Appearance
Verses 69–76
This section of verses covers the story of the glad tidings given to the prophet Abraham that he would be granted a son. This serves as an introduction to the following story of the angels going to the prophet Lot to destroy his people. The story of Lot is a continuation of this one, and the ending of the story of Abraham provides context for the story of Lot, as it concludes with the words of the angels: ‘Your Lord’s edict has certainly come, and an irrevocable punishment shall overtake them’ ().
وَلَقَدْ جَاءَتْ رُسُلُنَا إِبْرَاهِيمَ بِالْبُشْرَىٰ قَالُوا سَلَامًا ۖ قَالَ سَلَامٌ ۖ فَمَا لَبِثَ أَنْ جَاءَ بِعِجْلٍ حَنِيذٍ ٦٩
(11:69) Certainly Our messengers came to Abraham with the good news (bushrā), and said, ‘Peace!’ ‘Peace!’ He replied. Presently he brought a roasted calf (ʿijl ḥanīdh).
Bushrā means the same as bashāra (‘good news’), while an ʿijl (‘calf’) refers to the offspring of a cow, and ḥanīdh (‘roasted’) is a passive participle, which denotes meat that has been grilled on hot stones. According to some scholars of language, ḥanīdh specifically denotes meat that has been roasted on stones that have been heated by the sun. Others have said that it is meat roasted in such a way that it drips juices and fat. Others say that it is any kind of roasted meat. The verse in Sūrah al-Dhāriyāt, Then he retired to his family and brought a fat calf (), seems to support the second of these meanings.
The phrase, Certainly (la-qad) Our messengers came to Abraham with the good news, is follows on from the earlier verse, Certainly (la-qad) We sent Noah to his people (). In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, al-Ṭabrisī writes: ‘The lām (in la-qad) is for emphasis, and the use of qad suggests that the audience who are listening to the stories of the prophets are expecting to hear one story after another.’
The ‘messengers’ mentioned in this verse are none other than the angels sent to Abraham to give him good news and to Lot to destroy his people. Commentators on the Qurʾan hold differing views about their number, but it is certain that there were more than two of them because the term ‘messengers’ (rusul) is a plural, and in Arabic, the plural form signifies three or more. Some traditions from the Household of the Prophet mention that there were four angels. These traditions will be discussed below.
The account here does not explicitly tell us what good news the angels brought to Abraham. All we are told is that the good news concerns his wife. However, the good news for Abraham himself is mentioned elsewhere, as in the chapters al-Ḥijr and al-Dhāriyāt, but they do not identify which son was mentioned in this good news: Isaac or Ishmael, or whether the good news was about both of them. The context of the story in this chapter would suggest that the good news was about Isaac. A comprehensive discussion about this will come at the end of the story.
The phrase, … and said, ‘Peace!’ ‘Peace!’ He replied, means they exchanged greetings. (They) said, ‘Peace!’ means they told him: ‘Peace be upon you!’—‘Peace!’ He replied, means he told them: ‘And peace be upon you!’
Note that the word ‘peace’ (salāmun) in Abraham’s greeting is indefinite, which in a greeting context either implies that it refers to the general concept of peace, or that it has been left indefinite in order to magnify and aggrandize it. Some commentators have also pointed out that the angels greeting is in the accusative (salāman), while Abraham’s is in the nominative (salāmun) and said that this is more eloquent and expressive than the accusative case. Therefore, it shows that Abraham greeted them with the best of greetings, showing them the utmost generosity of spirit, because he thought that they were guests.
فَلَمَّا رَأَىٰ أَيْدِيَهُمْ لَا تَصِلُ إِلَيْهِ نَكِرَهُمْ وَأَوْجَسَ مِنْهُمْ خِيفَةً ۚ قَالُوا لَا تَخَفْ إِنَّا أُرْسِلْنَا إِلَىٰ قَوْمِ لُوطٍ ٧٠
(11:70) But when he saw their hands not reaching for it, he took them amiss and felt a fear of them (awjasa min-hum khīfa). They said, ‘Do not be afraid. We have been sent to the people of Lot.’
The phrase, ‘their hands not reaching for it’ means that they were not reaching out to partake of the food Abraham had offered them, which is a mark of hostility or ill-intent. Therefore, Abraham mistrusted them and felt afraid.
