And (remember) when his Lord tried Ibrahim with
certain words, then he fulfilled them. He said: "Surely I am going to make
you an Imam for men" (Ibrahim) said: "And of my offspring?" He
said: "My covenant will not include the unjust" (124).
********
COMMENTARY
Beginning with this verse, the Qur'an throws light
on some aspects of the life of Ibrahim (a.s.); these verses prepare the
minds for the ones promulgating the change of al‑qiblah (direction
of prayer) as well as the rules of the hajj These stories also
explain the reality of the pure Islamic religion ‑ with its different
grades and levels ‑ looking at its fundamental beliefs, moral teachings
and some rules of the shari'ah; among other things they show how
Allah bestowed on him al‑imamah (leadership) of the people,
how he built the Ka'bah, and how he prayed to Allah to send an Apostle
among them.
QUR'AN:
And (remember) when his Lord tried Ibrahim with certain words then he
fulfilled them:
It refers to the occasion when Ibrahim (a.m.) was
given the imamah. It had happened during the end period of his
life; it was the time when he had become very old, after Ismail and lshaq
both had been born, and he had brought Ismail and his mother to reside in
Mecca, as some other exegetes also have taken note of this fact. This
timing is clearly pointed at by his words, "And of my offspring? ", when
Allah told him: "I am going to make you an Imam for men." Obviously he did
not know, nor did he even expect, that he would get any offspring, until
the angels brought to him the good tidings of Ismail and lshaq. Even when
the angels told him that he was to get children, he responded to those
tidings in such words as could apparently be construed to have sprung from
despair and pessimism. Allah says: And inform them of the guests of
Ibrahim: When they entered upon him, they said: "Peace. " He said: "Surely
we are afraid of you. " They said: "Be not afraid, surely we give you the
good news of a boy, possessing knowledge. "He said: "Do you give me good
news (of a son) when old age has come upon me? ‑ of what then do
you give me good news!" They said: "We give you good news with truth;
therefore, be not of the despairing" (15:51 ‑55). The same was the
reaction of his wife when she was given that good news, as Allah says:
And his wife was standing (by), so she laughed; then We gave her
the good news of Ishaq, and after Ishaq, of (a son's son) Ya'qub.
She said: "0 woe to me! Shall I bear a son when I am an (extremely)
old (woman) and this my husband an (extremely) old
(man)? Most surely this is an amazing thing. " They said: "Do you
wonder at the decree of Allah? The mercy of Allah and His blessings be on
you, 0 people of the house, surely He is Praised, Glorious"
(11:71-73).
As you see, the talks of both Ibrahim and his wife
show that by that time they had lost all hope of getting any child. That
is why the angels replied to them in those words to give them hope and
make them happy. Clearly neither he nor his wife knew before that time
that they would be given any offspring. But on this occasion, we see that
as soon as Allah told him, "I am going to make you an Imam for men", he
pleaded, "And of my offspring?" This prayer brings before our eyes the
image of a man who is sure of having an offspring. How can a man, and
particularly one like Ibrahim, the friend of Allah (who very well knew the
nuances of the language), speak before his Lord about a thing he knew
nothing about? If he had uttered these words before getting any children,
it would have been necessary for him to add some proviso, like "if Thou
givest me any offspring". This event, therefore, must have taken place in
the end period of lbrahim's life some time after he had been given the
good news.
Moreover, the words, "And (remember) when his Lord
tried Ibrahim with certain words, then he fulfilled them. He said: 'Surely
I am going to make you an Imam for men'", show that his imamah was
bestowed to him after Allah had tried him with certain trials. These
consisted of various sufferings and tests, which Ibrahim (a.s.) underwent
in his life. And according to the Qur'an, the clearest and hardest of all
was the trial of the sacrifice of Ismail. Allah says: And when he
reached (the age of) working with him, he said: "0 my son! surely I
am seeing in dream that I am sacrificing you; consider then what you see.
