Ornaments of Gold, Luxury, The Embellishment — Verse 26

Ibrahim's Declaration of Tawhid Here Allah tells us about His servant, Messenger and close Friend, the leader of the monotheists and the father of all subsequent Prophets, from whom Quraysh were descended and claimed to have taken their religion. He disowned his father's and his people's worship of idols and said: وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَهِيمُ لاًّبِيهِ وَقَوْمِهِ إِنَّنِى بَرَآءٌ مِّمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ - إِلاَّ الَّذِى فَطَرَنِى فَإِنَّهُ سَيَهْدِينِ وَجَعَلَهَا كَلِمَةً بَـقِيَةً فِى عَقِبِهِ ("Verily, I am innocent of what you worship, except Him Who created me; and verily, He will guide me." And he made it a Word lasting among his offspring,) The Word means the worship of Allah Alone with no partner or associate, and the denunciation of all gods apart from Him, i.e., La ilaha illallah. He left this word as an example to be followed by those of his progeny who were guided by Allah. لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ (that they may turn back.) means, come back to this word. `Ikrimah, Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah, As-Suddi and others commented on the Ayah: وَجَعَلَهَا كَلِمَةً بَـقِيَةً فِى عَقِبِهِ (And he made it a Word lasting among his offspring,) "This means, La ilaha illallah, and there are still those among his offspring who say it." A similar view was narrated from Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him. Ibn Zayd said, "The word of Islam," which refers to the same thing suggested by the group. How the People of Makkah turned away from the Messenger and opposed Him, and His Response Allah further says: بَلْ مَتَّعْتُ هَـؤُلاَءِ (Nay, but I gave to these) means, the idolators, وَءَابَآءَهُمْ (and their fathers) means, they lived a long life in their misguidance. حَتَّى جَآءَهُمُ الْحَقُّ وَرَسُولٌ مُّبِينٌ (till there came to them the truth, and a Messenger making things clear.) means, his message is clear and his warning is clear. وَلَمَّا جَآءَهُمُ الْحَقُّ قَالُواْ هَـذَا سِحْرٌ وَإِنَّا بِهِ كَـفِرُونَ (And when the truth came to them, they said: "This is magic, and we disbelieve therein.") means, they were arrogant and stubborn, and they pushed him away out of disbelief, envy and transgression. وَقَالُواْ (And they say) means, objecting to that which Allah has revealed to him, لَوْلاَ نُزِّلَ هَـذَا الْقُرْءَانُ عَلَى رَجُلٍ مِّنَ الْقَرْيَتَيْنِ عَظِيمٍ (Why is not this Qur'an sent down to some great man of the two towns) meaning, why was this Qur'an not revealed to some man who was great and prominent in their eyes, from the two towns, i.e., Makkah and At-Ta'if This was the view of Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, `Ikrimah, Muhammad bin Ka`b Al-Qurazi, Qatadah, As-Suddi and Ibn Zayd. Several scholars of Tafsir stated that by this, the Quraysh meant Al-Walid bin Al-Mughirah and `Urwah bin Mas`ud Ath-Thaqafi. The apparent meaning is that what they meant was a great man from either of the two towns. Allah responded to their rejection by saying: أَهُمْ يَقْسِمُونَ رَحْمَةَ رَبِّكَ (Is it they who would portion out the mercy of your Lord) meaning, the matter has nothing to do with them; it is for Allah to decide. Allah knows best where to direct His Message, and He does not reveal it except to the one who is the purest in heart and soul, and of the noblest descent. Then Allah points out that He differentiates among His creation in terms of what He gives them of wealth, provision, intellect, understanding and other visible and hidden strengths: نَحْنُ قَسَمْنَا بَيْنَهُمْ مَّعِيشَتَهُمْ فِى الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا (It is We Who portion out between them their livelihood in this world,) لِّيَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُهُم بَعْضاً سُخْرِيّاً (so that some may employ others in their work.) It was said that this means that some employ others in their work, because one needs the other, and vice versa. This was the view of As-Suddi and others. وَرَحْمَةُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ (But the mercy of your Lord is better than which they amass.) means, the mercy of