The verb ījās (from whence awjasa is derived) refers to internal apprehension, rather than an external show of fear. Al-Rāghib writes: ‘Wajas is a quiet sound, tawajjas means to listen attentively for something, while ījās means to experience it within oneself. Therefore, when God says of Abraham, awjasa min-hum khīfa, this means he experienced an internal sense of fear. The active participle wājis denotes a state of mind that arises out of a source of concern, because a source of concern gives rise to worries, which give rise to fear.’ Therefore, the sentence alludes to the fact that a kind of fear or apprehension entered Abraham’s heart when he saw his guests not partaking of the food, and ījās conjures the image of fear as a faint sound in one’s inner world that is heard by the heart. In other words, he detected fear in himself, which is why the angels immediately hasted to reassure him with the words, ‘Do not be afraid. We have been sent to the people of Lot.’
Therefore, the meaning of the verse is that when Abraham presented his guests (who had appeared in the guise of human beings) with a roasted calf, he noted they did not eat from it, like someone who was deliberately refraining from eating—which would be a sign of evil intent. This caused him to feel apprehensive of them, so they reassured him by saying, ‘Do not be afraid. We have been sent to the people of Lot.’ It was at this point he realized they were angels, who were spiritual beings and, therefore, neither ate, nor drank, nor had any physical needs, and that they were on an important mission.
Attributing a feeling fear to Abraham does not conflict with his status as a divine messenger, which is associated with infallibility from sin and moral faults. Fear, in general, is an emotional reaction to witnessing something unpleasant, which leads one to be wary of it and take action to avoid it. This is not, in itself, a fault. The real fault is an emotional reaction that results in the inability to resist fear and leads to panic and confusion, which prevent the person from forming a plan to avert the feared outcome. This is what we call cowardice. Conversely, not reacting at all to an unpleasant situation, which is called recklessness, is not a virtue either.
This is because God did not create such emotional states that transpire in the soul—such as being affected and reacting when witnessing something evil or unpleasant, or experiencing longing, desire, love, and the like when witnessing something good or pleasant—in vain. Pursuing what is good and beneficial and warding off what is evil and harmful is what all creatures, in their multiplicity, are naturally inclined to do. This is the very axis around which the existence of the natural order revolves.
Since human beings survive and grow through their faculties of sensation and desire, their ability to attract or repel things stems from their sensations and desires, and this is only possible if they are psychologically affected by external stimuli. When they perceive something pleasant and desirable, this stimulates attraction and want, while if it is something unpleasant and undesirable, it stimulates fear or revulsion.
Because these internal psychological states can sometimes lead a person to either of the extremes of excess or neglect, it is incumbent on the person to repel those things which are necessary to repel, which is the virtue of courage (shujāʿa), and to attract those things which are necessary to attract, which is the virtue of chastity (ʿiffa). Both courage and chastity are states of moderation between the extremes of excess and neglect. For example, when someone does not feel fear and throws themselves into danger in order to repel something unpleasant, this is recklessness. Or, if someone does not desire to attract anything pleasant for himself, this is laziness. Likewise, if someone is so powerfully affected by fear that they forget themselves and fall prey to panic and confusion at the first sign of danger, this is cowardice. Or, if they wantonly succumb to whatever they desire without restraint, like an animal to fodder, this is greed. All of these are examples of vices.
What God has graced His prophets with, in terms of protection from sin (or infallibility, ʿiṣma), is establishing the virtue of courage in their souls without recklessness. Courage is not the opposite of fear, which is a natural emotional response to the sight of something unpleasant and which calls upon the soul to fulfil the duty of protecting itself. Instead, courage is the opposite of cowardice, which is when a person’s emotional reaction is so strong that they render thought and planning useless and result in loss and defeat.
God says: such as deliver the messages of Allah and fear Him, and fear no one except Allah (). He said to Moses, peace be upon him: Do not be afraid. Indeed you will have the upper hand … (). He also recounts Jethro words to him: ‘Do not be afraid. You have been delivered from the wrongdoing lot.’ (). And He said to His Prophet: And if you fear treachery from a people, break off with them in a like manner ().
