Tafsir of Surah Maryam - Verse 47

The Reply of Ibrahim's Father

Allah, the Exalted, informs of the reply of Ibrahim's father to his son, Ibrahim, in reference to what he was calling him to. He said,

أَرَاغِبٌ أَنتَ عَنْ آلِهَتِى يإِبْرَهِيمُ

(Do you revile my gods, O Ibrahim) This means, "If you do not want to worship them (the idols) and you are not pleased with them, then at least stop cursing, abusing, and reviling them. For verily, if you do not cease, I will punish you, curse you and revile you." This is the meaning of his statement;

لأَرْجُمَنَّكَ

(La'arjumannaka.) Ibn `Abbas, As-Suddi, Ibn Jurayj, Ad-Dahhak and others said this. Concerning His statement,

وَاهْجُرْنِى مَلِيّاً

(So get away from me Maliyan.) Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr and Mujahid bin Ishaq all said, "Maliyan means forever." Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "For a long time." As-Suddi said,

وَاهْجُرْنِى مَلِيّاً

(So get away from me safely Maliyan. ) "This means forever." Ali bin Abi Talhah and Al-`Awfi both reported that Ibn `Abbas said,

وَاهْجُرْنِى مَلِيّاً

(So get away from me safely Maliyan.) "This means to go away in peace and safety before you are afflicted with a punishment from me." Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah, `Atiyah Al-Jadali, Malik and others said the same. This is also the view preferred by Ibn Jarir.

The Reply of Allah's Friend (Khalil)

With this, Ibrahim said to his father,

سَلَـمٌ عَلَيْكَ

(Peace be on you!) This is as Allah said concerning the description of the believers,

وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الجَـهِلُونَ قَالُواْ سَلاَماً

(and when the foolish address them (with bad words) they say, "Salaman peace.") 25:63 Allah also says,

وَإِذَا سَمِعُواْ اللَّغْوَ أَعْرَضُواْ عَنْهُ وَقَالُواْ لَنَآ أَعْمَـلُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَـلُكُمْ سَلَـمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لاَ نَبْتَغِى الْجَـهِلِينَ

(And when they hear Al-Laghw (false speech), they withdraw from it and say: "To us our deeds, and to you your deeds. Peace be to you. We seek not (the way of) the ignorant.") 28:55 The meaning of Ibrahim's statement to his father,

سَلَـمٌ عَلَيْكَ

(Peace be on you!) "You will not receive any insult or harm from me." This is due to the respect and honor of fatherhood.

سَأَسْتَغْفِرُ لَكَ رَبِّي

(I will ask forgiveness of my Lord for you.) meaning "But, I will ask Allah to guide you and forgive you for your sin."

إِنَّهُ كَانَ بِى حَفِيّاً

(Verily, He is unto me Hafiyya.) Ibn `Abbas and others said that Hafiyyan means, "Kind." Meaning, "since He guided me to worship Him and direct my religious devotion to Him alone." As-Suddi said, "Al-Hafi is One Who is concerned with his (Ibrahim's) affair." Thus, Ibrahim sought forgiveness for his father for a very long time, even after he migrated to Ash-Sham. He continued to seek forgiveness for him even after building the Sacred Masjid (in Makkah) and after the birth of his two sons, Isma`il and Ishaq. This can be seen in his statement,

رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لِى وَلِوَالِدَىَّ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الْحِسَابُ

(Our Lord! Forgive me and my parents, and (all) the believers on the Day when the reckoning will be established.) 14:41 From this tradition, during the beginning stages of Islam, the Muslims used to seek forgiveness for their relatives and their family members who were polytheists. They did this following the way of Ibrahim, the Khalil (Friend) of Allah, until Allah revealed,

قَدْ كَانَتْ لَكُمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ فِى إِبْرَهِيمَ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ إِذْ قَالُواْ لِقَوْمِهِمْ إِنَّا بُرَءآؤاْ مِّنْكُمْ وَمِمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ

(Indeed there has been an excellent example for you in Ibrahim and those with him, when they said to their people: "Verily, we are free from you and whatever you worship besides Allah.") 60:4 Until Allah's statement,

إِلاَّ قَوْلَ إِبْرَهِيمَ لاًّبِيهِ لاّسْتَغْفِرَنَّ لَكَ وَمَآ أَمْلِكُ لَكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِن شَىْءٍ

(Except the saying of Ibrahim to his father: "Verily, I will ask forgiveness (from Allah) for you, but I have no power to do anything for you before Allah.") 60:4 meaning, except for this statement, so do not follow it. Then Allah explains that Ibrahim abandoned this statement and retracted it. Allah, the Exalted, says,

مَا كَانَ لِلنَّبِىِّ وَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ أَن يَسْتَغْفِرُواْ لِلْمُشْرِكِينَ

(It is not (proper) for the Prophet and those who believe to ask Allah's forgiveness for the idolators.) 9:113 Until Allah's statement,

وَمَا كَانَ اسْتِغْفَارُ إِبْرَهِيمَ لاًّبِيهِ إِلاَّ عَن مَّوْعِدَةٍ وَعَدَهَآ إِيَّاهُ فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ أَنَّهُ عَدُوٌّ لِلَّهِ تَبَرَّأَ مِنْهُ إِنَّ إِبْرَهِيمَ لأَوَّاهٌ حَلِيمٌ

(And Ibrahim's invoking for his father's forgiveness was only because of a promise he had made to him. But when it became clear to him that he is an enemy of Allah, he dissociated himself from him. Verily, Ibrahim was Awwah, forbearing.) 9:114 Concerning Allah's statement,

وَأَعْتَزِلُكُمْ وَمَا تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَأَدْعُو رَبِّى

(And I shall turn away from you and from those whom you invoke besides Allah. And I shall call upon my Lord,) This means, "And I worship my Lord alone, associating no partners with Him."