Allah towards His creation is better for them than the wealth and conveniences of this world which they possess. Wealth is not a Sign of Divine Pleasure وَلَوْلاَ أَن يَكُونَ النَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَحِدَةً (And were it not that mankind would have become of one community,) means, `were it not for the fact that many ignorant people would think that Our giving them wealth was a sign that We love the person to whom We give it, and thus they would have agreed upon disbelief for the sake of wealth.' This is the view of Ibn `Abbas, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, As-Suddi and others. لَّجَعَلْنَا لِمَن يَكْفُرُ بِالرَّحْمَـنِ لِبُيُوتِهِمْ سُقُفاً مِّن فِضَّةٍ وَمَعَارِجَ (We would have provided for those who disbelieve in the Most Gracious, silver roofs for their houses, and elevators) means, ladders and staircases of silver. This was the view of Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah, As-Suddi, Ibn Zayd and others. عَلَيْهَا يَظْهَرُونَ (whereby they ascend,) means, go up. And their houses would have doors, i.e., locks on their doors, وَسُرُراً عَلَيْهَا يَتَّكِئُونَ (and thrones on which they could recline,) means, all of that would be made of silver. وَزُخْرُفاً (And adornments) means, and gold. This was the view of Ibn `Abbas, Qatadah, As-Suddi and Ibn Zayd. وَإِن كُلُّ ذَلِكَ لَمَّا مَتَـعُ الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا (Yet all this would have been nothing but an enjoyment of this world.) means, all that belongs to this transient world which is insignificant before Allah. He hastens their reward for good deeds in the form of luxuries in this world, so that when they reach the Hereafter, they will have no good merits with Allah for which they may be rewarded, as was reported in the Sahih Hadith. It was reported in another Hadith: «لَوْ أَنَّ الدُّنْيَا تَزِنُ عِنْدَ اللهِ جَنَاحَ بَعُوضَةٍ مَا سَقَى مِنْهَا كَافِرًا شَرْبَةَ مَاء» (If this world were worth a gnat's wing before Allah, He would not give a disbeliever a drink of water.) Al-Baghawi narrated its chain of narration. وَالاٌّخِرَةُ عِندَ رَبِّكَ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ (And the Hereafter with your Lord is (only) for those who have Taqwa.) means, it is exclusively for them, and no one else will share it with them. When `Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, visited the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in seclusion, when he was keeping away from his wives, and he saw him resting on a rough mat which had left marks on his side, his eyes filled with tears and he said, "O Messenger of Allah, look at this Chosroes and this Caesar with all that they have, and you are the best of Allah's creation. " The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was reclining, but he sat up and said: «أَوَ فِي شَكَ أَنْتَ يَا ابْنَ الْخَطَّابِ؟» (Are you in doubt, O son of Al-Khattab) Then he said: «أُولئِكَ قَوْمٌ عُجِّلَتْ لَهُمْ طَـيِّـبَاتُهُمْ فِي حَيَاتِهِمُ الدُّنْيَا» (Those are people for whom the enjoyments are hastened in this world.) According to another report: «أَمَا تَرْضَى أَنْ تَــكُونَ لَهُمُ الدُّنْيَا وَلَنَا الْاخِرَة» (Does it not please you that this world is for them and the Hereafter is for us) In as the Two Sahihs and elsewhere, it is reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: «لَا تَشْرَبُوا فِي آنِيَةِ الذَّهَبِ وَالْفِضَّةِ، وَلَا تَأْكُلُوا فِي صِحَافِهَا، فَإِنَّهَا لَهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَلَنَا فِي الْاخِرَة» (Do not drink from vessels of gold and silver, and do not eat from plates of the same, for these things are for them in this world and for us in the Hereafter.) Allah has granted these things to them in this world because it is insignificant, as was reported by At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah via Abu Hazim from Sahl bin Sa`d, who said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: «لَوْ كَانَتِ الدُّنْيَا تَزِنُ عِنْدَ اللهِ جَنَاحَ بَعُوضَةٍ مَا سَقَى مِنْهَا كَافِرًا شَرْبَةَ مَاءٍ أَبَدًا» n(If this world were worth a gnat's wing before Allah, He would never give a disbeliever a drink of water.)" At-Tirmidhi said: "Hasan Sahih."