Abraham was a noble prophet who called people to the truth, only ever speaking the name of God. He opposed the idolatry of his people, debating with his father Terah (Azar) and his own people, as well as the tyrant king Nimrod, who claimed divinity for himself. Abraham smashed the idols worshipped by his people, causing them to throw him into a great fire from which God saved him. Nothing deterred him from these endeavours, or from striving in the path of God, and he was never defeated. Now when a prophet with such a lofty spiritual station felt fear of something, apprehension of someone, or concern about a situation—as many different verses attest—then this fear was in fact a sign of wisdom, not cowardice. If he feared for his life, honor, or property, then he feared for these for the sake of God, not for his own personal desires.
وَامْرَأَتُهُ قَائِمَةٌ فَضَحِكَتْ فَبَشَّرْنَاهَا بِإِسْحَاقَ وَمِنْ وَرَاءِ إِسْحَاقَ يَعْقُوبَ٧١
(11:71) His wife, standing by, laughed (ḍaḥikat), so We gave her the good news of Isaac, and of Jacob, after Isaac.
The verb ḍaḥikat (‘she laughed’) actually signifies that she menstruated, as supported by the fact that God says that He gave her the good news as a result of this: ‘so We gave her the good news …’ Her menstruation is a sign intended to convince her of the good news and prepare her soul for accepting its truthfulness. She is described as ‘standing by’ is intended to reflect the unexpectedness of this situation: It never crossed her mind that she would menstruate, being an old woman. She was simply observing the events and conversation that were transpiring between her husband and their guests.
The meaning here is that while Abraham was talking to the guests about the food, his wife was standing there watching what was going on between them all. Nothing else was on her mind, and then she was surprised to find herself menstruating, whereat the angels gave her the good news that she would bear a child.
Most commentators have understood the term ‘laughed’ literally, as the opposite of crying, but they disagree about the cause of her laughter. The most plausible explanation is that she was standing there, becoming frightened by the guests’ refusal to eat, as this suggested they were dangerous. However, when she realized they were holy angels visiting her home and that there was no danger, she felt joy and laughed, and they gave her the good news of Isaac and, after Isaac, Jacob.
There are other explanations given for her laughter that are not supported by evidence. For example, some have said that she laughed out of astonishment at the obliviousness of Lot’s people, or because the guests refused to eat even though she served them herself, and that it was a signal to Abraham to bring Lot here as she foresaw his people’s transgressions leading to their destruction. So that when she heard from the angels saying, ‘We have been sent to the people of Lot,’ she was pleased and laughed because her opinion had been confirmed. Some say she laughed out of astonishment at the good news of having a child in her old, barren age. In this reading, however, the sequence should be understood as: ‘We gave her the good news of Isaac, and of Jacob, after Isaac … she laughed.’
… so We gave her the good news of Isaac, and of Jacob, after Isaac—Isaac is her son with Abraham, and Jacob is the son of Isaac. So, what the angels meant was that they gave her the good news that she will give birth to Isaac, and Isaac will have a son named Jacob, one son after another. This is based on the recitation that places a fatḥa on Jacob (Yaʿqūb) because of an implicit preposition. However, it can also be recited with a ḍamma, which signifies it is an explanation of the remainder of the good news. The former option is the most likely of the two.
The phrase, and of Jacob, after Isaac, hints at why Jacob (Yaʿqūb) was so named. As per the prophecy, he would ‘follow’ (yaʿqub) after his father Isaac. This corrects the etymology given for his name in the Torah.
In the present Torah, it is stated: ‘and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob.’’ This correction of the Biblical account is one of the subtle points of eloquence found in the Qurʾan.
قَالَتْ يَا وَيْلَتَىٰ أَأَلِدُ وَأَنَا عَجُوزٌ وَهَٰذَا بَعْلِي شَيْخًا ۖ إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَشَيْءٌ عَجِيبٌ ٧٢
(11:72) She said, ‘O woe is me! (yā waylatī) Shall I, an old woman (ʿajūz), bear a child, and this husband (baʿal) of mine is an old man?! That is indeed a wondrous thing (shayʾ ʿajīb)!’
The expression wayl (‘woe’) signifies something unpleasant, a loss that causes regret, such as death, disaster, shocking news, or a scandal. When one invokes it with the preposition yā, it metaphorically represents the presence and occurrence of the woe. For example, ‘O woe is me’ means ‘I am surrounded by what causes me regret.’
