'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "And when Ibrahim said, 'My Lord, make this city safe and keep me and my sons away from worshiping idols.' My Lord, indeed they have led astray many among the people. So whoever follows me is of me, and whoever disobeys me - indeed, You are Forgiving and Merciful." "Our Lord, indeed I have settled some of my descendants in a valley without cultivation near Your Sacred House. Our Lord, that they may establish prayer. So make hearts among the people incline toward them and provide for them from the fruits that perhaps they will be grateful." The meaning: And remember when Ibrahim said, and 'the city' refers to Makkah, and 'safe' means: in it is safety. Thus, describing it with safety is a metaphor, as He said: "On a stormy day" [Ibrahim: 18], and as the poet said: 'And what is the night of the camels to the sleeper?' And 'keep me away' means: and prevent me. It is said: he kept him away from something and protected him from it. Al-Jahdari and Al-Thaqafi read: 'And keep me away' by cutting the alif and breaking the noon. And 'my sons' refers to the sons of his loins. Therefore, his supplication was answered for them, but as for the rest of his offspring, they worshipped idols. This supplication from the Friend, blessings and peace be upon him, indicates his extreme fear for himself and for those who are in his rank. So how could he fear that he would worship an idol? However, this verse should be followed in fear and seeking a good ending. And 'idols' are those carved in the likeness of humans, and what is carved in a form other than that of humans are considered statues. This was said by Al-Tabari from Mujahid. He attributed to the idols that they have led astray many among the people as a metaphor, since they are susceptible to misguidance and the causes set for error, and upon them deeds are established. The reality of misguidance is truly for its inventor. And His saying: "And whoever disobeys me" appears to refer to disbelief, as it is equivalent to His saying: "So whoever follows me is of me." If that is the case, then His saying: "Indeed, You are Forgiving and Merciful" means: with Your forgiveness for the disbelievers until they believe, not that He intended that Allah forgives a disbeliever. However, he was led to this expression by what he would take himself to with good words, pleasant speech, and beautiful manners, blessings and peace be upon him. Qatadah said: Listen to the words of the Friend, by Allah, they were not slanderers nor cursers. Likewise, the Prophet of Allah, 'Isa, peace be upon him, said: "And if You forgive them, indeed You are the Exalted in Might, the Wise" [Al-Ma'idah: 118]. Al-Tabari narrated from Abdullah ibn Umar a hadith from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he recited these two verses, then prayed for his nation, and he was given good tidings concerning them. And Ibrahim Al-Taymi used to say: Who can feel safe for himself after the fear of the Friend for himself from the worship of idols?

And His saying: ﴿From my descendants﴾ means Ishmael, peace be upon him. This is because when Sarah became jealous of Hagar after she gave birth to Ishmael, Ibrahim, peace be upon him, suffered because of them. He mounted the Buraq with Hagar and the child, and he came in one day from the Levant to the valley of Mecca. He descended and left his son and his mother there, and he rode away from that day. All of this was by revelation from Allah, blessed and exalted is He. When he turned away, he prayed with the meaning of this verse. As for the manner of Hagar's remaining and what she did, and the rest of the news of Ishmael, it is in the book of Al-Bukhari and the histories and others. And 'from' in His saying: ﴿From my descendants﴾ is for partiality, because Isaac was in the Levant. And 'the valley' is what is between the two mountains, and it is not a condition that there be water in it. This verse necessitates that Ibrahim, peace be upon him, had known from Allah, blessed and exalted is He, that He would not let Hagar and her son be lost in that valley, and that He would provide them with water. He only looked far ahead for the outcome and said: ﴿Not having any cultivation﴾. If he had not known that from Allah, he would have said: 'Not having any water' based on the state of the valley at that time.

And His saying: ﴿Near Your Sacred House﴾ either means that the house was ancient as has been narrated before the flood, and its knowledge was with Ibrahim, or that he said it when Allah, blessed and exalted is He, informed him that He would build there a house for Allah, blessed and exalted is He, and it would be sacred. The meaning is: sacred from the tyrants and that its sanctity should not be violated and its rights should not be belittled. This was said by Qatadah and others. The gathering of the pronoun in His saying: 'to establish' indicates that Allah had informed him that this child would have descendants there. And the 'lam' in His saying: 'to establish' is the lam of purpose; this is the apparent meaning of it, as it is related to 'I settled'. The call is an interruption, and it is correct that it could be a lam of command, as if he desired from Allah to grant them success in establishing prayer. Then he presented a statement binding them to establish prayer. In the wording - according to this interpretation - there is some figurative language that connects it to the meaning and rectifies it.

And 'the hearts' are the hearts, the plural of fu'ad. It is named that for its intensity, taken from: fa'ada, and from it is the muftad, which is the one igniting the fire where the meat is roasted. Ibn 'Amir read differently from him: 'So make hearts' with a ya after the hamzah. And His saying: ﴿From among the people﴾ is partial, and his intention is: the believers. Mujahid said: If Ibrahim had said: 'Hearts of the people', Persians and Romans would have crowded to the house. And Said ibn Jubair said: 'The Jews and Christians would have performed pilgrimage to it.' And 'tahwi' means: it moves with earnestness and intent in haste, and from it is the saying of the poet:

And when you throw it to the paths, you see it ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ hastening to its ends like the eager one.

And from it is the narrated verse:

It hastens to Mecca seeking guidance ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ the believers among the jinn are not like its kinds.

And Salamah ibn Abdullah read "tuhwi" with a dammah on the ta, from ahwa, which is the mentioned action that is transitive with the hamzah. And Ali ibn Abi Talib, and Muhammad ibn Ali, and Mujahid read "tahwi" with a fathah on the ta and the waw. This action, which is from al-hawa, is transitive with "to," because it is associated with movement and intention. It was narrated from Muslim ibn Muhammad al-Tayfi that when he, peace be upon him, prayed for the inhabitants of Mecca to be granted fruits, Allah sent Gabriel, peace be upon him, who uprooted a piece of land from Palestine, and it was said - from Jordan - and brought it and circled the Kaaba with it seven times, and placed it near Mecca. So it is al-Ta'if, and by this story it was named, and it is the location of Thaqif, and there are trees and fruits there.