Chapter 2: Surat Al-Baqarah (The Cow), verses 127-129


Translation:

Abraham and Ishmael laid the foundations of the House with this prayer: ‘Accept this from us, Lord. You are the One that hears all and knows all. Lord, make us submissive to You; make of our descendants a nation that will submit to You. Teach us our rites of worship and turn to us mercifully; You are forgiving and merciful. Lord, send forth to them an apostle of their own people who shall declare to them your signs, and instruct them in the Book and in wisdom, and purify them of sin. You are the Mighty, the Wise One.

Tafsir (Commentary):

God ordained that the focal point of the worldwide Islamic mission should be in Hijaz: Mecca was to be the axis on which the struggle for truth on earth would rest. Almighty God chose Abraham and his family to establish this centre and make provision for its functioning. The words which Abraham and Ishmael (on whom be peace) uttered when they were building the house of God in Mecca were, in addition to being supplications to God, an indication of their unhesitating fidelity to God’s scheme of things. It is prayer of this kind that is most pleasing to God, so He accepted their prayer and a permanent fountain of spiritual life for the whole world, gushed forth from the barren desert of Arabia. The name of this fountain was Islam. As for the people who inhabited this desert, the offspring of Ishmael, God made them enthusiastic proponents of the Islamic cause: He enabled them to propagate His word far and wide. Through them, he informed mankind how they could please their Lord, so that He might turn to them in mercy. It was among the Children of Ishmael that the final prophet was sent, and for the first time in history, the entire prophetic pattern was recorded in history for posterity, so that future generations could follow it.

In the role of God’s messenger, the prophet’s first task is to interpret God’s signs, so that mankind may be brought to a proper understanding of their Creator’s power and glory. The signs of God are everywhere in the universe, but without guidance, man is blind to them. The prophet, with the wisdom which comes to him from enlightenment, and his awareness of God’s immanence in His creation throughout the universe, shares his divine insight with the human beings so that they may mould their lives in accordance with God’s will. He encourages his followers to join him on that sublime level of consciousness where truth is fully appreciated and falsehood is seen for what it is, where one is pleased only with what is pleasing to God. The wisdom of the prophets is equaled only by their purity, a state from which all incompatible elements have been banished, so that in a propitious atmosphere, they may reach their ultimate natural perfection. Their final aim is to fashion souls that are totally absorbed in the love of God; who serve no other besides Him; who have minds untarnished by complexes and prejudices; who derive their spiritual nourishment form the world around them—something which God Himself has made available to all without exception.