An ʿajūz is an elderly lady, while baʿal means ‘husband.’ It originally meant someone who takes care of matters and has no need of others. It is said about a palm tree that relies on the rain for water instead of rivers and springs, that it is baʿal. The term is also used for a master or a lord. From this, comes the name of the city ‘Baalbek’ because it had a temple dedicated to an idol (or ‘lord’, baʿal).
The adjective ʿajīb (‘wondrous’) is derived from the verb ʿajab, which refers to the state of wonderment experienced by a human being when they witness something whose cause they cannot fathom. For this reason, it is often used in reference to rare or unusual or events, as their causes are typically unknown. So, when Abraham’s wife says, ‘O woe is me! Shall I, an old woman, bear a child…?’ she is expression astonishment and regret, as when she received the angels’ glad tidings, the situation presented to her was that of an old, barren woman and an old, decrepit man, both advanced in age, conceiving a child. This was an astonishing matter, given the humiliation and disgrace associated with such an event amongst people, who would laugh and scoff at them, and this would be a source of scandal.
قَالُوا أَتَعْجَبِينَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ ۖ رَحْمَتُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ عَلَيْكُمْ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ ۚ إِنَّهُ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ ٧٣
(11:73) They said, ‘Are you amazed at Allah’s dispensation? Allah’s mercy and His blessings upon you, members of the household. Indeed He is all-laudable, all-glorious (hamīd, majīd).’
Majd (‘glory’) refers to generosity, and the majīd is the generous one who gives abundantly. The meanings of the remaining vocabulary in the verse have been explained earlier.
Their saying, ‘Are you amazed at Allah’s dispensation?’ is a rhetorical question meant to reprimand her. The angels rebuked her astonishment because astonishment typically arises because someone is ignorant of the cause of a matter and finds it strange. However, the matter in question here is ascribed to God, the Glorious and Exalted, who does as He wills and has power over all things. Therefore, it should not be a source of astonishment.
God Almighty had already bestowed upon the house of Abraham great favors and lofty gifts that distinguished them from all other people. So, it should hardly surprise them if a new blessing that distinguishes them from all other people is added to the blessings He has already bestowed—namely, a child from two old parents who would typically not produce a child.
For the reason mentioned, the angels said to her in reproach at the astonishment they had witnessed from her: ‘Are you amazed at Allah’s dispensation?’ They ascribed the matter to God to remove any astonishment and confusion because nothing is difficult for Him, as He is the Creator of all things.
Secondly, they said: ‘Allah’s mercy and His blessings upon you, members of the household.’ By saying this, they reminded Abraham’s wife that God had continuously bestowed His mercy and blessings upon them, the people of the house. So, it is not beyond the realm of likelihood that such mercy and blessings could include the birth of a child to parents beyond their normal childbearing years. The phrase ‘Indeed He is all-laudable, all-glorious’ is presented as a rationale for the statement, Allah’s mercy and His blessings upon you, members of the household.’ In other words: ‘God is the source of all praiseworthy acts and the origin of all generosity and goodness. His mercy and blessings overflow onto whomsoever of His servants He wills.’
فَلَمَّا ذَهَبَ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الرَّوْعُ وَجَاءَتْهُ الْبُشْرَىٰ يُجَادِلُنَا فِي قَوْمِ لُوطٍ ٧٤
(11:74) So when the awe (rawʿ) had left Abraham and the good news had reached him, he argued (yujādilunā) with Us concerning the people of Lot.
Rawʿ (‘awe’) here implies fear and horror, and mujādila (‘to argue’) originally means to persistently debate and question to make ones opinion prevail. This means that when Abraham’s fear had subsided, realizing that those who had come to him meant no harm and harboured no ill intentions towards him or his family, he received the good news that God would bless him and his wife with Isaac, and after Isaac, Jacob. He then began to debate with the angels about the people of Lot, in an effort to avert the punishment from them.
The phrase, he argued with Us concerning the people of Lot, either denotes a past state or suggests the presence of an implicit past-tense verb before it with the meaning: ‘He began to argue with us …’, this is because the consequent of ‘when…’ (lammā) at the beginning of the verse usually takes the form of a past-tense verb.
