“And grant me honorable mention among later generations,” meaning: grant me true praise that will endure until the end of time. Allah answered his prayer, bestowing upon him such knowledge and wisdom that he became one of the finest messengers. He joined him with his fellow messengers and made him loved, accepted, revered, and praised among all religious communities throughout the ages.
Allah Almighty said: “And We preserved his honorable mention among later generations: ‘Peace be upon Abraham.’ Thus do We reward those who excel in good. He was truly one of Our believing servants.”
“And make me one of the inheritors of the Garden of Bliss,” meaning: one of the people of Paradise, which Allah will grant them as an inheritance. Allah answered his prayer and raised his station in the Gardens of Bliss.
“And forgive my father, for he is among those who have gone astray.” This prayer was due to the promise he had made to his father: “I shall ask my Lord to forgive you. He has indeed always been gracious to me.” Allah Almighty said: “Abraham’s prayer for his father’s forgiveness was only because of a promise he had made to him. But when it became clear to him that he was an enemy of Allah, he disowned him. Abraham was truly tenderhearted and forbearing.”
“And do not disgrace me on the Day they are resurrected,” through reproach for some sins, punishment for them, and public exposure. Rather, make me blessed on that Day, “when neither wealth nor children will be of any benefit, except to one who comes to Allah with a sound heart.” That sound heart is what will benefit him before You; through it he will escape punishment and merit an immense reward.
A sound heart is one free of shirk, doubt, love of evil, persistence in religious innovation, and sins. Its freedom from these things necessarily means that it possesses their opposites: sincerity, knowledge, certainty, love of good and its adornment within the heart. It also means that a person’s will and love conform to what Allah loves, and that his desires conform to what has come from Allah.
Then He mentioned some of the features of that momentous Day and the reward and punishment it contains, saying: “Paradise will be brought near”—that is, brought close—“to those mindful of their Lord,” who obeyed His commands, avoided His prohibitions, and guarded themselves against His wrath and punishment.
“And Hellfire will be brought forth”—that is, made manifest and prepared with every torment it contains—“for the deviant,” who rushed headlong into disobedience to Allah, brazenly violated His sacred limits, rejected His messengers, and denied the truth they brought them. “They will be asked, ‘Where are those you used to worship instead of Allah? Can they help you or help themselves?’” Nothing of the sort will occur. Their falsehood and humiliation will become plain, their loss and disgrace will be manifest, their regret will become evident, and their efforts will come to nothing.
“Then they will be hurled headlong into it, they”—that is, those they used to worship—“and the deviant,” who worshipped them,
“and all the forces of Iblīs,” from mankind and jinn, whom he relentlessly incited to disobedience and over whom he gained mastery because of their shirk and disbelief. They thus became his advocates and strove to please him: some called others to obey him, some responded to those callers, and some blindly followed them in their shirk.
“They”—that is, the deviant among the forces of Iblīs—will say to the idols and images they worshipped: “By Allah, we were clearly astray when we equated you with the Lord of all worlds” in worship, love, fear, and hope, and called upon you just as we called upon Him. At that point their misguidance will become clear to them, and they will acknowledge that Allah was just in punishing them and that their punishment was fully deserved. They equated them with the Lord of all worlds only in worship, not in creation. This is shown by their words, “the Lord of all worlds”: they acknowledged that Allah is the Lord of all worlds, including their idols and images.
“And none led us astray” from the path of guidance and sound judgment, or called us to the path of error ⦗594⦘ and wickedness, “except the evildoers.” These were the leaders who called others to the Fire.
“Now we have no intercessors” to intercede for us and save us from His punishment,
“nor any devoted friend,” meaning a close and sincere friend who might render us even the slightest benefit, as commonly happened in worldly life. They will despair of every good and be left hopeless because of what they earned, and they will wish to return to this world so that they may act righteously.
“If only we had another chance”—that is, a return to worldly life—“then we would be among the believers,” so that we might escape punishment and merit reward. Impossible, utterly impossible! They have been barred from what they desire, and the pledges binding them have become irredeemable.
“There is certainly a sign in this”—which We have related and described to you—“yet most of them would not believe,” despite the signs being sent down. “And your Lord is indeed the Almighty, the Most Merciful.”