" He said: "0 my father! do what you are commanded; if Allah please, you
will surely find me of the patient ones. " So when they both submitted and
he threw him down upon his forehead, and We called out to him
(saying): "O Ibrahim! You have indeed proved the vision
true; surely thus We reward the doers of good. Most surely this is a
manifest trial" (37:102‑106). This manifest trial had taken place in
the extreme old age of Ibrahim, because even the birth of Ismail had taken
place when Ibrahim had become very old, as Allah quotes him as saying: ‑
"Praise be to Allah, Who gave me in old age Isma'il and Ishaq; most
surely my Lord is the Hearer of prayer" (14:39). And the imamah
was given to him after these trials.
Now we come back to the verse under
discussion:
"And (remember) when his Lord tried lbrahim":
"al‑Ibtila'" and "al‑bala'“ both have the same meaning: to
try, to put to test. You give someone an order, or put him in a difficult
situation, in order to find out his inner strength, his spiritual
sublimity; thus you bring out his hidden qualities like obedience,
bravery, generosity, chastity, knowledge, faithfulness (or their opposite
traits); it is only then that you may say, " I have tested him", "I have
put him to trial". One cannot be tested except through action; it is the
action, which brings out the hidden qualities of a man, and not the word;
words may lie but not the actions. Allah says: Surely We have tried
them as We tried the owners of the garden. . . (68:17); . . .
Surely Allah will try you with a stream . . . (2:249).
Now Allah
says that He tried Ibrahim with certain words. This sentence looks at the
"words" inasmuch as they are related to actions ‑ they are the vehicles to
carry the commands of the speaker to the listener. For example, Allah
says: ... and speak to men good (words). (2:83), that is, behave
with them properly.
"With
certain words, then he fulfilled them": "al‑Kalimat is plural of
al‑ kalimah (word). Of course, the word, "word", has sometimes been
used in the Qur'an for a substance, a corporeal being (instead of a talk
or speech) as Allah says: . . . a Word from Him whose name is the
Messiah, 'Isa son of Maryam. . . (3:45). But this usage is based on
the fact that 'Isa, like Adam, was created by a word from Allah as the
Qur'an says: Surely the likeness of 'Isa is with Allah as the likeness
of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: "Be", and he was
(3:59).
Otherwise,
whenever the Qur'an attributes the "word" to Allah, it means speech and
saying. For example:
and
there is none to change the words of Allah (6:34). there is no
changing the words of Allah (10:64).
and
Allah desired to manifest the truth of what was true by His words
(8:7).
Surely
those against whom the word of your Lord has proved true will not believe
(10:96)
But the
word of punishment proved true against the unbelievers (39:71).
And thus
did the word of your Lord prove true against those who disbelieved that
they are the inmates of the Fire (40:6).
and had
not a word gone forth from your Lord till an appointed time, certainly
affair would have been decided between them (42:14).
and the
word of Allah, that is the highest (9:41).
He said:
"The truth then (it) is and the truth do I speak” (38: 84).
Our word
for a thing when We intend it, is only that We say to it: "Be", and it is
(16:40).
These and
similar verses use “word” in the meaning of “talk” because the talk
conveys to the hearer the proposition which the speaker intends to
communicate, or the command which he wants him to obey. It is for this
reason that sometimes the Qur’an describes the "word" as being complete!
It is as though a "word" emanating from the speaker remains incomplete
until it is implemented, and then it becomes complete, is proved true.
Allah says: And the word of your Lord has been accomplished (completed)
truly and justly; there is none to change His words (6:115); and the good
word of your Lord was fulfilled (completed) in the Children of Israel
(7:137).
The above
explanation does not go against the fact that Allah’s word is Allah’s
action. His word and His action are not two different things; they are one
and the same. Realities and facts have their own rules, and literary
demands and semantic values are governed by other rules. Whatever
realities Allah wishes to disclose to one of His prophets or other
servants, and whatever command He wants to impose on someone, it is His
talk and speech, inasmuch as it fulfils the same purpose which a talk or
speech does ‑ it conveys information, and proposition as well as His order
and prohibition. Not frequently, the word, “word”, is used for ideas,
intentions and actions if they have the same import as “word” has. We say:
“I will surely do this because I have already said so, and have given my
word.” In fact, you have never before uttered a single word about it; all
that your “given word” actually means is that you do have a firm intention
to do it, without any wavering will, without listening to any intercessor.