Based on the wording of the verse, it appears that the angels first told him that they were sent to the people of Lot. Then they gave him the good news, before informing him of the specific punishment destined for the people of Lot. Abraham then started to plead with them to avert this punishment. However, they informed him that the verdict was inevitable, and the punishment was impending and irreversible.
The debate that God mentioned between Abraham and the angels is fleshed-out in another verse: And when Our messengers came to Abraham with the good news, they said, ‘We are indeed going to destroy the people of this town. Its people are indeed wrongdoers.’ He said, ‘Lot is indeed in it.’ They said, ‘We know better those who are in it. We will surely deliver him and his family, except his wife: she shall be one of those who remain behind’ ().
إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ لَحَلِيمٌ أَوَّاهٌ مُنِيبٌ ٧٥
(11:75) Abraham was indeed most forbearing (ḥalīm), plaintive (awwāh), penitent (munīb)
Ḥalīm (‘forbearing’) describes someone who does not rush to punish someone or take revenge. Awwāh (‘plaintive’) describes someone who often laments the evil that he experiences or witnesses. Munīb (‘penitent’) describes someone who returns, and what is meant here is that he returned every matter to God.
The context of the present verse indicates that it is intended to explain the rationale behind Abraham’s actions in the previous one— he argued with Us concerning the people of Lot—and to show that not only was he not blameworthy for arguing on behalf of Lot’s people, but deserving of praise. It was because of his forbearance that he was not eager to bring down punishment on the wrongdoers, because he hoped that they might still be guided and change their ways. He was also deeply distressed by people’s misguidance and their impending destruction, and he constantly turned to God for their salvation. This is not to say that he did not believe the wrongdoers were deserving of punishment or that he stood up for them in spite of their wrongdoings, far be it from him to do so.
يَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ أَعْرِضْ عَنْ هَٰذَا ۖ إِنَّهُ قَدْ جَاءَ أَمْرُ رَبِّكَ ۖ وَإِنَّهُمْ آتِيهِمْ عَذَابٌ غَيْرُ مَرْدُودٍ ٧٦
(11:76) ‘O Abraham, let this matter alone! Your Lord’s edict has certainly come, and an irrevocable punishment shall overtake them.’
This is the response of the angels to Abraham’s plea, putting a stop to his arguments by making him aware that there was no point in trying to avert the punishment from Lot’s people, because the divine decree was definitive and, therefore, the punishment was inevitable. They said, ‘O Abraham, let this matter alone!’, meaning, give up your arguing, and do not hope for their salvation, because that would be desiring something impossible.
When the angels say, ‘Your Lord’s edict has certainly come …’, this means that His decree has reached an irreversible point, it cannot be reversed or altered. The following statement confirms this, ‘… and an irrevocable punishment shall overtake them.’ This shows that even if it is a future event, once the divine command has been issued, it never deviates from what God has decreed. Further confirmation is also found in the upcoming verses about the people of Lot, So when Our edict came, We made its topmost part its nethermost (.
As for when they say, ‘…and an irrevocable punishment shall overtake them’, this means that this is a punishment that cannot be prevented or warded off by any means. God’s judgement is the final word and it cannot be reversed. This statement serves to reinforce the preceding statements, and the context actually demands such a confirmation. This is why both of these statements begin with the particle of emphasis, inna (‘certainly’, ‘indeed’) and why they ascribe this decree to Abraham’s ‘Lord’ rather than to God, to emphasise His authority and persuade Abraham to desist from arguing further.
Examining Narrations
- In al-Kāfī, al-Kulaynī narrates from Abū Yazīd al-Ḥammār from Imām al-Ṣādiq: ‘God sent four angels to destroy the people of Lot: Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, and Kerubiel. They passed by Abraham and greeted him while in disguise, so he did not recognise them. He saw their handsome appearance and said, “None but myself shall host these as guests.” Abraham was a man known for his hospitality, so he roasted a fat calf for them. When it was cooked, he served it to them. However, when he saw their hands not reaching towards it, he became suspicious and felt afraid. When Gabriel saw this, he unveiled his face, and Abraham recognized him and said, “Is it you?” Gabriel replied, “Yes.” Then his wife passed by. She was given the good news of having Isaac and, after Isaac, Jacob. She exclaimed, “What! God says so?” They responded with what is in the Qurʾan.
Abraham asked them, “Why have you come?”
