The Iron — Verse 26

And verily We sent Noah and Abraham and We ordained among their seed prophethood and the Scripture meaning the four Books the Torah the Gospel the Psalms and the Furqān all of which have been revealed among the seed of Abraham; and some of them are rightly guided and many of them are immoral.

ولقد أرسلنا نوحًا وإبراهيم إلى قومهما، وجعلنا في ذريتهما النبوة والكتب المنزلة، فمِن ذريتهما مهتدٍ إلى الحق، وكثير منهم خارجون عن طاعة الله.

يخبر تعالى أنه منذ بعث نوحا عليه السلام لم يرسل بعده رسولا ولا نبيا إلا من ذريته وكذلك إبراهيم عليه السلام خليل الرحمن لم ينزل من السماء كتابا ولا أرسل رسولا ولا أوحى إلى بشر من بعده إلا وهو من سلالته كما قال تعالى في الآية الأخرى "وجعلنا في ذريته النبوة والكتاب" حتى كان آخر أنبياء بني إسرائيل عيسى ابن مريم الذي بشر من بعده بمحمد صلوات الله وسلامه عليهما.

وقوله - سبحانه - : ( وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحاً وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ وَجَعَلْنَا فِي ذُرِّيَّتِهِمَا النبوة والكتاب . . . ) معطوف على جملة : ( لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بالبينات ) عطف الخاص على العام .أى : لقد أرسلنا رسلا كثيرين . . . وبالله لقد أرسلنا نوحا وإبراهيم ، وجعلنا فى ذريتهما عددا من الأنبياء ، وأوحينا إليهم كتبنا ، التى تهدى أقوامهم إلى طريق الحق ، كالتوراة التى أنزلناها على موسى ، وكالزبور الذى أنزلناه على داود .وخص - سبحانه - نوحا وإبراهيم - عليهما السلام - بالذكر ، لشهرتهما ولأن جميع الأنبياء من نسلهما .والضمير فى قوله - تعالى - : ( فَمِنْهُمْ مُّهْتَدٍ وَكَثِيرٌ مِّنْهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ ) أى : فمن ذريتهم من اهتدى إلى الدين الحق ، وآمن به ، وقام بأداء تكاليفه . وكثير من أفراد هذه الذرية فاسقون . أى : خارجون عن الاهتداء إلى الحقن منغمسون فى الكفر والضلال .

يقول تعالى ذكره: ولقد أرسلنا أيها الناس نوحا إلى خلقنا، وإبراهيم خليله إليهم رسولا(وَجَعَلْنَا فِي ذُرِّيَّتِهِمَا النُّبُوَّةَ وَالْكِتَابَ)، وكذلك كانت النبوّة في ذرّيتهما، وعليهم أنـزلت الكتب: التوراة، والإنجيل، والزبور، والفرقان، وسائر الكتب المعروفة ( فَمِنْهُمْ مُهْتَدٍ ) يقول: فمن ذرّيتهما مهتد إلى الحقّ مستبصر، ( وَكَثِيرٌ مِنْهُمْ ) يعني: من ذرّيتهما( فَاسِقُونَ ) يعني ضُلال، خارجون عن طاعة الله إلى معصيته.

"ولقد أرسلنا نوحاً وإبراهيم وجعلنا في ذريتهما النبوة والكتاب فمنهم مهتد وكثير منهم فاسقون".

وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ وَجَعَلْنَا فِي ذُرِّيَّتِهِمَا النُّبُوَّةَ وَالْكِتَابَ فَمِنْهُمْ مُهْتَدٍ وَكَثِيرٌ مِنْهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ (26)معطوف على جملة { لقد أرسلنا رسلنا بالبينات } [ الحديد : 25 ] عطف الخاص على العام لما أريد تفصيل لإِجماله تفصيلاً يسجل به انحراف المشركين من العرب والضالّين من اليهود عن مناهج أبويهما : نوح وإبراهيم ، قال تعالى في شأن بني إسرائيل { ذرية من حملنا مع نوح إنه كان عبداً شكوراً } [ الإسراء : 3 ] ، والعرب لا ينسون أنهم من ذرية نوح كما قال النابغة يمدح النعمان بن المنذر: ... فألفيت الأمانةَ لم تخنْهاكذلك كان نوح لا يخون ... والنبوءة في ذريتهما كنبوءة هود وصالح وتُبّع ونبوءة إسماعيل وإسحاق وشعيب ويعقوب .والمراد ب { الكتاب } ما كان بيد ذرية نوح وذرية إبراهيم من الكتب التي فيها أصول ديانتهم من صحف إبراهيم وما حفظوه من وصاياه ووصايا إسماعيل وإسحاق .والفسق : الخروج عن الاهتداء ، ومن الفاسقين : المشركون من عاد وثمود وقوم لوط واليمن والأوس والخزرج وهم من ذرية نوح ، ومن مدين والحجاز وتهامة وهم من ذرية إبراهيم .والمراد : مَنْ أشركوا قبل مجيء الإسلام لقوله : { ثم قفينا على آثارهم برسلنا وقفينا بعيسى ابن مريم } [ الحديد : 27 ] .