The Arab poet, 'Antarah, said:" And (it was) my word (to my soul) whenever
it was in turmoil or excitement: Be at ease;
you will either earn the accolade or will go to (final) rest." Obviously,
he had not talked with his soul or spirit; what he means by "word" is that
he had made up his mind to fight bravely, and to face the enemy without
retreating from his stand; because if he was victorious, his people would
sing his praise, and if he was killed, he would get the rest and
tranquility.
In this light it is easy to see that the phrase,
"when his Lord tried Ibrahim with certain words", refers to the difficult
situations he had to face, and the Divine covenants he had entered into,
for example, his conflict with his people regarding the stars and the
idols, his test by fire and emigration, his supreme trial of sacrificing
his son, and other such things. Allah has not specified which tests those
"certain words" refer to, because this information had nothing to do with
the theme of the verse. But one thing is certain: As it was only after the
fulfillment of those words that Allah said to him, "Surely I am going to
make you an Imam for men", the words must have been such as to prove his
capability for the status of the imamah.
This much about the "words". Now comes the next
phrase: "then he fulfilled them". If the pronoun "he" refers to Ibrahim
(a.s.), then it would mean that he fulfilled the task, which was expected
of him; he obediently did what he was told to do. If on the other hand the
pronoun refers to the Lord (as it obviously does) then it would mean that
his Lord helped him to do what was expected of him.
Somebody has said that the phrase, "certain
words", refers to the Divine Speech, "Surely I am going to make you an
Imam for men. . . My covenant will not include the unjust." But it is an
explanation, which does not carry any weight, because nowhere in the
Qur'an the word "words" has been used for "sentences".
QUR'AN:
"Surely I am going to make you an
Imam for men": That is, I am
going to make you a leader for men; they will adhere to you and follow in
your footsteps, in words and deeds. al‑Imam (= leader) is
the one whom the people follow. That is why many exegetes have said that
al‑imamah (leadership) in this verse means prophethood, because a
prophet is followed and obeyed by his ummah in their religion;
Allah has said: And We did not send any apostle but that he should be
obeyed by Allah's permission (4:64). But this interpretation has no
leg to stand upon. Because:
First: The word imamah (=Imam, leader) is the
second accusative of the causative ja'iluka (= literally, maker of
you; translated here as "going to make you"), which is a nomen
agentis; and a nomen agentis is never used in place of a past
tense; if used in place of a verb it always gives the meaning of
present or future tense. When Allah used these words in His talk with
Ibrahim (a.s.), He in effect gave him a promise to make him an Imam in
future ‑ in other words, to give him a status which he did not have at
that time. And Ibrahim (a.s.) was already a prophet: Remember that this
talk itself was a revelation sent to him in his capacity as a prophet. He
was a prophet long before he was given the status of the imamah
Therefore, the imamah in this verse cannot mean
prophethood. (This reply is given by another exegete.)
Second: We have described earlier that Ibrahim (a.s.) was
given the imamah in his later days after getting the good news that
he would be given offspring, Ishaq and Ismail; and the angels had given
him that news while they were on their way to destroy the ummah of
Lut; and Ibrahim at that time was a prophet and an apostle. He was a
prophet and apostle before he got the imamah; therefore, his
imamah was different from his prophethood and
apostleship.
Why are such interpretations offered by exegetes
from time to time? The reason lies in the banality ‑ because of repeated
use during all these centuries ‑ which has degraded the sublime meanings
of the Qur'anic words in people's minds.
