Tafsir Surah As-Saffat ayah 91 | Learn Quran Tafsir

The Story of Ibrahim and His People

Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him said that:

وَإِنَّ مِن شِيعَتِهِ لَاإِبۡرَاهِيمَ

And verily, among those who followed his ways was Ibrahim.

means, he was one of the followers of his religion.

Mujahid said,

He was following his path and his way.

إِذۡ جَاء رَبَّهُ بِقَلۡبٍ سَلِيمٍ

When he came to his Lord with a Salim heart.

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said,

This means that he bore witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah.

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that `Awf said, I said to Muhammad bin Sirin, `What is the Salim heart?' He said,

`One which knows that Allah is true and that the Hour will undoubtedly come to pass, and that Allah will resurrect those who are in the graves.'

Al-Hasan said,

One that is free from Shirk.

Urwah said,

One that is not cursed.

إِذۡ قَالَ لاَِبِيهِ وَقَوۡمِهِ مَاذَا تَعۡبُدُونَ

When he said to his father and to his people:

What is it that which you worship?

He denounced his people for their worship of idols and false gods,

Allah said:

أَيِفۡكًا الِهَةً دُونَ اللَّهِ تُرِيدُونَ

فَمَا ظَنُّكُم بِرَبِّ الۡعَالَمِينَ

Is it a falsehood -- gods other than Allah -- that you desire. Then what think you about the Lord of the all that exists!

Qatadah said,

This means, `what do you think He will do with you when you meet Him, given that you worshipped others alongside Him.

Allah says:

فَنَظَرَ نَظۡرَةً فِي النُّجُومِ

فَقَالَ إِنِّي سَقِيمٌ

Then he cast a glance at the stars, And he said:Verily, I am sick.

Ibrahim, peace be upon him, said this to his people so that he could stay behind in the city when they went out for their festival. The time was approaching for them to go out to celebrate a festival of theirs, and he wanted to be alone with their gods so that he could break them, so he told them something that was true, for he was indeed sick of the implications of what they believed in.

فَتَوَلَّوۡا عَنۡهُ مُدۡبِرِينَ

So they turned away from him and departed.

Qatadah said,

The Arabs say of one who thinks deeply that he is looking at the stars.

What Qatadah meant is that he looked at the heavens thinking of a way to distract his people. So he said,

إِنِّي سَقِيمٌ

(Verily, I am sick), meaning, weak.

Ibn Jarir narrated here a Hadith from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, stating that the Messenger of Allah said:

لَمۡ يَكۡذِبۡ إِبۡرَاهِيمُ عَلَيۡهِ الصَّلَةُ وَالسَّلَمُ غَيۡرَ ثَلَثَ كَذَبَاتٍ

ثِنۡتَيۡنِ فِي ذَاتِ اللهِ تَعَالَى قَوۡلُهُ

إِنِّى سَقِيمٌ

: وَقَوۡلُهُ

بَلۡ فَعَلَهُ كَبِيرُهُمۡ هَـذَا

وَقَوۡلُهُ فِي سَارَّةَ هِيَ أُخۡتِي

Ibrahim (peace and blessings be upon him) did not lie except in three cases.

Two were for the sake of Allah:

one is when he said, Verily, I am sick;

and the second when he said, Nay, this one, the biggest of them (idols) did it.

and the third when he said concerning (his wife) Sarah, She is my sister.

This Hadith is recorded in the books of the Sahih and Sunan with various chain of narrations.

But this is not the kind of real lie for which a person is to be condemned -- Allah forbid! One calls it a lie for lack of a better word, because it is abstruse speech used for a legitimate religious purpose, and it was said that what was meant by the words,

إِنِّي سَقِيم

(Verily, I am sick) was, `I am sick at heart of your worshipping idols instead of Allah.'

Al-Hasan Al-Basri said,

The people of Ibrahim went out to their festival and they wanted to make him go out too. So he lay down on his back and said,

إِنِّي سَقِيمٌ

(Verily, I am sick), and he started looking at the sky. When they had gone out, he turned to their gods and broke them.

