He was an ummah with two aspects. One of them is that he was alone an ummah among the nations. [Mawood said: "In his saying ummah there are two aspects, one of them is that he was alone an ummah among the nations..." Ahmad said: This second meaning is strengthened by His saying, 'Then We revealed to you to follow the religion of Ibrahim, inclining toward truth.' This means he was an ummah whom people follow to take from him goodness and to follow his blessed traces. Even you, despite your great status, We have revealed to you to follow his religion and to agree with his way. And Allah knows best.] For his perfection in all attributes of goodness, as His saying:

"And it is not inconceivable for Allah... to gather the world into one."

This is a saying to Harun, the Imam of guidance... at the gathering of the great assembly.

You, despite your ability... are not like al-Fadl in the world.

It is not inconceivable for Allah... to gather the world into one.

This is about Abu Nuwas who relates to Harun al-Rashid regarding al-Fadl al-Barmaki when he threatened him with death, out of jealousy for what he heard about his end in generosity. He addressed the two of them following the custom of the Arabs, and the gathering is the assembly. The great assembly is the gathering, and 'with' means 'along with.' That is: you, while being in the utmost ability, do not find anyone like al-Fadl in the whole world. The 'fa' (and) in the news of the subject indicates a conditional meaning, that is: even if you are capable, and the 'ba' (in) in the news of 'not' is for the affirmation of the negation. It is inferred from His saying: It is not inconceivable for Allah to gather all the qualities of the world in one man like al-Fadl. This is what the apparent structure suggests, but it contradicts the requirement of the context of entreaty. The meaning is that there should be no jealousy from you towards al-Fadl, for his generosity is some of your attributes. For Allah is capable of gathering all the attributes of the world in you, and He has done so. It is narrated: 'from Allah' instead of 'on Allah.' It is narrated: 'invention' instead of 'inconceivable.']

And from Mujahid: He was a believer alone while all the people were disbelievers. The second is that he is an ummah meaning 'one who is followed,' that is: people follow him to take goodness from him, or in the sense of being followed like a journey [The saying 'like a journey' in the authentic texts means 'the face you want' when pronounced with a dammah, and 'the act of traveling' when pronounced with a kasrah. (A)] and the elite, and similar to that which comes from a verb meaning a passive participle. It is like His saying: 'Indeed, I am making you for the people an imam.' And it is narrated from al-Shabi from Furwah ibn Nufal al-Ashja'i from Ibn Mas'ud that he said: 'Indeed, Mu'adh was an ummah, obedient to Allah.' I said: 'You are mistaken, it is only Ibrahim.' He said: 'The ummah is the one who teaches goodness.' And the obedient one is the one who is obedient to Allah and His Messenger. [This was narrated by al-Tabarani, al-Hakim, and Abu Na'im in al-Hilya. From the narration of Aliyah from Mansur from Abdul Rahman from al-Shabi, Furwah ibn Nufal al-Ashja'i said that Ibn Mas'ud mentioned it. But it does not include: 'I said to him: You are mistaken,' rather it includes: 'It was said to him: Indeed, Ibrahim.' And it includes: 'And Mu'adh ibn Jabal taught the people goodness and was obedient to Allah and His Messenger.' Al-Hakim also narrated it from the narration of Shu'bah from Firas from al-Shabi from Masruq from Abdullah who said: 'Indeed, Mu'adh was an ummah obedient to Allah.' A man from the Ashja' tribe named Furwah ibn Nufal said: 'That is only Ibrahim.' Abdullah said: 'We used to liken him to Ibrahim.' - the hadith. And it was narrated by Abdul Razak. And from the path of al-Hakim, he said: 'We were informed by al-Thawri from Firas similarly.'] And Mu'adh was like that. And from Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, he said - when he was asked: 'Will you not appoint a successor?' - 'If Abu Ubaidah were alive, I would have appointed him, and if Mu'adh were alive, I would have appointed him. And if Salim were alive, I would have appointed him, for I heard the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, say: 'Abu Ubaidah is the trustworthy of this ummah, and Mu'adh is an ummah obedient to Allah, and there is no one between him and Allah on the Day of Resurrection except the messengers, and Salim is greatly beloved by Allah. If he did not fear Allah, he would not have disobeyed Him.' [I did not find it.] And it is that meaning, that is: he was an imam in religion, for the imams are the teachers of goodness.

And the qanit: the one who stands by what Allah has commanded him. And the hanif: the one who inclines to the religion of Islam without deviating from it. And he negated polytheism from him as a refutation to the disbelievers of Quraysh in their claim that they were upon the religion of their father Ibrahim, being grateful for His blessings. It is narrated that he would not eat lunch except with a guest. One day, he did not find a guest, so he delayed his lunch. Then, he saw a group of angels in the form of humans, and he invited them to food. They seemed to him as if they were afflicted with leprosy? He said: 'Now your eating is obligatory upon me, in gratitude to Allah for He has granted me health and tested you.' He chose him and selected him for prophethood and guided him to a straight path, to the religion of Islam. It is good from Qatadah: it is mentioned by Allah in His remembrance, until there is no one from the people of the religion except that they take him as a guardian. And it was said: wealth and children, and it was said: the saying of the one who prays: just as You prayed upon Ibrahim, indeed, he is among the righteous, for he is of the people of Paradise.