The word, imamah, has been debased in
similar way. Some people say that it means prophethood, precedence, being
in authority; others interpret it as al‑khilafah
(successorship), al‑wisayah (regency) or headship in
spiritual and temporal affairs. But all this is wrong. "Prophethood" means
receiving news from Allah; "messengership" means conveying that message to
people; "authority" implies that others have to follow one's example and
obey one's orders. Now this authority is a concomitant of prophethood and
messengership; khilafah and wisayah both mean successorship
to a prophet; likewise, headship in spiritual and temporal affairs is a
sort of the above‑mentioned authority; and all of it is different from the
correct meaning of the imamah. The imamah implies that a man
has an intrinsic quality because of which people should follow him
faithfully, making their words and deeds to conform to his words and
deeds; but none of the above‑mentioned interpretations brings out this
meaning. Ibrahim (a.s.) was already a prophet whose obedience was
obligatory for all men. What would be the sense in telling him that Allah
was going to make him a prophet for men? Or, to make his obedience
compulsory in all that he said and did? Or, a head of his ummah to
order or forbid in matters of religion? Or, a successor? Or, a khalifah
in the earth to decide between the people by the order of
Allah?
The difference between the imamah and all
the above-mentioned words is not only verbal; it is the realities behind
those words that differ from one another. When a man is given prophethood,
it becomes obligatory for the people to obey him. Therefore, it would be
wrong to say to that prophet, "I am going to make your obedience
compulsory for men although I have already made it compulsory". Nor will
it be correct to convey the same idea in other words, because the same
problem will arise again. When Allah gives someone some status, he does
not get merely a new title or name; bounties of Allah are not empty words;
there are real things behind those words. Therefore, the imamah has
its own reality, different from other words' realities.
We find in the Qur'an that whenever it mentions
imamah it puts guidance side-by-side ‑ it looks as though Allah was
using the latter to explain the former. Allah says in the story of
Ibrahim: And We gave him Ishaq and Ya'qub as a further gift; and We
made (them) all righteous ones; and We made them Imams, to guide
(people) by Our command... (21:72 ‑ 73); and He says in another
place: And We made of them Imams to guide by Our command as they were
patient, and they were certain of Our signs (32:24). Here the
imamah is explained, or rather defined, in terms of guidance, and
then further qualified with the proviso, "by Our command". Clearly, the
imamah does not mean any type of guidance; it is a guidance, which
emanates from the command of Allah. And the reality of that command is
described in these words: His command, when He intends anything, is
only that He says to it: "Be", and it is. Therefore glory be to Him in
Whose hand is the kingdom of every thing... (36:82-83); And Our
command is but one, as the twinkling of an eye (54:50). We
shall explain, when writing about these verses, that the Divine Command
(which the former verse also calls "the Kingdom") is the sublime side of
the creation, with which they face towards Allah; it is pure, free from
fetters of time and space, and untouched by change and variation. It
is also the real meaning of the word "Be", because the Divine Command
"Be", is nothing other than the actual existence of the thing concerned.
This "command" is in contrast to al‑khalq (creation) which is the
other side of the things ‑ it is subject to changes and variations;
it grows by and by and deteriorates in the same way; it works within the
framework of time and space. (We shall fully explain this theme in its
proper place, Allah willing.)
To sum it up, Imam is a leader who guides
by a Divine Command, which is closely associated with him. The imamah,
in its esoteric sense, is al‑wilayah (guardianship, authority)
over the people in their actions and activities; and its guidance entails
conveying them to the final destination by the command of Allah. It is
different from that guidance which only shows the way ‑ and which is
usually done by the prophets and messengers of Allah as well as by other
believers who guide the people towards Allah with sincere exhortation and
good advice. This second type of guidance is mentioned in the following
verses:
And We did not send any apostle but with the
language of his people, so that he might explain to them clearly; then
Allah makes whom He pleases err and He guides whom He pleases. . .
(14: 4).
And he who believed (i.e., the believer from the family of Pharaoh)
said: "0 my people! follow me, I will guide you to the right course"
(40:38).
Why should not then a company from every party
from among them go forth that they may acquire (proper) understanding in religion, and that
they may warn their people when they come back to them, so that they may
be cautious? (9:122)
(We shall further explain it later on.)
Then Allah describes the reason why He gave them
the imamah, in these words, as they were patient, and they were
certain of Our signs. (See 32:24, quoted above.) The criteria,
therefore, are patience and absolute certainty. They were steadfast and
patient in the cause of Allah. Patience, in this verse, is unconditional;
therefore it means remaining patient and steadfast in all matters and all
conditions with which Allah may choose to test the submission and
servitude of a servant. And they possessed highest degree of certainty.
