Tafsir of Surah Al-Anbiya' - Verse 72

The Migration of Ibrahim to Ash-Sham (Greater Syria), accompanied by Lut

Allah tells us that He saved Ibrahim from the fire lit by his people, and brought him out from among them, migrating to the land of Ash-Sham, to the sacred regions thereof.

وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ إِسْحَـقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ نَافِلَةً

(And We bestowed upon him Ishaq, and Ya`qub Nafilatan.) `Ata' and Mujahid said, "Nafilatan means as a gift." Ibn `Abbas, Qatadah and Al-Hakam bin `Uyaynah said, "The gift of a son who has a son," meaning that Ya`qub was the son of Ishaq, as Allah says:

فَبَشَّرْنَـهَا بِإِسْحَـقَ وَمِن وَرَآءِ إِسْحَـقَ يَعْقُوبَ

(But We gave her glad tidings of Ishaq, and after Ishaq, of Ya`qub) 11:71. `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said, "He asked for one son, and said,

رَبِّ هَبْ لِى مِنَ الصَّـلِحِينِ

("My Lord! Grant me from the righteous.") So Allah gave him Ishaq, and gave him Ya`qub in addition.

وَكُلاًّ جَعَلْنَا صَـلِحِينَ

(Each one We made righteous. ) means, both of them were good and righteous people.

وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ أَئِمَّةً

(And We made them leaders,) means, examples to be followed.

يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا

(guiding by Our command,) inviting to Him by His leave. Allah says:

وَأَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْهِمْ فِعْلَ الْخَيْرَتِ وَإِقَامَ الصَّلوة وَإِيتَآءَ الزَّكَـوةِ

(and We revealed to them the doing of good deeds, performing Salah, and the giving of Zakah,) Here the general is followed by the specific.

وَكَانُواْ لَنَا عَـبِدِينَ

(and of Us (Alone) they were the worshippers.) means, they did what they enjoined others to do.

The Prophet Lut

Then Allah mentions Lut, whose full name was Lut bin Haran bin Azar. He believed in Ibrahim and followed him, and migrated with him, as Allah says:

فَـَامَنَ لَهُ لُوطٌ وَقَالَ إِنِّى مُهَاجِرٌ إِلَى رَبِّى

(So Lut believed in him. He (Ibrahim) said: "I will emigrate for the sake of my Lord") 29:26. Allah gave him wisdom and knowledge; He sent Revelation to him, made him a Prophet and appointed him to Sadum (Sodom) and its vicinity, but they rejected him and resisted him, so Allah utterly destroyed them, as He tells us in several places in His Book. Allah says;

وَلُوطاً آتَيْنَـهُ حُكْماً وَعِلْماً وَنَجَّيْنَـهُ مِنَ الْقَرْيَةِ الَّتِى كَانَت تَّعْمَلُ الْخَبَـئِثَ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُواْ قَوْمَ سَوْءٍ فَـسِقِينَ - وَأَدْخَلْنَـهُ فِى رَحْمَتِنَآ إِنَّهُ مِنَ الصَّـلِحِينَ

(and We saved him from the town who practised Al-Khaba'ith. Verily, they were a people given to evil, and were rebellious. And We admitted him to Our mercy; truly, he was of the righteous.)

وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ إِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ نَافِلَةً (And We blessed him with Ishaq and Ya` qub as gift - 21:72) That is, Allah Ta` la had bestowed upon him the son Ishaq (علیہ السلام) as per his supplication and in addition to that a grandson Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) as a gift. This is why he is referred to as نَافِلَةً nafilah which originally means 'extra'.

The Prophet Abraham was born in Iraq. When the people of his community and Iraq’s ruler, Nimrod, became his enemies, he left his native place after fully conveying the divine message to them. At God’s command he migrated to the lands of Syria and Palestine. Though his countrymen did not support him, God gave him sons and grandsons who followed in his footsteps. God accepted and appreciated his piety to the extent that He started a chain of prophets from amongst his descendants.