ولما ذكر نبوة الأنبياء عموما، ذكر من خواصهم النبيين الكريمين نوحا وإبراهيم اللذين جعل الله النبوة والكتاب في ذريتهما، فقال: { وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ وَجَعَلْنَا فِي ذُرِّيَّتِهِمَا النُّبُوَّةَ وَالْكِتَابَ } أي: الأنبياء المتقدمين والمتأخرين كلهم من ذرية نوح وإبراهيم عليهما السلام، وكذلك الكتب كلها نزلت على ذرية هذين النبيين الكريمين، { فَمِنْهُمْ } أي: ممن أرسلنا إليهم الرسل { مُهْتَدٍ } بدعوتهم، منقاد لأمرهم، مسترشد بهداهم.{ وَكَثِيرٌ مِنْهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ } أي: خارجون عن [طاعة الله و] طاعة الرسل والأنبياء كما قال تعالى: { وَمَا أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ }

قوله تعالى : ولقد أرسلنا نوحا وإبراهيم فصل ما أجمل من إرسال الرسل بالكتب ، وأخبر أنه أرسل نوحا وإبراهيم وجعل النبوة في نسلهما وجعلنا في ذريتهما النبوة والكتاب أي : جعلنا بعض ذريتهما الأنبياء ، وبعضهم أمما يتلون الكتب المنزلة من السماء : التوراة ، والإنجيل ، والزبور ، والفرقان . وقال ابن عباس : " الكتاب " الخط بالقلم فمنهم أي : من ائتم بإبراهيم ونوح مهتد وقيل فمنهم مهتد أي : من ذريتهما مهتدون وكثير منهم فاسقون كافرون خارجون عن الطاعة .

All the prophets who came here on behalf of God brought the same religion. But successive generations, introduced innovations in the name of the prophet. An example of this is found in the followers of Jesus. Jesus was entrusted only with the task of conveying the Truth. His prophetic responsibilities did not include fighting. So, he laid more emphasis on missionary ethics, such as are based entirely on affection and compassion. He advised his followers to be affectionate and compassionate towards others. But after Jesus his followers could not fully appreciate this point. By temperament they tended towards renunciation. For the purpose of missionary work, they were only advised not to be engrossed in purely worldly considerations, but they went to the extreme of renouncing the world.

Many of the Nations of the Prophets (علیہم السلام) were Rebellious In the preceding verses it was mentioned that in order to give guidance to the world and to establish justice therein, Allah sent His Messengers and revealed to them the divine books and set up Balance. The current verses give specific names of some of those Divine Messengers. Among them, Prophet Nuh (علیہ السلام) stands first in the list, because he is second 'Adam (علیہ السلام) in the sense that all human beings after the Deluge were from his progeny. Then the Prophet Ibrahim Khalil-ullah (علیہ السلام) is mentioned as he is the father of the prophets and recognized as an ideal for all the divine religions. It has been made plain here that all the Prophets and Messengers (علیہ السلام) sent after these two prophets were from their offspring. Out of many branches of the progeny of Nuh (علیہ السلام) ، the branch singled out for prophet-hood was that of Prophet Ibrahim Khalil-ullah (علیہ السلام)

(And We verily sent Noah) to his folk, 800 years after Adam, and he remained with them for 950 years, but they refused to believe and Allah destroyed them with the flood (and Abraham) and We have sent Abraham to his folk, 1240 years after Noah (and placed the prophethood and the Scripture) they had among them prophets and scriptures (among their seed) the seed of Noah and Abraham, (and among them there is he who goeth right) a believer in the Scripture and Messenger, (but many of them are evil-livers) disbelievers in the Scripture and Messenger.