عَسَى أَلاَّ أَكُونَ بِدُعَآءِ رَبِّى شَقِيًّا

(I certainly hope that I shall not be unblessed in my invocation to my Lord. ) The word `Asa (I hope) here means that which will necessarily occur and not that which is hoped for from the impossible. For verily, he (Ibrahim) is the leader of the Prophets other than Muhammad .

سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكَ (Peace on you) Here the word (Peace) may carry two meanings. One, that the word سَلَام is used to signify severance of relations in a polite manner so as not to cause hurt to his father. This practice has been described in the Holy Qur'an as an attribute of good and pious people. An example in point are the words.

وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الْجَاهِلُونَ قَالُوا سَلَامًا

"When ignorant people speak to them, they reply peacefully." (25:63)

It means that when the ignorant people say foolish things to them they simply say 'Salami (peace) instead of getting involved into an argument with them. This is a way of conveying to them that though I do not agree with your views I will not harm you. The second explanation is that the word سَلَام has been used in the conventional sense. But here the problem is that The Holy Prophet ﷺ has forbidden the believers to be the first to greet an infidel with the word سَلَام on meeting him. The following saying of The Holy Prophet ﷺ has been reported in Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim on the authority of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ .

لَا تَبدأ والیھود و النصاریٰ بالسَّلَام

"Do not be the first to greet Jews and Christians with the word سَلَام

On the other hand Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim have also reported through Sayyidna Usamah ؓ ' that The Holy Prophet ﷺ had greeted first a group of people with the word in which infidels, polytheists and Muslims were all present.

This explains the differences which have developed among jurists on the question of propriety or otherwise of this practice. By their words and actions eminent companions (of the Holy Prophet ﷺ), their followers and leaders of religious thought have expressed different views on this issue. Qurtubi has treated this subject in great detail while explaining this verse in his book Ahkam ul-Qur’ an. Imam An-Nakha` i has ruled that when one meets an infidel, a Jew or a Christian on a religious or a worldly need, then there is no harm in taking lead in greeting him with the word سَلَام ، but one should avoid greeting first when there is no need to meet him. Thus both the sayings of the Prophet ﷺ (حَدِیث) have been reconciled.

سَأَسْتَغْفِرُ‌ لَكَ رَ‌بِّي (I shall seek forgiveness for you from my Lord - 19:47). Here again the problem is that to ask for forgiveness for the sins of an infidel is prohibited and unlawful by Islamic laws, the Holy Prophet ﷺ had said to his uncle Abu Talib واللہ لاستغفرنّ لک مالم انہ عنہ ، that is;

"By God I shall keep on praying to Allah for your forgiveness until I am forbidden to do so by Him."

On this the following verse was revealed:

مَا كَانَ لِلنَّبِيِّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَن يَسْتَغْفِرُ‌وا لِلْمُشْرِ‌كِينَ

"It is not for the Prophet and the believers to seek forgiveness for the Mushriks." (9:113)

After the revelation of this verse he stopped seeking forgiveness for his uncle.

The answer to this confusion is that Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) had promised his father to seek Divine Mercy for him before such a prayer was forbidden. The prohibition was imposed after this event. Allah Ta` ala has mentioned this event in Surah Mumtahinna where this exception is clearly indicated.

إِلَّا قَوْلَ إِبْرَ‌اهِيمَ لِأَبِيهِ لَأَسْتَغْفِرَ‌نَّ لَكَ

Except that Ibrahim said to his father "Certainly I shall ask pardon for you". - 60:4.

This is more clear in Surah Taubah in the verse following the verse.

مَا كَانَ لِلنَّبِيِّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَن يَسْتَغْفِرُ‌وا لِلْمُشْرِ‌كِينَ

"It is not for the Prophet and the believers to seek forgiveness for the Mushriks." - 9:114.

وَمَا كَانَ اسْتِغْفَارُ‌ إِبْرَ‌اهِيمَ لِأَبِيهِ إِلَّا عَن مَّوْعِدَةٍ وَعَدَهَا إِيَّاهُ فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ أَنَّهُ عَدُوٌّ لِّلَّـهِ تَبَرَّ‌أَ مِنْهُ

"And the prayer of Ibrahim for the forgiveness of his father was not but due to a promise he had made to him. Later, when it became clear to him that he was an enemy of Allah, he withdrew himself from him." - 9:114.

This shows that Sayyidna Ibrahim's (علیہ السلام) promise to his father to invoke Allah's Mercy for him was made before the latter's firm adherence to infidelity, and his hostility to Allah became clearly evident. When the position was no longer in doubt Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) announced his dissociation from his father.

The statues criticized by the Prophet Abraham were not simply ordinary pieces of stone. Rather, they represented those entities, whose supposed magical greatness, enshrined in the legends of the past, had charmed the people and left a lasting impression on their minds. Compared to them, ‘young Abraham’ appeared to be an ordinary person, while the statues of Iraq seemed to be mountains of greatness. That is why Abraham’s father contemptuously ignored his advice. If the call to the Truth, initiated at a particular place, reaches a stage when the addresee though fully understanding it, stoop to violence, the believers have to move away from that place. Such a move is called Hijrah or immigration. The call of Truth is a divine call. That is why, from the very outset, it is marked by God-oriented thinking. Even if those to whom the call is addressed deal contemptuously with the call-giver and oppress him, he still keeps a soft corner in his heart for them. Similarly, if he finds himself unsupported by his surroundings, he is not dejected, because his real support comes from God. He firmly believes that, as always, He is with him and will remain with him forever.