This was recorded by Ibn Abi Hatim. Allah said:

فَتَوَلَّوۡا عَنۡهُ مُدۡبِرِينَ

So they turned away from him and departed

فَرَاغَ إِلَى الِهَتِهِمۡ

Then he turned to their gods,

meaning, he went to them after they had left, quickly and secretly.

فَقَالَ أَلَا تَأۡكُلُونَ

and said:Will you not eat?

They had placed food before them as a sacrifice, so that the food might be blessed. When Ibrahim, peace be upon him, looked at the food that was before them, he said:

...

أَلَا تَأۡكُلُونَ

مَا لَكُمۡ لَاا تَنطِقُونَ

Will you not eat? What is the matter with you that you speak not?

فَرَاغَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ ضَرۡبًا بِالۡيَمِينِ

Then he turned upon them, striking (them) with (his) right hand.

Al-Farra' said,

This means, he started to hit them with his right hand.

Qatadah and Al-Jawhari said,

He turned to them, hitting them with his right hand.

He struck them with his right hand because the right hand is stronger and more powerful. Then he left them broken to pieces, (all) except the biggest of them, that they might turn to it, as we have already seen in the Tafsir of Surah Al-Anbiya'.

فَأَقۡبَلُوا إِلَيۡهِ يَزِفُّونَ

Then they came hastily towards him.

Mujahid and others said,

This means, they came rushing.

The story is told in brief here; in Surah Al-Anbiya', it is told in more detail. When they returned, they did not know at first who had done this, until they investigated and found out that Ibrahim, peace be upon him, was the one who had done it. When they came to rebuke him, he started rebuking and criticizing them and said:

قَالَ أَتَعۡبُدُونَ مَا تَنۡحِتُونَ

He said:Worship you that which you carve,

meaning, `do you worship instead of Allah idols which you yourselves carve and fashion with your own hands?'

وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمۡ وَمَا تَعۡمَلُونَ

While Allah has created you and what you make!

This may mean, `Allah has created you and what you do;'

or it may mean, `Allah has created you and what you make.'

Both views are synonymous. The former is more apparent because of the report recorded by Al-Bukhari in the Book Af`al Al-`Ibad from Hudhayfah, attributed to the Prophet:

إِنَّ اللهَ تَعَالَى يَصۡنَعُ كُلَّ صَانِعٍ وَصَنۡعَتَه

Allah has created every doer of deeds and what he does. Thereupon he recited:

وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمۡ وَمَا تَعۡمَلُونَ

(While Allah has created you and what you make!)

When the proof had been established against them, they resolved to seize him by force and,

قَالُوا ابۡنُوا لَهُ بُنۡيَانًا فَأَلۡقُوهُ فِي الۡجَحِيمِ

They said:Build for him a building (i.e., furnace) and throw him into the blazing fire!

There happened what we have already discussed in our Tafsir of Surah Al-Anbiya', (21:68-70) and Allah saved him from the fire and caused him to prevail over them, making his proof supreme and supporting it.

Allah says:

فَأَرَادُوا بِهِ كَيۡدًا فَجَعَلۡنَاهُمُ الاۡأَسۡفَلِينَ

So, they plotted a plot against him, but We made them the lowest

Ibrahim's Emigration, the Test of the Sacrifice of Isma`il, and how Allah blessed Him

Allah tells us that after He helped His close friend Ibrahim, peace be upon him, against his people, and after Ibrahim gave up hoping that they would ever believe despite all the mighty signs that they had witnessed, he emigrated away from them, and said:

وَقَالَ إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَى رَبِّي سَيَهۡدِينِ

رَبِّ هَبۡ لِي مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ

Verily, I am going to my Lord. He will guide me! My Lord! Grant me (offspring) from the righteous.

meaning, obedient children, in compensation for his people and relatives whom he had left.

