Tazkirul Quran · Tafsir · in English
As-Saffat 37:102–122
37:102–113Page 449
فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ مَعَهُ ٱلسَّعۡيَ قَالَ يَٰبُنَيَّ إِنِّيٓ أَرَىٰ فِي ٱلۡمَنَامِ أَنِّيٓ أَذۡبَحُكَ فَٱنظُرۡ مَاذَا تَرَىٰۚ قَالَ يَٰٓأَبَتِ ٱفۡعَلۡ مَا تُؤۡمَرُۖ سَتَجِدُنِيٓ إِن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مِنَ ٱلصَّٰبِرِينَ ١٠٢
And when he reached with him [the age of] exertion,1 he said, "O my son, indeed I have seen in a dream that I [must] sacrifice you, so see what you think." He said, "O my father, do as you are commanded. You will find me, if Allāh wills, of the steadfast."
فَلَمَّآ أَسۡلَمَا وَتَلَّهُۥ لِلۡجَبِينِ ١٠٣
And when they had both submitted1 and he put him down upon his forehead,
وَنَٰدَيۡنَٰهُ أَن يَٰٓإِبۡرَٰهِيمُ ١٠٤
We called to him, "O Abraham,
قَدۡ صَدَّقۡتَ ٱلرُّءۡيَآۚ إِنَّا كَذَٰلِكَ نَجۡزِي ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِينَ ١٠٥
You have fulfilled the vision." Indeed, We thus reward the doers of good.
إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَهُوَ ٱلۡبَلَٰٓؤُاْ ٱلۡمُبِينُ ١٠٦
Indeed, this was the clear trial.
وَفَدَيۡنَٰهُ بِذِبۡحٍ عَظِيمٖ ١٠٧
And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice,1
وَتَرَكۡنَا عَلَيۡهِ فِي ٱلۡأٓخِرِينَ ١٠٨
And We left for him [favorable mention] among later generations:
سَلَٰمٌ عَلَىٰٓ إِبۡرَٰهِيمَ ١٠٩
"Peace upon Abraham."
كَذَٰلِكَ نَجۡزِي ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِينَ ١١٠
Indeed, We thus reward the doers of good.
إِنَّهُۥ مِنۡ عِبَادِنَا ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ ١١١
Indeed, he was of Our believing servants.
وَبَشَّرۡنَٰهُ بِإِسۡحَٰقَ نَبِيّٗا مِّنَ ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ ١١٢
And We gave him good tidings of Isaac, a prophet from among the righteous.1
وَبَٰرَكۡنَا عَلَيۡهِ وَعَلَىٰٓ إِسۡحَٰقَۚ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِهِمَا مُحۡسِنٞ وَظَالِمٞ لِّنَفۡسِهِۦ مُبِينٞ ١١٣
And We blessed him and Isaac. But among their descendants is the doer of good and the clearly unjust to himself [i.e., sinner].
In the days of Abraham, polytheism was so dominant that its continuity in history had been long established. Now, any child born into this situation was influenced by the surrounding atmosphere and was so immersed in polytheism that no effort even at the level of the Prophet was successful in weaning him away from it. When Abraham left Iraq, after a long missionary struggle, there were only two believers with him—one his wife Sarah and the other his nephew, Lot. People did not adhere to the concept of the oneness of God, despite the utmost struggle on the part of Prophet Abaraham. So, Almighty God planned that a new race be brought into existence which should be nurtured far away from the atmosphere of polytheism. For this purpose, the area of Hijaz was selected. This area, being dry and without any vegetation, was desolate and uninhabited. The plan was that a devotee should be settled in this area where he would become the progenitor of a pure race. Hijaz (Mecca and Medina) was a waterless desert and to settle anyone in such arid surroundings amounted to sacrificing him alive. God ordered Abraham to offer his son Ishmael as a sacrifice, and in all obedience, Abraham submitted to God’s will. Abraham’s second son was Isaac. Prophethood continued in his line of descent until the advent of the last prophet who belonged to the Children of Ishmael (the younger brother of Isaac). The Prophet Muhammad brought about a revolution, which destroyed polytheism as a dominant school of thought.
37:114–122Page 450
وَلَقَدۡ مَنَنَّا عَلَىٰ مُوسَىٰ وَهَٰرُونَ ١١٤
And We did certainly confer favor upon Moses and Aaron.
وَنَجَّيۡنَٰهُمَا وَقَوۡمَهُمَا مِنَ ٱلۡكَرۡبِ ٱلۡعَظِيمِ ١١٥
And We saved them and their people from the great affliction,
وَنَصَرۡنَٰهُمۡ فَكَانُواْ هُمُ ٱلۡغَٰلِبِينَ ١١٦
And We supported them so it was they who overcame.
وَءَاتَيۡنَٰهُمَا ٱلۡكِتَٰبَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَبِينَ ١١٧
And We gave them the explicit Scripture [i.e., the Torah],
وَهَدَيۡنَٰهُمَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيمَ ١١٨
And We guided them on the straight path.
وَتَرَكۡنَا عَلَيۡهِمَا فِي ٱلۡأٓخِرِينَ ١١٩
And We left for them [favorable mention] among later generations:
سَلَٰمٌ عَلَىٰ مُوسَىٰ وَهَٰرُونَ ١٢٠
"Peace upon Moses and Aaron."
إِنَّا كَذَٰلِكَ نَجۡزِي ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِينَ ١٢١
Indeed, We thus reward the doers of good.
إِنَّهُمَا مِنۡ عِبَادِنَا ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ ١٢٢
Indeed, they were of Our believing servants.
God helped the Prophet Moses and his community and relieved them from the oppression of Pharaoh. This was made possible through the dawah work performed by Moses. He preached the truth before Pharaoh. After the completion of the tenure of his dawah mission came the time for Pharaoh to be pronounced guilty and to be destroyed; and for Moses and his community to be victorious and dominant. In this context, one of the meanings of ‘showing the straight path’ is that the right solution to the problem of Pharaoh was revealed to them. Though this was a problem faced at the community level, its solution nevertheless lay in communicating the divine message. So, the victory and supremacy which they achieved was the result of dawah efforts and was not due to any national struggle or rebellion against Pharaoh in the usual sense.
Text: through the Quran Foundation. The ayahs: Quran Foundation. Sources and licences