Exegesis of Surah Abraham, peace and blessings be upon him
It is a Meccan surah.
(1–3) “Alif Lām Rā. This is a Book We have sent down to you so that, by their Lord’s permission, you may bring people out of darkness into light—to the path of the Almighty, the Praiseworthy * Allah, to whom belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth. Woe to the disbelievers because of a severe punishment * those who prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter, hinder others from the path of Allah, and seek to make it crooked. Such people are far astray.”
The Exalted informs us that He sent down His Book to His Messenger Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, for the benefit of creation, so that he might bring people out of the darkness of ignorance, disbelief, evil character, and every kind of sin, into the light of knowledge, faith, and good character. His words, “by their Lord’s permission,” mean that they can attain what Allah desires and loves only by Allah’s will and assistance. This encourages His servants to seek their Lord’s help.
He then explained the light to which this Book guides them, saying: “to the path of the Almighty, the Praiseworthy.” That is, the path leading to Him and to His abode of honor, which comprises knowledge of the truth and acting upon it. The mention of “the Almighty, the Praiseworthy” after the path that leads to Him indicates that whoever follows it is mighty through Allah’s might and strong, even if he has no supporter other than Allah; his conduct is praiseworthy, and his ultimate end will be good.
This also serves to show that Allah’s path is among the greatest proofs of His perfect attributes and majestic qualities; that the One who established it for His servants is almighty in authority and praiseworthy in His words, deeds, and judgments; and that He is the God worshipped through the acts of devotion that form the stages of the straight path. Just as the dominion of the heavens and earth belongs to Him through creation, provision, and governance, He alone has the authority to rule His servants by His religious laws, for they belong to Him, and it would not befit Him to leave them neglected and without purpose.
After making the proof and evidence clear, He threatened those who do not submit to it, saying: “Woe to the disbelievers because of a severe punishment,” whose magnitude cannot be fathomed and whose horror cannot be described. He then described them as “those who prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter”: they are content and at ease with it, heedless of the abode of the Hereafter.
They “hinder” people “from the path of Allah,” which He established for His servants and made clear in His Books and through the words of His messengers. Thus, they have openly set themselves against their Master with hostility and warfare. They “seek to make it crooked”—that is, they strive to disfigure and vilify Allah’s path so as to repel people from it. But Allah refuses anything except to perfect His light, even though the disbelievers detest it.
“Such people,” who have been described in this way, “are far astray,” for they have gone astray and led others astray, opposed Allah and His Messenger, and waged war against them. What misguidance could be farther from the truth than this?!
The people of faith are the opposite of them: they believe in Allah and His signs, prefer the Hereafter to this world, call others to the path of Allah, display its beauty as fully as they can, and make its rectitude clear.