْعَمْتُ I bestowed عَلَیْكُمْ upon you وَ اَنِّیْ and that I فَضَّلْتُكُمْ [I] preferred you عَلَی over الْعٰلَمِیْنَ the worlds وَ اتَّقُوْا And fear یَوْمًا a day لَّا not تَجْزِیْ will avail نَفْسٌ a soul عَنْ (of) نَّفْسٍ (another) soul شَیْـًٔا anything وَّ لَا and not یُقْبَلُ will be accepted مِنْهَا from it عَدْلٌ any compensation وَّ لَا and not تَنْفَعُهَا will benefit it شَفَاعَةٌ any intercession وَّ لَا and not هُمْ they یُنْصَرُوْنَ will be helped وَ اِذِ And when ابْتَلٰۤی tried اِبْرٰهٖمَ Ibrahim رَبُّهٗ his Lord بِكَلِمٰتٍ with words فَاَتَمَّهُنَّ ؕ and he fulfilled them قَالَ He said اِنِّیْ Indeed I جَاعِلُكَ (am) the One to make you لِلنَّاسِ for the mankind اِمَامًا ؕ a leader قَالَ He said وَ مِنْ And from ذُرِّیَّتِیْ ؕ my offspring قَالَ He said لَا (Does) not یَنَالُ reach عَهْدِی My Covenant الظّٰلِمِیْنَ (to) the wrongdoers وَ اِذْ And when جَعَلْنَا We made الْبَیْتَ the House مَثَابَةً a place of return لِّلنَّاسِ for mankind وَ اَمْنًا ؕ and (a place of) security وَ اتَّخِذُوْا and (said) Take مِنْ [from] مَّقَامِ (the) standing place اِبْرٰهٖمَ (of) Ibrahim مُصَلًّی ؕ (as) a place of prayer وَ عَهِدْنَاۤ And We made a covenant اِلٰۤی with اِبْرٰهٖمَ Ibrahim وَ اِسْمٰعِیْلَ and Ismail اَنْ [that] طَهِّرَا [You both] purify بَیْتِیَ My House لِلطَّآىِٕفِیْنَ for those who circumambulate وَ الْعٰكِفِیْنَ and those who seclude themselves for devotion and prayer وَ الرُّكَّعِ and those who bow down السُّجُوْدِ and those who prostrate وَ اِذْ And when قَالَ said اِبْرٰهٖمُ Ibrahim رَبِّ My Lord اجْعَلْ make هٰذَا this بَلَدًا a city اٰمِنًا secure وَّ ارْزُقْ and provide اَهْلَهٗ its people مِنَ with الثَّمَرٰتِ fruits مَنْ (to) whoever اٰمَنَ believed مِنْهُمْ from them بِاللّٰهِ in Allah وَ الْیَوْمِ and the Day الْاَخِرِ ؕ the Last قَالَ He said وَ مَنْ And whoever كَفَرَ disbelieved فَاُمَتِّعُهٗ [then] I will grant him enjoyment قَلِیْلًا a little ثُمَّ then اَضْطَرُّهٗۤ I will force him اِلٰی to عَذَابِ (the) punishment النَّارِ ؕ (of) the Fire وَ بِئْسَ and evil الْمَصِیْرُ (is) the destination 2. Al-Baqarah Page 20 وَ اِذْ And when یَرْفَعُ (was) raising اِبْرٰهٖمُ Ibrahim الْقَوَاعِدَ the foundations مِنَ of الْبَیْتِ the House وَ اِسْمٰعِیْلُ ؕ and Ishmael رَبَّنَا (saying), "Our Lord تَقَبَّلْ Accept مِنَّا ؕ from us اِنَّكَ Indeed You اَنْتَ [You] (are) السَّمِیْعُ the All-Hearing الْعَلِیْمُ the All-Knowing رَبَّنَا Our Lord! وَ اجْعَلْنَا [and] Make us مُسْلِمَیْنِ both submissive لَكَ to You وَ مِنْ And from ذُرِّیَّتِنَاۤ our offspring اُمَّةً a community مُّسْلِمَةً submissive لَّكَ ۪ to You وَ اَرِنَا And show us مَنَاسِكَنَا our ways of worship وَ تُبْ and turn عَلَیْنَا ۚ to us اِنَّكَ Indeed You! اَنْتَ [You] (are) التَّوَّابُ the Oft-returning الرَّحِیْمُ the Most Merciful رَبَّنَا Our Lord! وَ ابْعَثْ [And] raise up فِیْهِمْ in them رَسُوْلًا a Messenger مِّنْهُمْ from them یَتْلُوْا (who) will recite عَلَیْهِمْ to them اٰیٰتِكَ Your Verses وَ یُعَلِّمُهُمُ and will teach them الْكِتٰبَ the Book وَ الْحِكْمَةَ and the wisdom وَ یُزَكِّیْهِمْ ؕ and purify them اِنَّكَ Indeed You! اَنْتَ You (are) الْعَزِیْزُ the All-Mighty الْحَكِیْمُ۠ the All-Wise
(2:122) Children of Israel!123 Recall My favour which I bestowed upon you and I exalted you above the nations of the world,
(2:123) and beware of the Day when no one shall avail another, when ransom shall be accepted from no one, when no one’s intercession will profit anyone, when there shall be no help from any quarter.
