Surah 14. Ibrahim, Ayah 35
| وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّ اجْعَلْ هَٰذَا الْبَلَدَ آمِنًا وَاجْنُبْنِي وَبَنِيَّ أَنْ نَعْبُدَ الْأَصْنَامَ |
| Transliteration | : | wa- 'idh qaala 'ibraahem rabb ijcal haadhaa al- balad 'aamin(an) wa- ujnub -ne wa- bane -ya 'an nacbud al- as.naam |
| Pickthall | : | And when Abraham said: My Lord! Make safe this territory, and preserve me and my sons from serving idols. |
| Asad | : | AND [remember the time] when Abraham spoke [thus]:48 "O my Sustainer! Make this land secure,49 and preserve me and my children from ever worshipping idols50 - |
| Malik | : | Remember when Ibrahim (Abraham) said: "My Rabb! Make this city a city of peace and save me and my sons from the worship of idols. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | Remember Abraham said: "O my Lord! make this city one of peace and security: and preserve me and my sons from worshipping idols. 1912 1913 |
Note - 48The whole of this passage (verses {35-41}) - from which
the title of this surah is derived - represents a
parenthetic reminder, in the form of Abraham's prayer, of
the only way to righteousness, in the deepest sense of
the word, open to man: namely, a recognition of God's
existence, oneness and uniqueness and, hence, a rejection
of all belief in "other powers" supposedly co-existent
with Him (cf. verse {30} above). Inasmuch as this prayer
implies a realization of, and gratitude for, God's
infinite bounty, it connects directly with the preceding
verse {34} and the subsequent verse {42}.
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Note - 50The term "idols" (asnam, sing. sanam) does not apply
exclusively to actual, concrete representations of false
"deities": for shirk - that is, an attribution of divine
powers or qualities to anyone or anything beside God -
may consist also, as Razi points out, in a worshipful
devotion to all manner of "causative agencies and outward
means to an end" - an obvious allusion to wealth, power,
luck, people's favour or disfavour, and so forth -
whereas genuine faith in the oneness and uniqueness of
God (at-tawhid al-mahd) consists in divesting oneself of
all inner attachment to [such] causative agencies and in
being convinced that there exists no real directing power
apart from God".
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Note - 1912This Prayer of Abraham, the True in Faith, the progenitor
of the Semitic peoples and the Prototype of their
Religion, is introduced in this place, to illustrate the
points referred to in the preceding section, xiv. 31-34,
viz., how the new Revelation through the Ka'ba bears out
the universal Revelation of Prayer and Charity, Love of
Allah and man, Recognition of Allah's handiwork in
nature, and Insistence on man's turning away from false
worship and ingratitude to Allah. Notice the four
divisions into which it falls: (1) verses 35-36 are
spoken by Abraham as on his own behalf ("O my Lord!");
(2) verses 37-38 are spoken on behalf of his progeny ("O
our Lord!") but with special reference to the elder
branch, the children of Isma'il; (3) verses 39-40 are
again a personal appeal, but both branches of his family,
viz., the sons of Isma'il and Isaac, are expressly
mentioned; (4) verse 41 is a Prayer for himself, his
parents, and all Believers, typifying that in the
universality of Islam all nations are to be blessed.
Jerusalem, for the Mosaic Law and the Gospel of Jesus,
was the centre and symbol for the Jewish race, though of
course all Allah's Truth is universal; Makkah, the centre
of the Arab race, was to throw off its tribal character
and become universal, in spite of the Makkans themselves.
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Note - 1913Cf. ii. 125-129. Abraham (with Isma'il) built the Ka'ba,
and Abraham asks a blessing on his handiwork and
forgiveness for such lapses into idolatry as both
branches of his family might fall into.
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The whole of this passage (verses {35-41}) - from which the title of this surah is derived - represents a parenthetic reminder, in the form of Abraham's prayer, of the only way to righteousness, in the deepest sense of the word, open to man: namely, a recognition of God's existence, oneness and uniqueness and, hence, a rejection of all belief in "other powers" supposedly co-existent with Him (cf. verse {30} above). Inasmuch as this prayer implies a realization of, and gratitude for, God's infinite bounty, it connects directly with the preceding verse {34} and the subsequent verse {42}. |
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The term "idols" (asnam, sing. sanam) does not apply exclusively to actual, concrete representations of false "deities": for shirk - that is, an attribution of divine powers or qualities to anyone or anything beside God - may consist also, as Razi points out, in a worshipful devotion to all manner of "causative agencies and outward means to an end" - an obvious allusion to wealth, power, luck, people's favour or disfavour, and so forth - whereas genuine faith in the oneness and uniqueness of God (at-tawhid al-mahd) consists in divesting oneself of all inner attachment to [such] causative agencies and in being convinced that there exists no real directing power apart from God". |
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This Prayer of Abraham, the True in Faith, the progenitor of the Semitic peoples and the Prototype of their Religion, is introduced in this place, to illustrate the points referred to in the preceding section, xiv. 31-34, viz., how the new Revelation through the Ka'ba bears out the universal Revelation of Prayer and Charity, Love of Allah and man, Recognition of Allah's handiwork in nature, and Insistence on man's turning away from false worship and ingratitude to Allah. Notice the four divisions into which it falls: (1) verses 35-36 are spoken by Abraham as on his own behalf ("O my Lord!"); (2) verses 37-38 are spoken on behalf of his progeny ("O our Lord!") but with special reference to the elder branch, the children of Isma'il; (3) verses 39-40 are again a personal appeal, but both branches of his family, viz., the sons of Isma'il and Isaac, are expressly mentioned; (4) verse 41 is a Prayer for himself, his parents, and all Believers, typifying that in the universality of Islam all nations are to be blessed. Jerusalem, for the Mosaic Law and the Gospel of Jesus, was the centre and symbol for the Jewish race, though of course all Allah's Truth is universal; Makkah, the centre of the Arab race, was to throw off its tribal character and become universal, in spite of the Makkans themselves. |