Allah said:

فَبَشَّرۡنَاهُ بِغُلَمٍ حَلِيمٍ

So We gave him the glad tidings of a forbearing boy.

This child was Ismail, peace be upon him, for he was the first child of whom glad tidings were given to Ibrahim, peace be upon him, and he was older than Ishaq.

The Muslims and the People of the Book agree, and indeed it is stated in their Book, that Ismail, peace be upon him, was born when Ibrahim, peace be upon him, was eighty-six years old, and Ishaq was born when Ibrahim was ninety-nine years old.

According to their Book, Allah commanded Ibrahim to sacrifice his only son, and in another text it says his firstborn son. But here they falsely inserted the name of Ishaq. This is not right because it goes against what their own Scripture says.

They inserted the name of Ishaq because he is their ancestor, while Ismail is the ancestor of the Arabs. They were jealous of them, so they added this idea and changed the meaning of the phrase only son to mean `the only son who is with you,' because Ismail had been taken with his mother to Makkah. But this is a case of falsification and distortion, because the words only son cannot be said except in the case of one who has no other son. Furthermore, the firstborn son has a special status that is not shared by subsequent children, so the command to sacrifice him is a more exquisite test

فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ مَعَهُ السَّعۡيَ

And, when he (his son) was old enough to walk with him,

means, when he grew up and started to go with his father and walk with him, for Ibrahim used to go every so often to check on his son and his mother in the land of Faran (i.e., Makkah), to see how they were doing. It was said that he used to ride on Al-Buraq, traveling there swiftly, and Allah knows best.

It was reported from Ibn Abbas, peace be upon him, Mujahid, Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Ata' Al-Khurasani, Zayd bin Aslam and others that

فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ مَعَهُ السَّعۡيَ

(And, when he (his son) was old enough to walk with him), means,

when he became a young man and was able to work as his father did.

فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ مَعَهُ السَّعۡيَ قَالَ يَا بُنَيَّ إِنِّي أَرَى فِي الۡمَنَامِ أَنِّي أَذۡبَحُكَ فَانظُرۡ مَاذَا تَرَى

And, when he (his son) was old enough to walk with him, he said:

O my son! I have seen in a dream that I am slaughtering you. So look what you think!

`Ubayd bin Umayr said,

The dreams of the Prophets are revelation, then he recited this Ayah:

قَالَ يَا بُنَيَّ إِنِّي أَرَى فِي الۡمَنَامِ أَنِّي أَذۡبَحُكَ فَانظُرۡ مَاذَا تَرَى

(he said:O my son! I have seen in a dream that I am slaughtering you. So look what you think!).

He told his son that in order to make it easier for him, and also to test his patience and resolve, at a young age, in obeying Allah and obeying his father.

قَالَ يَا أَبَتِ افۡعَلۡ مَا تُوۡمَرُ

He said:O my father! Do that which you are commanded...

meaning, `obey the command of Allah and sacrifice me.'

سَتَجِدُنِي إِن شَاء اللَّهُ مِنَ الصَّابِرِينَ

if Allah wills, you shall find me of the patient.

meaning, `I will be patient and will seek the reward for that with Allah.'

He, may peace and blessings be upon him, believed in what had been promised.

Allah said:

وَاذۡكُرۡ فِى الۡكِتَـبِ إِسۡمَـعِيلَ إِنَّهُ كَانَ صَـدِقَ الۡوَعۡدِ وَكَانَ رَسُولاً نَّبِيّاً

وَكَانَ يَأۡمُرُ أَهۡلَهُ بِالصَّـلَوةِ وَالزَّكَـوةِ وَكَانَ عِندَ رَبِّهِ مَرۡضِيّاً

And mention in the Book Ismail. Verily, he was true to what he promised, and he was a Messenger, (and) a Prophet. And he used to enjoin on his family the Salah and the Zakah, and his Lord was pleased with him. (19:54-55)

فَلَمَّا أَسۡلَمَا وَتَلَّهُ لِلۡجَبِينِ

Then, when they had both submitted themselves, and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead;

means, when both of them had pronounced the Shahadah and remembered Allah -- Ibrahim because he was about to offer a sacrifice and Ismail because he was about to die.