They replied, “We have come to destroy the people of Lot.”
Abraham asked, “If there are a hundred believers among them, will you destroy them?”
Gabriel replied, “No.”
He asked, “What if there are fifty?”
Gabriel said, “No.”
He asked, “What if there are thirty?”
Gabriel said, “No.”
He asked, “What if there are twenty?”
Gabriel said, “No.”
He asked, “What if there are ten?”
Gabriel said, “No.”
He asked, “What if there is one?” Gabriel said, “No.”
He said, “Lot is indeed in it.” They said, “We know better those who are in it. We will surely deliver him and his family, except his wife: she shall be one of those who remain behind.” () Then they left.’
Al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī said, “I cannot think of this conversation but as a way of him delaying them. This is the saying of God Almighty: he argued with Us concerning the people of Lot.”’ This is a topic we will discuss further in our commentary on the story of Lot.
Author’s comment: When he says, ‘I cannot think of think conversation but as a way of him delaying them’, this is an explanation that can also be inferred from God Almighty’s saying, Abraham was indeed most forbearing, plaintive, penitent. In fact, this is the most appropriate meaning, as it suggests his intention was to delay the angels’ destruction of Lot’s people, rather than delaying their going to God’s prophet, Lot. This is because the statements, he argued with Us concerning the people of Lot, and, and an irrevocable punishment shall overtake them, both suggest his intent was to delay the destruction of the people.
- In Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, it is narrated from ʿAbd Allāh b. Sinān, that he heard Imām al-Ṣādiq say: ‘He brought them a well-cooked, tender, roasted calf.’
- In Maʿānī al-akhbār, al-Ṣadūq narrates via a reliable chain of narrators from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. al-Ḥajjāj, from Abū ʿAbd Allāh, about the verse: (she) laughed, so We gave her the good news of Isaac (): ‘It means, “she menstruated.”’
- In al-Durr al-manthūr, al-Suyūṭī cites Isḥāq b. Bishr and Ibn ʿAsākir, who narrate from Juwaybar, from al-Ḍaḥḥāk, from Ibn ʿAbbās: ‘When Abraham saw that their hands did not reach the calf, he mistook them and was afraid of them. In those times, if one person intended to harm another, they would avoid eating from his food. They would say: “If you host someone with food, it becomes forbidden for him to harm you.” Abraham feared that they intended to harm him, and his limbs began to tremble.
His wife, Sarah, was standing and serving them. Whenever he wanted to host a guest, Sarah would serve them. Sarah laughed, and she laughed because she said, “Oh, Abraham, why are you afraid? They are just three people, and you have your family and servants.” Gabriel said to her, “O you who laughs, you will bear a boy, and his name will be Isaac, and after him, a boy whose name will be Jacob.” She turned away and slapped her face, then she turned around, wailing, and placed her hand on her face in embarrassment. Hence, the verse, she beat her face () and she said, ‘Shall I, an old woman, bear a child, and this husband of mine is an old man?’ ().
Then God gave good news to Abraham. So when the awe had left Abraham and the good news had reached him, he argued with Us concerning the people of Lot (). His argument was as follows: he asked Gabriel, “Where are you going? And to whom have you been sent?” Gabriel replied, “We have been sent to the people of Lot and we have been commanded to punish them”.
Abraham then said, “Lot is indeed in it.”
They replied, “We know better those who are in it. We will surely deliver him and his family, except his wife.” () Some claim his wife was known as Walqa.
Then Abraham asked, “If there were a hundred believers among them, would you still punish them?”
Gabriel replied, “No”.
He asked, “What if there were ninety believers?”
Gabriel replied, “No”.
He asked, “What if there were eighty believers among them? Would you still punish them?”
Gabriel replied, “No”.
This continued until he reached the number of one believer, to which Gabriel replied, “No”. When they did not mention to Abraham that there was even one believer among them, he said, “Indeed, Lot is among them”. They replied, “We know who is among them. We will save him and his family except his wife”.
Author’s comment: The text of the tradition is somewhat confused, as Abraham mentions ‘Lot is among them’ twice, but the meaning is clear.
- In the Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, it is narrated from Abū Ḥamza al-Thumālī, from Imām al-Bāqir: ‘When God decreed the punishment of the people of Lot and ordained it, He wanted to compensate Abraham for the loss of the people of Lot with a wise son, to comfort him for the loss of the people of Lot.