And mention when Abraham said to his father and his people ‘Surely I am innocent of that which you worship

واذكر -أيها الرسول- إذ قال إبراهيم لأبيه وقومه الذين كانوا يعبدون ما يعبده قومك: إنني براء مما تعبدون من دون الله.

يقول تعالى مخبرا عن عبده ورسوله وخليله إمام الحنفاء ووالد من بعث بعده من الأنبياء الذي تنتسب إليه قريش في نسبها ومذهبها أنه تبرأ من أبيه وقومه في عبادتهم الأوثان.

وبعد هذا البيان الماحق لشبهات المشركين ولأقوالهم الباطلة . . أتبع - سبحانه - ذلك بذكر جانب من قصة إبراهيم - عليه السلام - مع قومه ، وبذكر جانب من اعتراضاتهم على الرسول - صلى الله عليه وسلم - وعلى دعوته ، ورد عليها بما يخرس ألسنتهم فقال - تعالى - : ( وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ لأَبِيهِ . . . والآخرة عِندَ رَبِّكَ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ ) .أى : واذكر - أيها الرسول الكريم - لقومك حال جدك إبراهيم - عليه السلام - وقت أن قال لأبيه آزر ولقومه الذين كانوا عاكفين على عبادة الأصنام ، مقلدين فى ذلك آباءهم . . .قال لهم : إننى برئ ما تعبدونه من هذه الأوثان .وذكرهم - سبحانه - هنا بحال إبراهيم ، لأنه كان أعظم آبائهم ، ومحط فخرهم ، والمجمع على محبته منهم .فكأنه - تعالى - يقول لهم : هذا هو حال جدكم إبراهيم الذى تعتزون به فلماذا لم تقلدوه فى إنكاره لعبادة الأصنام ، وفى هجره لما كان عليه أبوه وقومه ، وإخلاصه العبادة لله - تعالى - وحده .وقوله : ( بَرَآءٌ ) مصدر وقع موقع الصفة وهى برئ ، على سبيل المبالغة فى التبرى من عبادتهم لغير الله - تعالى - يقال : تبرات من فلان ، فأنا منه براء .أى : كرهت قوله وفعله والقرب منه .

القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ لأَبِيهِ وَقَوْمِهِ إِنَّنِي بَرَاءٌ مِمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ (26)يقول تعالى ذكره: ( وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ لأبِيهِ وَقَوْمِهِ ) الذين كانوا يعبدون ما يعبده مشركو قومك يا محمد ( إِنَّنِي بَرَاءٌ مِمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ ) من دون الله, فكذّبوه, فانتقمنا منهم كما انتقمنا ممن قبلهم من الأمم المكذّبة رسلها. وقيل: ( إِنَّنِي بَرَاءٌ مِمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ ) فوضع البراء وهو مصدر موضع النعت, والعرب لا تثني البراء ولا تجمع ولا تؤنث, فتقول: نحن البراء والخلاء: لِما ذكرت أنه مصدر, وإذا قالوا: هو بريء منك ثنوا وجمعوا وأنَّثوا, فقالوا: هما بريئان منك, وهم بريئون منك. وذُكر أنها في قراءة عبد الله: " إنَّنِي بَرِيءٌ" بالياء, وقد يجمع برئ: براء وأبراء.

قوله - عز وجل - : ( وإذ قال إبراهيم لأبيه وقومه إنني براء ) أي بريء ، ولا يثنى البراء ولا يجمع ولا يؤنث ؛ لأنه مصدر وضع موضع النعت . ( مما تعبدون ) .

وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ لِأَبِيهِ وَقَوْمِهِ إِنَّنِي بَرَاءٌ مِمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ (26) لما ذكَّرهم الله بالأمم الماضية وشبه حالهم بحالهم ساق لهم أمثالاً في ذلك من مواقف الرسل مع أممهم منها قصة إبراهيم عليه السلام مع قومه . وابتدأ بذكر إبراهيم وقومه إبطالاً لقول المشركين : { إنا وجدْنا آباءنا على أمة وإنا على آثارهم مهتدون } [ الزخرف : 22 ] ، بأن أوْلى آبائهم بأن يقتدوا به هو أبوهم الذي يفتخرون بنسبته إبراهيم .وجملة وإذ قال إبراهيم } عطف على عموم الكلام السابق من قوله : { وكذلك ما أرسلنا من قبلك في قريةٍ من نذيرٍ } [ الزخرف : 23 ] إلى قوله : { وإذ قال إبراهيم } ، وهو عطف الغرض على الغرض .و { إذْ } ظرف متعلق بمحذوف ، تقديره : واذْكُر إذ قال إبراهيم ، ونظائر هذا كثيرة في القرآن كما تقدم في قوله تعالى : { وإذ قال ربّك للملائكة إني جاعل في الأرض خليفة } في سورة البقرة ( 30 ) .والمعنى : واذكر زمان قول إبراهيم لأبيه وقومه قولاً صريحاً في التبرّؤ من عبادة الأصنام . وخُصَّ أبو إبراهيم بالذكر قبلَ ذكر قومه وما هو إلا واحد منهم اهتماماً بذكره لأن براءة إبراهيم مما يَعبُد أبُوه أدَلُّ على تجنب عبادة الأصنام بحيث لا يتسامح فيها ولو كان الذي يعبدها أقربَ النّاس إلى موحّد الله بالعبادة مثل الأببِ ، ولتكون حكاية كلام إبراهيم قدوة لإبطال قول المشركين { وإنّا على آثارهم مهتدون } [ الزخرف : 22 ] قال تعالى : { قد كانت لكم أسوةٌ حسنةٌ في إبراهيم والذين معه إذ قالوا لقومهم إنّا برءؤا منكم ومما تعبدون من دون الله } [ الممتحنة : 4 ] أي فما كان لكم أن تقتدوا بآبائكم المشركين وهلا اقتديتم بأفضل آبائكم وهو إبراهيم .والبَرَاء بفتح الباء مصدر بوزن الفَعال مثل الظَّماء والسّماع يخبر به ويوصف به في لغة أهل العالية وهي ما فوق نجد إلى أرض تهامة مما وراء مكّة وأما أهل نجد فيقولون بَريء .