(2:124) Recall when Abraham’s Lord tested him in certain matters124 and when he successfully stood the test, He said: “Indeed I am going to appoint you a leader of all people.” When Abraham asked: “And is this covenant also for my descendants?” the Lord responded: “My covenant does not embrace the wrong-doers.”125
(2:125) And We made this House (Ka'bah) a resort for mankind and a place of security, commanding people: “Take the station of Abraham as a permanent place for Prayer,” and enjoined Abraham and Ishmael: “Purify My House for those who walk around it, and those who abide in devotion, and those who bow, and who prostrate themselves (in Prayer).”126
(2:126) And when Abraham prayed: “O my Lord! Make this a place of security and provide those of its people that believe in Allah and the Last Day with fruits for sustenance,” Allah answered, “And I shall still provide him who disbelieves with the wherewithal for this short life,127 and then I shall drive him to the chastisement of the Fire; that is an evil end.”
(2:127) Recall when Abraham and Ishmael raised the foundations of the House, praying: “Our Lord! Accept this from us; You are All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
(2:128) Our Lord! Make us submissive to You and make out of our descendants a community that submits itself to You, and show us the ways of Your worship, and turn to us in mercy. You are Much-Relenting, Most Compassionate.
(2:129) Our Lord! Raise up in the midst of our offspring a Messenger from among them who shall recite to them Your verses, and instruct them in the Book and in Wisdom, and purify their lives.128 Verily, You are the Most Mighty, the Most Wise.”129
123. A fresh subject is now broached. In order to appreciate it fully, the following should be clearly borne in mind:
(1) After Noah, Abraham was the first Prophet appointed by God to spread the universal message of Islam. At the outset, he journeyed for many years from Iraq to Egypt, and from Syria and Palestine to various parts of Arabia inviting people to serve and obey God. Later he appointed deputies in various regions to carry on his mission. He sent his nephew Lot to Transjordan, his son Isaac to Syria and Palestine, and his eldest son Ishmael to Arabia. Then he built, in Makka, the shrine called the Ka'bah which subsequently, and under God's own command, was made the centre of the prophetic mission.
(2) Abraham's progeny descended in two main branches. One of these, the Children of Ishmael, lived in Arabia. The Quraysh and other Arabian tribes belonged to this branch of Abraham's line. Even those Arabian tribes which were not related to him by blood identified themselves with Abraham, since they had been influenced in varying degrees by his religious ideas. The other branch consisted of the Children of Isaac. In this branch there arose a great number of Prophets, for example Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, John, and Jesus. Since Jacob was called Israel, his offspring came to be known as the Children of Israel. Other peoples who accepted their faith as a result of preaching either lost their former identity and became assimilated with them, or remained separate from them ethnically but identified with them religiously. At the time when decadence flourished this branch of the Abrahamic family gave birth first to Judaism, and subsequently to Christianity.
(3) The true mission of Abraham was to invite people to obey God and to mould the entire system of individual and collective life according to Divine Guidance. He was himself obedient to God and followed the teaching received from Him, and constantly strove to spread it and make all human beings live in obedience to it. It was because of this that he was appointed the religious leader and guide of the whole world. After his death, the task of guiding the world was entrusted to the branch which had issued from Isaac and Jacob, and which came to be known as the Children of Israel. It is in this branch that many Prophets were born. It was also this branch which was given the knowledge of the Straight Way, and was designated to lead all the nations of the world along that Way. It is of this favour that God again and again reminds these people.
In the time of Solomon this branch took Jerusalem as the centre of its mission. Jerusalem maintained its central position for all devotees of God and remained the qiblah (direction) in which all worshippers of God were required to turn in their Prayer.
(4) While addressing the Children of Israel in the last ten sections, God set forth the criminal record of the Jews, exposed their decadent state at the time of the revelation of the Qur'an, and made it clear to them that they had totally lacked gratitude to God for His favours and bounties. Not only had they ceased to guide the world, but had turned away from Truth and righteousness to such an extent that nearly all of them had lost the capacity to do good and to respond to Truth.