So God sent angelic messengers to Abraham, giving him good news of Ishmael. They visited him at night, and he was frightened of them, fearing they were thieves. But when the messengers saw he was afraid, they said, “Peace.” He replied, “Peace, we were afraid of you.” They said, “Do not be afraid. Indeed we give you good news of a wise son.”’
Imām al-Bāqir continued: ‘And the wise boy is Ishmael, from Hagar. Then Abraham said to the messengers, “‘Do you give me good news though old age has befallen me? What is the good news that you bring me?’” They said, “We bring you good news in truth; so do not be among the despondent.” Abraham said to the messengers, “O messengers, what is now your errand?” They said, “We have been sent toward a guilty people the people of Lot. They were indeed disobedient. So let us warn them of the punishment of the Lord of the Worlds.” Abraham said, ‘Lot is indeed in it.’ They said, ‘We know better those who are in it. We will surely deliver him and his family, except his wife. () We have ordained she will indeed be among those who remain behind.” (–)
When God punished them, He sent angelic messengers again to Abraham, bringing him glad tidings of Isaac and consoling him over the destruction of Lot’s people. This is referred to in the verse: Certainly Our messengers came to Abraham with the good news, and said, ‘Peace!’ ‘Peace!’ He replied—‘an unfamiliar folk.’—Presently he brought a roasted calf ( and ). He offered them a clean, grilled, well-cooked calf. But when he saw they did not reach for it with their hands, he distrusted them and felt a sense of fear. They said, “Do not fear, we have been sent to the people of Lot and to his wife who stands.”’ Imām al-Bāqir added: ‘By “his wife who stands”, they meant Sarah. They gave her glad tidings of Isaac, and after Isaac, Jacob. She laughed because she was amazed by their words.”
Author’s comment: As you can see, the narration presents the story of the good news brought to Abraham as two stories: the good news about Ishmael and the good news about Isaac, who was born several years after Ishmael. Then the verses of Sūrah al-Ḥijr, which do not mention Abraham offering the roasted calf to the guests, are interpreted as the good news about Ishmael and what happens when God’s punishment befalls the people of Lot. The verses from Sūrah al-Dhāriyāt and Sūrah Hūd, which are mixed together in the narration, are interpreted as the good news to Sarah about Isaac and Jacob, which only occurred after the destruction of the people of Lot. They returned to Abraham, informed him of the punishment, and gave him the second good news.
As for the verses in Sūrah al-Ḥijr, these can be understood on their own as the good news about Ishmael, just as the verses in Sūrah al-Dhāriyāt can be understood as describing the aftermath that followed the destruction of the people of Lot and the good news about Isaac and Jacob at that time.
As for the verses of the present chapter, they are explicit in giving good news about Isaac and Jacob, but the following verses, he argued with Us concerning the people of Lot. Abraham was indeed most forbearing, plaintive, penitent () cannot describe the events that followed the destruction of Lot’s people. Even if we say the verses When Our messengers came to Lot, do not necessarily preclude these verses describing the events that transpired after the punishment, as is also the case with the phrase, Your Lord’s edict has certainly come (), the context of the surrounding verses would appear to rule out such an explanation.
In short, what the verses in Sūrah Hūd appear to indicate is that Abraham received the announcement of good news about Isaac before the destruction of Lot’s people, and it was at the same time that Abraham argued with the angels. This necessitates that the events described in Sūrah al-Dhāriyāt likewise transpired before the destruction of Lot’s people, not after it. This is also the case with the account in Sūrah al-Ḥijr, which clearly describes events that took place before their destruction and also mentions Abraham’s debate with the angels. However, this does not explicitly mention Isaac or Jacob, only a ‘wise son’, said in the narration to be a reference to Ishmael.
Therefore, because the verses of this chapter mention both the good news of Isaac and Abraham’s debate with the angels about the fate of Lot’s people, this is clearly taking place prior to their destruction. This means that the good news in all three chapters—Hūd, al-Ḥijr, and al-Dhāriyāt—actually refer to good news being delivered about Isaac immediately before the punishment of Lot’s people. This significantly weakens the reliability of the narration just quoted.