يخبر تعالى عن ملة إبراهيم الخليل عليه السلام، الذي ينتسب إليه أهل الكتاب والمشركون، وكلهم يزعم أنه على طريقته، فأخبر عن دينه الذي ورثه في ذريته فقال: { وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ لِأَبِيهِ وَقَوْمِهِ } الذين اتخذوا من دون اللّه آلهة يعبدونهم ويتقربون إليهم:{ إِنَّنِي بَرَاءٌ مِمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ } أي: مبغض له، مجتنب معاد لأهله،

قوله تعالى : وإذ قال إبراهيم لأبيه وقومه إنني براء مما تعبدونقوله تعالى : ( وإذ قال ) أي : ذكرهم إذ قال . إبراهيم لأبيه وقومه إنني براء مما تعبدون البراء يستعمل للواحد فما فوقه فلا يثنى ولا يجمع ولا يؤنث ; لأنه مصدر وضع موضع النعت ، لا يقال : البراءان والبراءون ، لأن المعنى ذو البراء وذوو البراء . قال الجوهري : وتبرأت من كذا ، وأنا منه براء ، وخلاء منه لا يثنى ولا يجمع لأنه مصدر في الأصل ، مثل : سمع سماعا . فإذا قلت : أنا بريء منه وخلي ثنيت وجمعت وأنثت ، وقلت في الجمع : نحن منه برآء مثل فقيه وفقهاء ، وبراء أيضا مثل كريم وكرام ، وأبراء مثل شريف وأشراف ، وأبرياء مثل نصيب وأنصباء ، وبريئون . وامرأة بريئة بريئتان وهن بريئات وبرايا . ورجل بريء وبراء مثل عجيب وعجاب . والبراء ( بالفتح ) أول ليلة من الشهر ، سميت بذلك لتبرؤ القمر من الشمس .

Abraham’s proclamation of the Unity of God as mentioned here was made by him during the last days of his mission. This was not simply a string of words: it was the sum and substance of a great history. When he attained the age of awareness, he discovered that the only Being worth worshipping by man was God. Except for Him, all other gods were false and without foundation. He built up his life solely on the basis of this belief and preached it among his family members and the people of his community. In complete disregard of personal or other considerations, he was steadfast in this belief for a very long time, so much so that his being a believer in the one God came to define his identity. After a lifetime spent in this way, when he left his native place and repeated the above-mentioned words, they naturally left a permanent impression. His words were such that people used to remember them whenever his name was mentioned. This strong tradition laid down by Abraham should have served as a milestone for the coming generations. But absorption in worldly interests made them neglectful of it and they became so careless and forgetful of it that in a later period, when one of God’s messengers came to remind them of this past lesson, they rejected him.

Commentary وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَ‌اهِيمُ (And [ recall ] when Ibrahim said to his father and to his people, 43:26) At the end of the previous verses, Allah Ta’ ala had stated that the 'mushrikin' (polytheists) of Arabia had no argument in favour of their 'shirk' (polytheism) except that they were carrying on the customs of their forefathers. Obviously, sticking to such customs against logical and historical arguments is far from truth and justice. Now the point made in the present verses is that, even if they are adamant on following their ancestors, why do they not follow Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) who is the most noble of their ancestors, and it is taken by themselves as a matter of pride to be among his offspring. He was not only a believer in 'tauhid' (Oneness of Allah) who emphatically directed all his children to remain adherent to this belief, but his life-long behavior also indicates that following forefathers against logical and historical proofs is not permissible. When he was ordained prophethood in the world, all his people were polytheists in pursuit of the customs of their forefathers, but he, instead of blindly following his forefathers, announced his dissociation from his people, according to the dictates of positive proofs; hence his declaration: إِنَّنِي بَرَ‌اءٌ مِّمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ "I disown that which you worship" (43:26). We find from this verse that if anyone lives among a group or people who are misguided or involved in bad deeds, and his silence about their attitude may be construed as being agreeable to them, then it is not enough for him to simply correct his own beliefs and deeds, rather he has to disown their beliefs and deeds as well. This is what Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) did - he not only made his belief and actions distinctly different in practice, but he also disowned their belief and deeds vocally.

(And when Abraham said unto his father) Azar (and his folk) when He was sent to them: (Lo! I am innocent of what ye worship