Going through the stories of Ibrahim (a.s.), we find the following words
of Allah in the Qur'an: And thus did We show Ibrahim the kingdom of the
heavens and the earth and so that he might be of those who are sure
(6:75). The verse clearly indicates that showing of the kingdom
to Ibrahim was the prelude to the bestowal of absolute certainty on him.
It proves that certainty is an inseparable concomitant of looking at the
kingdom. This is also the theme of the following verses:
Nay! if you had known with a knowledge of
certainty, you should most certainly have seen the hell
(102:5-6).
Nay! rather, what they used to do has become
(like) rust upon their hearts.
Nay! most surely they shall on that day be shut out away from their Lord.
. . . Nay! most surely the record of the righteous shall be in the
'illiyyin. And what will make you know what 'illiyyin is? It is a written
book; see it those who are near (to Allah) (83:14 ‑15;
18‑21).
These verses prove that the "near ones" are those
who are not shut out away from their Lord; on their hearts there are no
rust or coverings of sin, ignorance and doubt; they are the ones who have
absolute certainty about Allah, and they see the 'illiyyin as they
see the hell.
In short,
it is essential for an Imam to be a man of absolute certainty, who sees
the world of the "kingdom" of Allah, which is based on the "words" of
Allah. And we have explained earlier that the kingdom is the command of
Allah, which, in its turn, is the esoteric side of the universe.
Now let us have a fresh look at the verse 21:73
(and 32:24) quoted earlier. "And We made them Imams, to guide (people) by
Our command:" it very clearly proves that whatever is the subject of
guidance (i.e., the hearts and the deeds), the Imam has its inner reality;
he is constantly in touch with its another side, the side of the command,
which is never hidden from him. It is known that the hearts and the deeds,
like any other thing, have two sides, one of the "command" and the other
of the "creation"; therefore, the reality of the deeds of the men ‑ both
good and bad ‑ is always within the vision of the Imam always under his
observation; and he has authority over both ways ‑ the one of happiness
and bliss and the other of unhappiness and distress. Also, Allah has said:
(Remember) the day when We will call every people with their Imam
(17:71). (We shall explain when writing about this verse that
the "Imam" here means the true leader, and not the scroll of deeds, as
some people think.) Therefore, the Imam is the one who shall lead the
people to Allah on the day when hidden things shall be tried, as he
leads them to Him in the manifest and esoteric lives of this world. The
last quoted verse also shows that there cannot be a single period, a
single moment, without an Imam, because Allah says, "every people". (The
detailed proof of this statement will be given under that
verse.)
The imamah is such an exalted and sublime
position that it cannot be given except to one who is extremely virtuous
by his own self. If someone's soul is polluted, even in a minute degree,
by any injustice or sin, then he needs someone else to guide him back to
the right way. And Allah has said: Is he then who guides to the
truth more worthy to be followed, or he who himself does not go right
unless he is guided? (10:35). Here Allah puts two groups
opposite to each other: one is that which guides to the truth; and the
other, that which does not go right unless guided by someone else, in
other words, the one which needs a helping hand to be guided aright. This
contrast means that the one who guides to the truth, is rightly guided by
himself; conversely, the one rightly guided by another person cannot guide
to the truth.
It follows from the above discourse
that:
First: The Imam must be al‑ma'sum (sinless;
protected from error and sin). Otherwise, he would not be rightly guided
by himself, as explained above. Also, the following verse proves their
al‑'ismah (= sinlessness): And We made them Imams to
guide (people) by Our command, and We revealed to them the doing of
good (deeds) and the establishing of prayer and the giving of
zakat, and Us (alone) did they worship (21:73).