Or it was said that submitted themselves means that they submitted and followed the command of Allah; Ibrahim obeyed the command of Allah and Ismail obeyed Allah and his father.

This was the view of Mujahid, Ikrimah, Qatadah, As-Suddi and Ibn Ishaq, and others.

The meaning of the phrase and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead is:

he placed him facedown so that he could slaughter him from behind, and not have to see his face at the time of slaughter, so that it would be easier for him.

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Ad-Dahhak and Qatadah said:

وَتَلَّهُ لِلۡجَبِينِ

(and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead); means,

He turned him upside down on his face.

Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said,

When the rituals were enjoined upon Ibrahim, peace be upon him, the Shaytan appeared to him at the Mas`a and raced with him, but Ibrahim got there first. Then Jibril, upon him be peace, took him to Jamrat Al-`Aqabah and the Shaytan appeared to him, so he stoned him with seven pebbles until he disappeared. Then he appeared him at Al-Jamrah Al-Wusta and he stoned him with seven pebbles. Then he laid him prostrate on his face. Ismail, peace be upon him, was wearing a white shirt, and he said, `O my father, I do not have any garment in which I can be shrouded apart from this; take it off me so that you can shroud me in it.' He started to take it off, then he was called from behind:

وَنَادَيۡنَاهُ أَنۡ يَا إِبۡرَاهِيمُ

قَدۡ صَدَّقۡتَ الرُّوۡيَا

We called out to him:O Ibrahim! You have fulfilled the dream!

Ibrahim turned, and ﷺ a fine, horned, white ram.

Ibn Abbas said,

We used to look for similar types of rams.

Hisham mentioned this Hadith at length in Al-Manasik.

وَنَادَيۡنَاهُ أَنۡ يَا إِبۡرَاهِيمُ

قَدۡ صَدَّقۡتَ الرُّوۡيَا

We called out to him:O Ibrahim! You have fulfilled the dream!

means, `the purpose of your dream has been fulfilled by your laying down your son to sacrifice him.'

As-Suddi and others said that;

he passed the knife over Ismail's neck, but it did not cut him at all, because a sheet of copper was placed between them. Ibrahim was called at that point, and it was said:

قَدۡ صَدَّقۡتَ الرُّوۡيَا

(You have fulfilled the dream!)

Allah says;

إِنَّا كَذَلِكَ نَجۡزِي الۡمُحۡسِنِينَ

Verily, thus do We reward the doers of good.

means, `this is how We deal with those who obey Us in things that are difficult for them; We make for them a way out.'

As Allah says:

وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجۡعَل لَّهُ مَخۡرَجاً

وَيَرۡزُقۡهُ مِنۡ حَيۡثُ لَا يَحۡتَسِبُ وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلۡ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسۡبُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَـلِغُ أَمۡرِهِ قَدۡ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَىۡءٍ قَدۡراً

And whosoever has Taqwa of Allah, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty).

And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish his purpose. Indeed Allah has set a measure for all things. (65:2-3)

On the basis of this Ayah and this story, some of the scholars of Usul have stated that it is valid for a ruling to be abrogated before anyone is able to act upon it -- unlike some of the Mutazilah. The evidence for this is obvious, because Allah commanded Ibrahim, peace be upon him, to sacrifice his son, then He abrogated that and pointed out the ransom. The purpose of His command had been primarily to reward His close Friend for his patience and resolve in sacrificing his son.

Allah says:

إِنَّ هَذَا لَهُوَ الۡبَلَء الۡمُبِينُ

Verily, that indeed was a manifest trial.

meaning, it was clearly a test when he was commanded to sacrifice his son, so, he hastened to do it, in submission to the command of Allah and in obedience to Him.

