130. " and who turns away from abraham's creed but
he who makes a fool of himself ? indeed, we chose him in this world,
and in the hereafter surely he shall be among the righteous."
131. " when his lord said to him, ` submit ', he said,
` i have submitted to the lord of all worlds'."
132. " and this did abraham bequeath to his sons, and (so did) jacob,
` my children, allah has chosen for you the faith,
therefore die not unless you are muslims '."
commentary :
abraham (a.s.), a human prototype
in the former verses, abraham's
personality was partly introduced.
some of his services and quite a few of his comprehensive invocations,
which included material and spiritual aspects, were discussed.
from the totality of these words, it is concluded that this great
apostle can be a good model for all the truth-seekers throughout the
world, and his school of thought can be an instruction guideline for all
human beings.
based on this very matter, in the first verse of the above verses, it
says:
" and who turns away from abraham's creed but he
who makes a fool of himself? ..."
is this not foolishness that one forsakes
such a pure brilliant creed
and goes astray along the misleading paths of polytheism, blasphemy,
and corruption? this is a religion which is appropriate for and
coinciding with the soul and nature of man. it is a process that parallels
wisdom and logic. this creed is beneficial for man both in the present
world and the next world.
then, it adds: "...
indeed, we chose him in this world, and in the
hereafter surely he will be among the righteous."
yes, abraham (a.s.) is chosen by allah, and he is among the
ranks of the righteous and that is why he should be chosen as a model.
the next verse, as an emphasis, refers to
one of the other
outstanding qualities which is, in fact, the origin of the rest of his
qualities.
" when his lord said to him, ` submit ', he said,
` i have submitted to the lord of all worlds'."
yes, it is when abraham (a.s.), that pure
true believer and
self-sacrificer, hearkens to the call of his innate nature that the lord
enjoins him ` submit ', and he submits himself totally to his command.
abraham (a.s.) sees that the stars, the moon, and the sun, all in all,
have precise settings. then he, with his mind and perceptioe finds out
that they are subject to the regulations of creation. therefore, he
proclaims that none of them can be his lord, and he says: " for me, i
have set my face firmly and truly, towards him who created the heavens
and the earth, and never shall i give partners to god." (sura al-an`am,
no. 6, verse 79).
in fact, the first step to attaining worthiness for a person is
through purity and sincerity, and it was owing to this same quality in
abraham (a.s.) that he was able to submit exclusively to the command
of allah, therefore he was pleased with him and chose him, and for
this same reason he selected him to introduce his religion.
the entirety of abraham's (a.s.) deeds, throughout his life, from
beginning up to the end, were unique. one of his expressions of faith
was through his challenge with idol worshippers and star worshippers.
another was when, while in the midst of fire, he showed such strength
of faith that his hostile enemy, nimrod, was so affected by him that he
unwillingly said: " if a person wants to take a god, he should take one
similar to the god of abraham (a.s.)." 1
also, bringing his wife and suckling son to that hot dry land, i.e.
the holy land, building the house of ka`bah, and taking his beloved
son into the place of sacrifice, each was an example of the resoluteness
of his manner.
abraham's (a.s.) bequest to his
children at the last moments of his
life was also a model, as the last verse of the verses under discussion
says:
" and this did abraham bequeath to his sons, and (so did) jacob, ..."
each of them told their sons: "... ` my children, allah has
chosen for
you the faith, therefore die not unless you are muslims'."
it seems that the qur'an by stating the bequest of abraham (a.s.)
intends to reiterate the fact that you human beings are not only
responsible for your children while they are with you but you are
responsible for their futures, too. when you are on your deathbed, do
not think of only your financial affairs and that of your children after
your death; you had better think about their spiritual life, too.
not only did abraham (a.s.) bequeath such a testament, but also
his grandson, jacob (a.s.), imitated abraham's same manner and at the
last moments of his life enjoined his children to attain the secret of
victory, success and happiness via this short phrase: ` submit to the lord
of the worlds'.
the mentioning of jacob from among all prophets, here in this
verse, is perhaps with the aim of telling the jews and christians, who
each in their own way used to join themselves to jacob, that the
blasphemic creeds which they followed and the lack of pure submission
in the truth that they showed by their actions, did not coincide with the
manner of the one whom they joined themselves to.