(69–83) “Our messengers certainly came to Abraham with glad tidings.”

And so on to the end of the account (1). That is, “Our messengers”—the noble angels—came to Our messenger “Abraham,” Allah’s close friend, “with glad tidings”; namely, the good news of a child. When Allah sent them to destroy the people of Lot, He commanded them to pass by Abraham and give him the good news of Isaac. When they entered upon him, “they said, ‘Peace.’ He said, ‘Peace.’” That is, they greeted him with peace, and he returned their greeting.

This establishes that greeting others with peace is prescribed, that it has always been part of the religious way of Abraham—peace be upon him—that the greeting should precede other speech, and that the reply should be more emphatic than the initial greeting. Their greeting took the form of a verbal clause, which indicates recurrence, whereas his reply took the form of a nominal clause, which indicates constancy and continuity. The considerable difference between the two is well known in Arabic grammar.

Abraham “did not delay,” once they had entered upon him, “in bringing a roasted calf.” That is, he hurried to his household and brought his guests a plump calf roasted on heated stones. He set it before them and said, “Will you not eat?”

“When he saw that their hands did not reach for it”—that is, for the meal—“he distrusted them and felt apprehensive of them.” He thought they had come to bring him evil and harm. This was before he knew their true purpose.

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“They said, ‘Do not fear. We have been sent to the people of Lot.’” That is: We are Allah’s messengers; Allah has sent us to destroy the people of Lot.

Abraham’s wife “was standing,” serving his guests, “and she laughed” in astonishment when she heard about them and the mission upon which they had been sent.

“Then We gave her the good news of Isaac, and after Isaac, Jacob.” She was astonished at this.