Overall meaning : Almighty Allah relates here part of the story of Abraham, peace be upon him, with his father, and the conversation that took place between them when he called him to worship Allah alone: Recite to your people, Muhammad, in this Qur’an the story of Abraham. He was a very sincere man of truth and a prophet of high stature. ‘Father,’ he said to him, ‘why do you worship idols which can neither hear nor see, and which can neither harm you nor do you any good?! Father, Allah has given me some knowledge which He has not given you; therefore, follow me and accept my advice by worshipping none but Allah, and I will guide you to a straight path. Father, do not obey Satan who makes unbelief and idol worship seem fair to you; for Satan is, because of his pride and vanity, ever disobedient to the All-Merciful God. Father, I fear that a punishment from the All-Compassionate God will afflict you if you persist in your unbelief, and you will join Satan in Hell.’
‘Do you dare reject my gods and refuse to worship them, Abraham?’ his father threateningly said. ‘If you do desist from abusing them, I will stone you to death. Now keep away from me for a good long time.’ Abraham said, ‘Peace be upon you! No harm whatsoever will come to you from me. I will implore my Lord to forgive you, for He has always been merciful and gracious to me and He always answers my prayers. I will withdraw from you all and from the gods you worship besides Allah, and I will continue to call upon my Lord and worship Him alone. I trust that worshipping and praying to him alone will not be in vain.’
Allah then shows what happened after Abraham, peace be upon him, rejected the worship of false deities besides Allah and abandoned those who engaged in such practice and his own homeland: After Abraham left them and the gods they worshipped besides Allah, We bestowed on him Isaac and Jacob. Each of them We made a prophet; and We bestowed on all of them (that is, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), through Our mercy, immense favours, vast beneficial knowledge, bountiful provision and large offspring, among many other blessings, in addition to lofty repute and perpetual good praise from people.