Allah said:

وَإِبۡرَهِيمَ الَّذِى وَفَّى

And of Ibrahim who fulfilled all that. (53:37)

and,

وَفَدَيۡنَاهُ بِذِبۡحٍ عَظِيمٍ

And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice.

It was reported that Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said,

A ram which had grazed in Paradise for forty years.

Imam Ahmad recorded that Safiyyah bint Shaybah said,

A woman from Bani Sulaym, who was the midwife of most of the people in our household, told me that the Messenger of Allah sent for `Uthman bin Talhah, may Allah be pleased with him.

On one occasion she said, I asked `Uthman, `Why did the Prophet call you?'

He said, `The Messenger of Allah said to me,

إِنِّي كُنۡتُ رَأَيۡتُ قَرۡنَيِ الۡكَبۡشِ حِينَ دَخَلۡتُ الۡبَيۡتَ فَنَسِيتُ أَنۡ امُرَكَ أَنۡ تُخَمِّرَهُمَا فَخَمِّرۡهُمَا فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَنۡبَغِي أَنۡ يَكُونَ فِي الۡبَيۡتِ شَيۡءٌ يَشۡغَلُ الۡمُصَلِّي

I ﷺ the horns of the ram when I entered the House (i.e., the Ka`bah), and I forgot to tell you to cover them up; cover them up, for there should not be anything in the House which could distract the worshipper.'

Sufyan said, The horns of the ram remained hanging in the House until it was burned, and they were burned too.

This offers independent evidence that the one who was to be sacrificed was Ismail, peace be upon him. The Quraysh had inherited the horns of the ram that Ibrahim sacrificed, and they had been passed down from generation to generation, until the Messenger of Allah was sent. And Allah knows best.

Reports which state that the One Who was to be sacrificed was Ismail, and that this is Correct without a Doubt

Sa`id bin Jubayr, `Amir Ash-Sha`bi, Yusuf bin Mihran, Mujahid, Ata' and others reported from Ibn Abbas that it was Ismail, peace be upon him.

Ibn Jarir narrated that Ibn Abbas said,

The one who was ransomed was Ismail, peace be upon him. The Jews claimed that it was Ishaq, but the Jews lied.

It was reported that Ibn Umar said,

The sacrifice was Ismail.

Ibn Abi Najih said, narrating from Mujahid,

It was Ismail, peace be upon him.

This was also the view of Yusuf bin Mihran.

Ash-Sha`bi said,

It was Ismail, peace be upon him, and I ﷺ the horns of the ram in the Ka`bah.

Muhammad bin Ishaq reported from Al-Hasan bin Dinar and `Amr bin `Ubayd from Al-Hasan Al-Basri that;

he did not doubt that the one of the two sons Ibrahim was commanded to sacrifice was Ismail, peace be upon him.

وَتَرَكۡنَا عَلَيۡهِ فِي الاۡخِرِينَ

سَلَمٌ عَلَى إِبۡرَاهِيمَ

كَذَلِكَ نَجۡزِي الۡمُحۡسِنِينَ

إِنَّهُ مِنۡ عِبَادِنَا الۡمُوۡمِنِينَ

And We left for him among the later generations. Salam (peace!) be upon Ibrahim! Thus indeed do We reward the doers of good. Verily, he was one of Our believing servants.

Ibn Ishaq said,

I heard Muhammad bin Ka`b Al-Qurazi say,

`The one whom Allah commanded Ibrahim to sacrifice of his two sons was Ismail.'

We find this in the Book of Allah, because when Allah finishes the story of the one of the two sons of Ibrahim who was to be sacrificed, He then says:

وَبَشَّرۡنَاهُ بِإِسۡحَقَ نَبِيًّا مِّنَ الصَّالِحِينَ

And We gave him the glad tidings of Ishaq -- a Prophet from the righteous,

and,

فَبَشَّرۡنَـهَا بِإِسۡحَـقَ وَمِن وَرَاءِ إِسۡحَـقَ يَعۡقُوبَ

So, We gave her glad tidings of Ishaq and after Ishaq, of Ya`qub. (11:71)

He mentions the son and the son of the son, but He would not have commanded him to sacrifice Ishaq when He had promised that this son would in turn have a son. The one whom He commanded him to sacrifice can only have been Ismail.