(5) It is also intimated that the religious leadership of all mankind is not an exclusive privilege of Abrahamic blood, but rather the fruit of Abraham's sincere obedience and service to God, to which he had wholly consecrated himself. Only those who follow the way of Abraham, and guide the world along that way, are therefore entitled to the position of guidance and leadership. And since the Jews had abandoned it and become incapable of carrying out the mission of Abraham they were being removed from that position.
(6) At the same time it is hinted that the non-Israelite peoples who identified themselves with Abraham through Moses and Jesus had also veered from the way of Abraham. The same was true of the polytheists of Arabia, who felt proud of belonging to Abraham and Ishmael and based this pride on lineage alone. For, so far as their faith and conduct were concerned, they had not even the remotest tie with Abraham and Ishmael. They did not deserve, therefore, to be entrusted with the religious leadership of the world.
(7) It is also made clear that by God's will a Prophet, for whose advent Abraham and Ishmael had once prayed, was born in the other branch of the Abrahamic family, i.e. the Ishmaelites. The way propounded by this Prophet is exactly the same as that by Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob and in fact all the Messengers. His followers also confirm the truth of all those designated in the past to serve as God's Messengers, and call mankind to the same message those Messengers preached earlier. Thus, leadership now naturally devolves on those who follow this Prophet.
(8) This proclamation of a transfer of leadership naturally called for the proclamation of a change in the direction of Prayer. As long as the Israelites held the reins of the world's religious leadership, Jerusalem remained the centre of the mission of Islam and the qiblah of truth-loving people. The Arabian Prophet (peace be on him) as well as his followers had accepted Jerusalem as the qiblah until God duly proclaimed the removal of the Jews from their position of leadership. With this proclamation Jerusalem ceased to enjoy its central position. So it was proclaimed that from then on the centre of God's true religion would be the place from which the message of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) had radiated. Since in the past it had been the centre of the mission of Abraham (peace be on him), it was difficult even for the polytheists and for the People of the Book to deny that the Ka'bah had a greater right to be made the qiblah. There was thus every reasonable ground for the decision to change the qiblah and its opponents could only object out of irrational adamance.
(9) The proclamation that the followers of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) had been designated to the religious leadership of mankind, and that the Ka'bah would now be the focal point of man's religious life, was followed by directives (beginning with( verse 153)and continuing to the end of the surah) addressed to the Muslims. These directives were aimed at enabling the Muslims to acquit themselves creditably of the duties laid upon their shoulders as the bearers of this mission.
124. At various places the Qur'an enumerates the severe tests through which Abraham passed. It was only after these had been completed successfully that he was able to establish his worthiness to serve as the religious guide and leader of all mankind. From the moment when the truth was revealed to him till the moment he died, his life was a continuous tale of sacrifice and suffering for his cause. There is no conceivable object of man's love and attachment in the world which Abraham did not sacrifice for the sake of the truth. Likewise, there is no conceivable danger which instinctively frightens man which Abraham did not encounter for the sake of the Truth.
125. This specifies that God's promise of the conferment of leadership applied only to those of Abraham's offspring who were righteous, and that the wrong-doers were naturally excluded. This also makes it clear that, just as the promise did not apply to the misguided Israelites, it did not apply to the polytheistic Ishmaelites.
126. 'Purify My House' does not merely mean keeping it clean of dirt and filth. The real purity and cleanliness of the House of God rests in the fact that in it the name of God alone should be glorified. If someone declares in its sacred precincts that anything other than God is his Lord, his object of worship and adoration, the dispenser of man's needs and requirements, the hearer of man's supplications, then such a person is guilty of desecrating the House of God.
This verse also contains a hint as to the evil-doing of the people of the Quraysh. They boasted that they were the inheritors of the legacy of Abraham and Ishmael, but instead of being faithful to that legacy, they actually trampled over it. So, just as the Children of Israel were excluded from the promise made to Abraham, so were the polytheistic children of Ishmael. (See also(n. 125 above - Ed.)
127. (Here a distinction is made between honouring a people by entrusting it with the religious leadership and guidance of the world, and bestowing on it an abundant means of livelihood - Ed.) When Abraham enquired who merited world leadership it was made clear to him that only his truly believing and righteous children, to the exclusion of the wrong-doing ones, were worthy of it. This occasioned God to clarify that the religious leadership of the world was quite distinct from its livelihood. Men of faith alone were entitled to the former, whereas both believers and unbelievers would be provided the latter. If someone enjoys abundant material wealth it should not be misconstrued to mean that God is necessarily pleased with him and that he has been designated by God to provide religious guidance to the world.
128. The term 'purification' used here embraces the purification of beliefs and outlook, morals, habits and customs, and social, cultural and political life; the purification of man's life in its totality.
129. This has been said in order to indicate that the advent of Muhammad (peace be on him) was in fact God's response to the prayer of Abraham (peace be on him).