Another point about the narrative is that the laughter of Abraham’s wife is taken as an expression of wonder at the news of Isaac. However, this means that while the order of the words in the verse is: (she) laughed, so We gave her the good news of Isaac, and of Jacob, after Isaac, the meaning is ‘We gave her the good news of Isaac, and of Jacob, after Isaac, so she laughed.’ However, reading the verse in this way requires us to deviate from the apparent meaning of the text without any clear reason for doing so.
- In Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, al-Faḍl b. Abī Qurra narrates from Imām al-Ṣādiq: ‘God revealed to Abraham that he would have a child. So, he told Sarah and she said: ‘Shall I, an old woman, bear a child?’ So God revealed to him: ‘She will bear a child, and her offspring will suffer for four hundred years because she doubted the prophecy.
When the suffering of the Children of Israel grew long, they wept and cried out to God for forty mornings. So, God revealed to Moses and Aaron to deliver them from Pharaoh, and so their torment was reduced by seventy and one hundred years.’
To this, the Imām added: ‘You are in the same situation. So, if you did likewise, God would deliver us. If you do not, then the matter will continue on its course.’
Author’s comment: The existence of a connection between a human being’s conditions and traits and the physical structure of his body is undoubted. Each aspect of this connection has a unique impact and effect in the hereafter. For example, the sperm and the egg are taken from the physical matter, and carrying within themselves the physical and spiritual characteristics of the body. Therefore, it is possible that descendants inherit some physical and spiritual characteristics of their ancestors.
We have also repeatedly mentioned in previous discussions that there is a strong connection between the spiritual attributes and moral conduct of a human being and external events, whether good or evil, as indicated by God’s saying: If the people of the towns had been faithful and Godwary, We would have opened to them blessings from the heaven and the earth … (), and: Whatever affliction that may visit you is because of what your hands have earned … ().
Now, it is possible that a individual or a community might commit an act that is either righteous or immoral, or a moral quality might emerge from them, be it vice or virtue, and then its positive impact or evil consequence may appear in their descendants. This can be seen as a kind of inheritance, as mentioned above, and we have discussed this further in our commentary on the verse: Let those fear (the result of mistreating orphans) who, were they to leave behind weak offspring, would be concerned on their account ().
- It is narrated from Zurāra, Ḥumrān, and Muḥammad b. Muslim from Imām al-Bāqir, and from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān from Imām al-Ṣādiq, regarding the verse: Abraham was indeed most forbearing, plaintive, penitent (): ‘This refers to supplication (duʿāʾ).’ (Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī)
Author’s comment: The same interpretation has also been reported in al-Kāfī, from Zurāra, from Imām al-Bāqir.
- It is narrated from Abū Baṣīr from either Imām al-Bāqir or Imām al-Ṣādiq: ‘Indeed, Abraham argued on behalf of the people of Lot and said: “Lot is indeed in it.” They said, “We know better those who are in it.” () Abraham increased in pleading, so Gabriel said: “O Abraham, let this matter alone! Your Lord’s edict has certainly come, and an irrevocable punishment shall overtake them.” ()’ (ibid.)
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from Ibn al-Anbārī, in his Kitāb al-Waqf wa al-Ibtidāʾ, from Ḥassān b. Abjar: ‘I was with Ibn ʿAbbās when a man from the tribe of Hudhayl came. Ibn ʿAbbās asked him: “What did so-and-so do?” He said: “He died and left behind four sons, and three after them (min al-warāʾ).” Whereat Ibn ʿAbbās recited the verse: … so We gave her the good news of Isaac, and of Jacob, after Isaac (min warāʾ Isḥāq) (), and said: “(Min al-warāʾ) refers to the son of a son.”’
Discourse
The discussion “A Discourse on the Story of the Good News” appears here in the printed volume. Read it in the Al-Mizan App.
Genesis 25:20–26. New International Version. According to Genesis 25:26, the name Yaʿaqōv is derived from ʿaqev (‘heel’), because Jacob came out of the womb after his twin brother Esau, holding on to his heel: ‘After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob’ Note that in the Torah also (Genesis 27:5–7), Isaac originally intended to bless Esau as his successor, but Jacob tricked Isaac into blessing him with the help of his mother. Therefore, the Qur’anic account makes clear that Isaac’s successor was always destined to be Jacob. (Trans.) ↩︎