Ibn Ishaq said, I heard him say that often.

Ibn Ishaq reported from Buraydah bin Sufyan bin Farwah Al-Aslami that Muhammad bin Ka`b Al-Qurazi told them that he mentioned that to Umar bin `Abd Al-`Aziz, may Allah be pleased with him, when he was Khalifah, while he was with him in Syria. Umar said to him,

This is something about which I have never given any thought, but I see that it is as you say.

Then he sent for a man who was with him in Syria, a Jew who had become a Muslim and was committed to Islam, and he thought that he had been one of their scholars. Umar bin Abd Al-Aziz, may Allah be pleased with him, asked him about that.

Muhammad bin Ka`b said, I was with Umar bin Abd Al-`Aziz.

Umar said to him, `Which of the two sons of Ibrahim was he commanded to sacrifice?'

He said, `Ismail. By Allah, O Commander of the faithful, the Jews know this, but they were jealous of you Arabs because it was your father about whom Allah issued this command and the virtue that Allah mentioned was because of his patience in obeying the command. So they denied that and claimed that it was Ishaq, because he is their father.'

Abdullah bin Al-Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him, said,

I asked my father about which son was to be sacrificed -- was it Ismail or Ishaq?

He said, Ismail.

This was mentioned in Kitab Az-Zuhd.

Ibn Abi Hatim said,

I heard my father say, `The correct view is that the one who was to be sacrificed was Ismail, peace be upon him.'

He said,

And it was narrated that Ali, Ibn Umar, Abu Hurayrah, Abu At-Tufayl, Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Al-Hasan, Mujahid, Ash-Sha`bi, Muhammad bin Ka`b Al-Qurazi, Abu Ja`far Muhammad bin Ali and Abu Salih, may Allah be pleased with them all, said that the one who was to be sacrificed was Ismail.

Al-Baghawi said in his Tafsir,

This was the view of `Abdullah bin Umar, Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib, As-Suddi, Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Mujahid, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas, Muhammad bin Ka`b Al-Qurazi and Al-Kalbi.

This was also reported from Ibn Abbas and from Abu `Amr bin Al-`Ala'.

وَبَشَّرۡنَاهُ بِإِسۡحَقَ نَبِيًّا مِّنَ الصَّالِحِينَ

And We gave him the glad tidings of Ishaq -- a Prophet from the righteous.

having given the glad tidings of the one who was to be sacrificed, who was Ismail, Allah immediately follows that with mention of the glad tidings of his brother Ishaq. This is also mentioned in Surah Hud (11:71) and in Surah Al-Hijr (15:53-55)

نَبِيًّا

(a Prophet),

means, from him there will come a righteous Prophet.

وَبَارَكۡنَا عَلَيۡهِ وَعَلَى إِسۡحَقَ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِهِمَا مُحۡسِنٌ وَظَالِمٌ لِّنَفۡسِهِ مُبِينٌ

We blessed him and Ishaq. And of their progeny are (some) that do right, and some that plainly wrong themselves.

This is like the Ayah:

قِيلَ ينُوحُ اهۡبِطۡ بِسَلَـمٍ مِّنَّا وَبَركَـتٍ عَلَيۡكَ وَعَلَى أُمَمٍ مِّمَّن مَّعَكَ وَأُمَمٌ سَنُمَتِّعُهُمۡ ثُمَّ يَمَسُّهُمۡ مِّنَّا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

It was said:O Nuh! Come down (from the ship) with peace from Us and blessings on you and on the people who are with you, but people to whom We shall grant their pleasures (for a time), but in the end a painful torment will reach them from Us. (11:48)

As-Saffat: 91

Ayah

Translation

Tafsir

As-Saffat: 91