(26–32) “And when Abraham said to his father and his people, ‘I utterly disavow what you worship, except the One who created me, for He will surely guide me.’ Abraham made this a lasting declaration among his descendants so that they might return to it. Rather, I allowed these people and their forefathers to enjoy themselves until the truth and a manifest messenger came to them. Yet when the truth came to them, they said, ‘This is sorcery, and we reject it.’ They also said, ‘Why was this Quran not sent down to a great man from one of the two cities?’ Is it they who distribute your Lord’s mercy? It is We who have apportioned their livelihood among them in the life of this world and raised some of them above others in rank, so that some may employ others in service. Yet your Lord’s mercy is better than what they amass.”
Allah Most High tells us about the religion of Abraham, the close friend of Allah, peace be upon him, with whom the People of the Book and the polytheists all claim affiliation, each claiming to follow his way. Allah therefore relates the religion that Abraham bequeathed to his descendants:
“And when Abraham said to his father and his people”—who had taken gods besides Allah, worshipping them and seeking nearness to them—“I utterly disavow what you worship.” That is: I detest it, keep far from it, and oppose those devoted to it, “except the One who created me.” I devote myself to Him and hope that He will guide me to knowledge of the truth and to acting upon it. Just as He created me and directed my affairs in ways that set right my body and worldly life, “He will surely guide me” to what will set right my religion and my Hereafter.
“Abraham made this”—that is, this praiseworthy quality, which is the chief and foundation of all virtues: devoting worship sincerely to Allah alone and disavowing the worship of all besides Him—“a lasting declaration among his descendants, so that they might return to it,” because it was well known from him and because he instructed his descendants to uphold it, while some of his sons, such as Isaac and Jacob, likewise instructed those who came after them. As Allah Most High says, “Who would forsake the religion of Abraham except one who makes a fool of himself?” and so on to the end of the verses.
This declaration continued to endure among the descendants of Abraham, peace be upon him, until luxury and transgression overtook them.
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Allah therefore said, “Rather, I allowed these people and their forefathers to enjoy themselves” through all manner of pleasures, until those pleasures became their ultimate aim and highest aspiration. Love of them continued to grow in their hearts until it became an entrenched trait and a deep-rooted conviction, “until the truth came to them,” a truth in which there is no doubt, uncertainty, or ambiguity, “and a manifest messenger.” That is, his status as a messenger was evident: his character, his miracles, what he brought, what he brought in confirmation of the messengers before him, and the very nature of his call all provided overwhelming proof of his messengership—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.
“Yet when the truth came to them”—a truth that anyone possessing even the slightest religious conscience or sound reason was bound to accept and submit to—“they said, ‘This is sorcery, and we reject it.’” This was one of the gravest forms of obstinate opposition and hostility. They were not content merely to turn away from it, or even merely to deny it; they went so far as to assail it with a heinous slander, placing it on the same level as false sorcery, which is practiced only by the vilest of people and the most brazen of liars. What drove them to this was their transgression on account of the enjoyments Allah had granted them and their forefathers.
“They also said,” seeking to dictate to Allah on the basis of their corrupt reasoning, “Why was this Quran not sent down to a great man from one of the two cities?” That is, a man whom they esteemed and revered from among the people of Mecca or Taif, such as al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīra or someone like him whom they regarded as great.
Allah replied to their proposal: “Is it they who distribute your Lord’s mercy?” Are they the custodians of Allah’s mercy, with its disposal in their hands, so that they may grant prophethood and messengership to whomever they wish and withhold them from whomever they wish?
“It is We who have apportioned their livelihood among them in the life of this world and raised some of them above others in rank”—that is, in worldly life—while “your Lord’s mercy is better than what they amass” of this world.
If the servants’ means of living and worldly provision are in the hand of Allah Most High, and it is He who apportions them among His servants—expanding provision for whomever He wills and restricting it for whomever He wills according to His wisdom—then His mercy in matters of religion, the highest forms of which are prophethood and messengership, is even more fittingly and necessarily in His hand. Allah knows best where to place His message.
It is thus known that their proposal was invalid and worthless, and that the direction of every affair, religious and worldly alike, rests with Allah alone. This is a compelling argument against them, demonstrating their error in making a proposal over which they have no power whatsoever. It is nothing but wrongdoing on their part and rejection of the truth.
As for their statement, “Why was this Quran not sent down to a great man from one of the two cities?”—had they understood the true worth of men and the qualities by which a man’s stature is elevated and his standing becomes great before Allah and His creation, they would have known that Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Muttalib—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was the greatest of men in stature, the highest in honor, the most complete in intellect, the most abundant in knowledge, the noblest in judgment, the firmest in resolve and decisiveness, the most perfect in character, the most expansive in mercy, the deepest in compassion, the most rightly guided, and the most God-fearing.
He stands at the center of every perfection, and in him the qualities of manhood reach their culmination. Indeed, he is the foremost man in all the world, without qualification, as both his allies and his enemies recognize. How, then, could the polytheists prefer over him someone who had not so much as caught the faintest trace of his perfection, and whose crime and utter folly consisted in taking as his god—worshipping it, invoking it, and seeking nearness to it—an idol, a tree, or a stone that could neither harm nor benefit, neither give nor withhold, but was itself a burden upon its keeper and needed someone to attend to its interests? Is this anything but the conduct of fools and madmen?
How could such a person be deemed great? How could he be preferred over the Seal of the Messengers and the master of Adam’s descendants—may Allah bless him and grant him peace? But those who disbelieve do not understand.
This verse also points to Allah Most High’s wisdom in favoring some of His servants over others in worldly life: “so that some may employ others in service”—that is, so that some may engage others in work, trades, and crafts.
If people were equal in wealth and none needed another, many of their interests and benefits would be lost.
It also proves that Allah’s religious blessing is better than worldly blessing, as Allah Most High says in another verse: “Say: ‘In Allah’s grace and mercy, let them rejoice. That is better than what they amass.’”