(39) “All praise is for Allah, Who has granted me Ishmael and Isaac in my old age.”

Their being granted to him was among the greatest blessings. His receiving them in old age, when all hope of having children had vanished, was another blessing; and their being righteous prophets was still more sublime and excellent. “Surely my Lord hears all prayers”—that is, He readily answers those who call upon Him. I called upon Him, and He did not disappoint my hope.

He then prayed for himself and his descendants, saying: “My Lord, make me one who establishes prayer, and likewise some of my descendants. Our Lord, accept my supplication. * Our Lord, forgive me, my parents, and the believers on the Day the Reckoning is established.” Allah answered him in all of this, except that his prayer for his father was only because of a promise he had made to him. When it became clear to him that his father was an enemy of Allah, he disassociated himself from him.