Many of the Nations of the Prophets were Rebellious Allah the Exalted states that since He sent Nuh, peace be upon him, all the Prophets and Messengers He sent after that were from his offspring. All the revealed Divine Books and all the Messengers that received revelation after Ibrahim, Allah's Khalil, peace be upon him, were from Ibrahim's offspring. Allah the Exalted said in another Ayah: وَجَعَلْنَا فِى ذُرِّيَّتِهِ النُّبُوَّةَ وَالْكِتَـبَ (and placed in their offspring prophethood and Scripture.) 29:27 The last among the Prophets of the Children of Israel was `Isa, son of Mary, who prophecied the good news of the coming of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon them both. Allah the Exalted said, ثُمَّ قَفَّيْنَا عَلَى ءَاثَـرِهِم بِرُسُلِنَا وَقَفَّيْنَا بِعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ وَءَاتَيْنَـهُ الإِنجِيلَ (Then, We sent after them Our Messengers, and We sent 'Isa the son of Maryam, and gave him the Injil.) refering to the Injil that Allah revealed to him, وَجَعَلْنَا فِى قُلُوبِ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُ (And We ordained in the hearts of those who followed him,) i.e., the disciples, رَأْفَةٌ (compassion) and tenderness, وَرَحْمَةً (and mercy.) toward the creatures. Allah's statement, وَرَهْبَانِيَّةً ابتَدَعُوهَا (But the monasticism which they invented for themselves,) refers to the monasticism that the Christian nation invented, مَا كَتَبْنَـهَا عَلَيْهِمْ (We did not prescribe for them) `We -- Allah -- did not ordain it for them, but they chose it on their own.' There are two opinions about the meaning of, إِلاَّ ابْتِغَآءَ رِضْوَنِ اللَّهِ (only to please Allah therewith,) The first is that they wanted to please Allah by inventing monasticism. Sa`id bin Jubayr and Qatadah said this. The second meaning is: "We did not ordain them to practice that but, rather, We ordained them only to seek what pleases Allah." Allah's statement, فَمَا رَعَوْهَا حَقَّ رِعَايَتِهَا (but that they did not observe it with the right observance.) meaning, they did not abide by what they ordered themselves to do. This Ayah criticizes them in two ways: first, they invented in things in their religion, things which Allah did not legislate for them. The second is that they did not fulfill the requirements of what they themselves invented and which they claimed was a means of drawing near to Allah, the Exalted and Most Honored. GIbn Jarir and Abu `Abdur-Rahman An-Nasa'i -- and this is his wording - recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "There were kings after `Isa who changed the Tawrah and the Injil when there were still believers who recited Tawrah and the Injil. Their kings were told, `We were never confronted by more severe criticism and abuse than of these people.' -- they recite the Ayah, وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْكَـفِرُونَ (And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, such are the disbelievers.)(5:44), as well as, they accuse us of short comings in our actions, while still they recite. Therefore, summon them and let them recite these Ayat our way and believe in them our way.' The king summoned them and gathered them and threatened them with death if they did not revert from reciting the original Tawrah and Injil to using the corrupted version only. They said, `Why do you want us to do that, let us be.' Some of them said, `Build a narrow elevated tower for us and let us ascend it, and then give us the means to elevate food and drink to us. This way, you will save yourselves from hearing us.' Another group among them said, `Let us go about in the land and eat and drink like beasts do, and if you find us in your own land, then kill us.' Another group among them said, `Build homes (monasteries) for us in the deserts and secluded areas, where we can dig wells and plant vegetables. Then, we will not refute you and will not even pass by you.' These groups said this, even though they all had supporters among their tribes. It is about this that Allah the Exalted and Most Honored sent down this Ayah, وَرَهْبَانِيَّةً ابتَدَعُوهَا مَا كَتَبْنَـهَا عَلَيْهِمْ إِلاَّ ابْتِغَآءَ رِضْوَنِ اللَّهِ فَمَا رَعَوْهَا حَقَّ رِعَايَتِهَا (But the monasticism which they invented for themselves, We did not prescribe for them, but (they sought it) only to please Allah therewith, but that they did not observe it with the right observance.) "' Imam Ahmad recorded that Anas bin Malik said that the Prophet said, «لِكُلِّ نَبِيَ رَهْبَانِيَّةٌ، وَرَهْبَانِيَّةُ هذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ الْجِهَادُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَل» (Every Prophet has Rahbaniyyah (monasticism); Jihad in the cause of Allah, the Exalted and Most Honored, is the Rahbaniyyah of this Ummah.) Al-Hafiz Abu Ya`la collected this Hadith and in this narration, the Prophet said, «لِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَهْبَانِيَّةٌ، وَرَهْبَانِيَّةُ هذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ الْجِهَادُ فِي سَبِيلِ الله» (Every Ummah has Rahbaniyyah; Jihad in the cause of Allah is the Rahbaniyyah of this Ummah.) Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri said that a man came to him and asked him for advice, and Abu Sa`id said that he asked the same of Allah's Messenger ﷺ. Abu Sa`id said, "So, I advise you to adhere by the Taqwa of Allah, because it is the chief of all matters. Fulfill the obligation of Jihad, because it is the Rahbaniyyah of Islam. Take care of remembering Allah and reciting the Qur'an, because it is your closeness (or status) in the heavens and your good fame on earth." Only Imam Ahmad collected this Hadith.