Overall meaning : Allah Almighty informs His prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that He tried Abraham, peace be upon him, whom He favoured with special love and support, with certain commandments, which he duly fulfilled. Allah, Glorified be He, then told Abraham, peace be upon him, that He would set him as a model of religion (imam) for mankind. Abraham asked Him if He could set such models from among his descendants, to which Allah Almighty replied that such a position cannot be granted to the wrongdoers and transgressors.
Then the Almighty reminds His Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, of the honour and special privilege He has given the Sacred House—the Ka’bah (the cube-shaped building within the Sacred Mosque)—by making it a place to which people always yearn to return again and again even if they have visited it many times. He has also made it a secure place where people feel absolutely safe and secure and do not fear for the safety of their lives and property. Indeed, the safety and security it provides also extends to animals and inanimate beings.
Allah Almighty then commands that Abraham’s stations—which are also the sites where the pilgrimage rituals are performed, such as ‘Arafah and Muzdalifah—be taken for places of worship.
He also mentions that He commanded Abraham and Ishmael, through revelation, to cleanse the House (the Ka’bah) of pagan practices, forms of unbelief and all types of physical and moral impurities—that is, preserving its moral and physical purity—for the sake of those who circumambulate it, those who abide in its vicinity to engage in devotions and those who perform prayers there.
The Almighty then makes mention of the time when Abraham prayed to his Lord to make Makkah a city in which enduring and lasting safety and security will prevail and to provide the believers in it with all kinds of fruits. The Almighty informed him that the worldly provision would be for all, believers and unbelievers alike, and that it would not be restricted to the believers, but the sustenance He would provide the unbelievers would be rather scanty in terms of its duration and quantity compared to the eternal bliss of the hereafter which he has promised the faithful, then He will subject the unbelieves to the torment of the Fire—an evil destination indeed!
He further reminds His Prophet, Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, of the incident where Abraham and Ishmael laid the foundations of the Ka’bah and engaged in building its walls upon them, whilst praying to their Lord to accept such work from them, for He is the One who hears their prayers and the One who is fully aware of their deeds and intentions. They also prayed to their Lord to make them always submissive to Him, constantly willing to obey His commands, to make of their descendants a nation that would submit to His will and carry out His commands. Allah Almighty answered their prayer by raising up the nation of Muslims from among the Arabs.
They further called upon their Lord to show them the sites for the pilgrimage and enlighten them about its rituals and to inspire them to turn to Him in repentance; for He is the One who inspires people to turn to Him and the One who accepts their repentance, the All-Merciful who chooses for His mercy whomsoever He wills of His servants.
They also prayed to Him to send a messenger from among their Arab descendants to recite the Qur’an to them, teach them the Qur’an and the Sunnah and purify them from the filth of the sin of ascribing partners to Him. Sure enough, Allah again answered their prayer by sending Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as a messenger.
The Almighty further states that only a foolish and ignorant person would turn away from the religion of pure monotheism which Abraham, peace be upon him, proclaimed and to which he adhered. Indeed, Allah had chosen him as one pure and distinguished in the world, and he will surely be among the successful in the hereafter. When Allah chose him, He commanded him to submit to His will and to sincerely worship Him alone. Abraham obeyed His commands without a second thought. Abraham enjoined his sons to submit their will to the Lord of all the worlds. His grandson, Jacob, also enjoined his sons to do the same and informed them that Allah had chosen this religion for them and so they had to follow and practise it and only die adhering to it.
Then, addressing the Jews and Christians who have reject the prophethood and message of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, Allah Almighty asks them if they were indeed present when Jacob, who was on the point of death, asked his sons whom they would worship after he had gone. They replied that they would worship Allah alone—the God of their father Jacob, as well as the God of his fathers before him, Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac, declaring that they would never worship anyone besides Him, and that they had completely submitted their will to Him.
Allah Almighty then tells the Jews and Christians who have denied the prophethood and message of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that heir righteous ancestors have passed away, stressing that their ancestral relationships with them or their ancestors’ good deeds will by no means benefit them in any way and that they will be judged and repaid only according to their ways and the fruit of his deeds, and not according to the ways and fruit of their ancestors’ actions.