'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' He, exalted and glorified is He, says: "Indeed, Ibrahim was a nation, obedient to Allah, inclining toward truth, and he was not of the polytheists. Thankful for His favors, He chose him and guided him to a straight path. And We gave him in this world good, and indeed, he will be among the righteous in the Hereafter. Then We revealed to you to follow the religion of Ibrahim, inclining toward truth, and he was not of the polytheists. Indeed, the Sabbath was only prescribed for those who differed concerning it, and indeed, your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that in which they used to differ." When Allah exposed the actions of the Jews and their manipulation of His law by mentioning what He had prohibited for them, He intended to clarify their distance from the law of Ibrahim and the claim regarding it. He aimed to describe the state of Ibrahim to highlight the difference between their condition and that of Quraysh as well. The term 'nation' in the language is a shared term that applies to goodness, the generality, and a large group of people. Then a knowledgeable man or a king or an individual is likened to many people, and he is called a nation. In this way, Ibrahim, peace be upon him, was called a nation. Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: 'A nation is a teacher of goodness.' He also said at one time: 'Indeed, Mu'adh ibn Jabal, may Allah be pleased with him, was a nation, obedient.' So, Abu Qurra al-Kindi or Furwah ibn Nufal said to him: 'Not like that, rather it is Ibrahim who was a nation, obedient.' He said: 'Do you know what a nation is? It is a teacher of goodness.' And likewise, Mu'adh was one who knew goodness and obeyed Allah and His Messenger. Mujahid said: 'Ibrahim was called a nation due to his uniqueness in faith during his time for a period.' The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 'In al-Bukhari, it is mentioned that he said to Sarah: 'There is no believer on earth today except me and you.' Some grammarians - I think it was Abu al-Hasan al-Akhfash - said: 'The term 'nation' is a noun derived from 'amma' (to lead), similar to 'hamza' and 'dahka' (laughter), meaning: it is followed by it.' The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 'A nation' - according to this - is an adjective, and according to the first opinion, it is a name that is not an adjective. 'The obedient' is the one who is constantly obedient in worship, and 'the inclining toward truth' is the one who leans toward goodness and reform. The Arabs used to say, for one who circumcises and performs pilgrimage: 'inclining toward truth.' The omission of the noon from 'he was not' is due to frequent usage, similar to its omission in: 'I do not care' and 'I do not know.' It is also due to the similarity of the noon in its state of being silent with the letters of the vowel, for its lightness and that it may be a sign and otherwise. So, it is as if 'not' here entered upon 'he would not' in the state of being in the subjunctive, and the noon is not omitted if it is not silent, as in His saying, exalted is He: 'Those who disbelieved were not' [al-Bayyina: 1]. And it is not omitted in such cases except in poetry, where it has come omitted. His saying: 'of the polytheists' indicates Ibrahim's, peace be upon him, disavowal of the condition of the polytheists of the Arabs and the polytheists of the Jews, as they all claimed him, and polytheism is necessitated for the Jews due to their anthropomorphism. 'Thankful' is an attribute of Ibrahim that follows what has preceded, and 'the favors' is the plural of favor, and 'He chose him' means: He selected him, and the rest of the verse is clear.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And We gave him in this world a good thing﴾, the good thing is: the tongue of truth and his leadership over all of creation. This is the saying of all the commentators. This is because every religious community acknowledges that their faith is the faith of Ibrahim, and that he is their example, and that he was upon the truth. And His saying: ﴿Indeed, he is among the righteous﴾ means: among those who are favored, that is: among the righteous in their conditions and ranks, or it means that he in the Hereafter is among those who are judged to be among the righteous in this world. This is based on the fact that the verse describes his state in both abodes, and it is possible that the meaning is: in the deeds of the Hereafter. Thus, this describes his state in worldly and otherworldly deeds.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿Then We revealed to you﴾, the verse. The revelation to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, in this is among the good things that Allah gave to Ibrahim, peace be upon him. Ibn Fawrak said: And the command of the superior to follow the inferior when it leads to the truth and acting upon it, and "that" in His saying: ﴿That you should follow﴾ is explanatory, and it may be that it is a causal particle. And "the religion" is the way in the beliefs of the Shari'ah, and "Hanif" is a state, and the acting agent in it is the action in His saying: ﴿The religion of Ibrahim﴾. It may be that it is a state of the pronoun in "follow". Makkī said: And it cannot be a state of Ibrahim because it is added to him, and it is not as he said; because the state may be affected by prepositions when they act in that state, like your saying: I passed by Zayd while he was standing.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿Indeed, the Sabbath was made﴾, that is: it was not from the religion of Ibrahim, but rather Allah made it an obligation by which He punished the people who differed in it. This was said by Ibn Zayd. This is because Musa, peace be upon him, commanded the Children of Israel to make a day from the Friday a day dedicated to worship, and he commanded them to have Friday. The majority of them said: No, it should be on Saturday because Allah completed the creation of His creations on it. Others said: No, we will accept what Allah commanded Musa, peace be upon him. The majority then confronted them, and the others followed them, so Allah made them adhere strongly to Saturday as a punishment from Him for them. Thus, there was no steadfastness from them; rather, they disobeyed and transgressed, so they were destroyed.

And Al-Amash read: "Indeed, We have sent down the Sabbath," and this is the reading of Ibn Mas'ud. And Abu Haywah read: "He made" with the opening of the ج and ع. It has been narrated in the hadith that the Jews and Christians differed on the day that is designated from the Friday. These took Saturday, and those took Sunday, and Allah guided us to the day of Friday. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "This is their day in which they differed." Thus, the difference mentioned in the verse is not the same as the difference in the hadith, and the rest of the verse is a clear warning.