According to this verse, all the deeds of the Imam are good, he is guided
to them, not by any other person, but on his own by Divine help. The
phrase translated above as "the doing of good (deeds)" is fi'la
'I‑khayrat (to do good deeds); it is al‑masdar (= roughly
translated as infinitive verb), used as the first construct of a genitive
construction; and such a masdar proves that the action has surely
taken place. Let us explain it in another way: If Allah would have said,
'We revealed to them: Do good deeds', it would not have shown that they
actually obeyed the command and did good; but when He says, We revealed
to them the doing of good, it means that whatever they did was good
and it was by Divine inspiration and heavenly help.
Second: Conversely, whoever is not ma'sum, can
never be an Imam, a guide to the truth.
Now, it is clear that the adjective, "the unjust",
(in the Divine declaration, "My covenant will not include the unjust")
covers everyone who might have done any injustice, for example,
polytheism, idol‑worship or any other sin, in any period of his life, even
if he may have repented and been good afterwards.
One of our teachers (may Allah have mercy on him!)
was asked as to how this verse could prove that the Imam must be
ma'sum. He replied:
Logically, we may divide mankind into four groups:
(1) One who remains unjust throughout his life; (2) One who was never
unjust in any period of his life; (3) One who was unjust in the beginning,
but became just later on; and (4) One who was just in the beginning, but
became unjust afterwards, Ibrahim was too sublime in position to ask for
the imamah for the first or the fourth group. This leaves two
groups (the second and the third), which could be included in his prayer.
And Allah rejected one of them ‑ the one who was unjust in the beginning
but became just later on. Now, there remains only one group who could be
given the imamah ‑ the one who was never unjust in any period of
his life; that is, who was ma'sum.*
To sum it up, the verse shows that:
First: Imamah is a Divinely‑made status.
Second:
The Imam must be ma'sum, by Divine 'ismah; in other words,
he must be protected by Allah from sins and errors.
Third: The earth cannot remain without a rightful Imam,
as long as there is a man on it.
Fourth: It is essential for an Imam to be supported by the
Divine help.
Fifth:
The deeds of the people are not hidden from the Imam.
Sixth: The Imam must have knowledge of all that is needed
by the people for their good in this world and the next.
Seventh: It is impossible for any other person to surpass
the Imam in any virtue.
These seven are among the basic factors of the
imamah, and this verse, read with other relevant verses, leads us
to them, and Allah is our Guide.
Objection: As the imamah means to guide by the command
of Allah, and as that guiding to the truth is concomitant with the Imam's
being rightly guided by Allah (as has been inferred from the verse: Is
he then who guides to truth more worthy to be followed...), then
all the prophets should certainly be called Imams. Obviously, prophethood
of a prophet comes into being only when he is rightly guided by Allah
through revelation; a prophet is not guided by any other person through
teaching or advice etc. Therefore, bestowal of prophethood would be
synonymous with that of the imamah. And the objection you had put
against the interpretation of the imamah with prophethood would be
turned in toto against your explanation.
Reply: What we have inferred from the foregoing
description is that if one guides to Allah by His command, he must be
guided aright not by any other person but by Allah Himself. But the
Qur'anic verses have not shown that its contrary proposition is also true,
that is, it has not been proved that whoever is rightly guided by Allah
should also be a guide to Allah. Therefore, it is not necessary that every
prophet should be called an Imam. In one place, Allah declares about
various prophets that they were rightly guided by Him, and yet does not
join it with the statement that they guided their people to the truth. He
says: And We gave to him (i.e., Ibrahim) Ishaq and Ya'qub; each
did We guide, and Nuh did We guide before, and of his descendants, Dawud
and Sulayman and Ayyub and Yusuf and Harun; and thus do We reward those
who do good; and Zakariyya and Yahya and 'Isa and Ilyas; every one was of
the righteous (ones) and Isma'il and Ilyasa' and Yunus and Lut; and
every one We did exalt over the worlds; and from among their fathers and
their descendants and their brethren; and We chose them and guided them to
the straight path. This is Allah's guidance, He guides thereby whom He
pleases of His servants; and if they had set up others (with Him),
certainly what they did would have become ineffectual for them. These
are they to whom We gave the book and the wisdom and the prophethood;
therefore if these disbelieve in it, We have (already) entrusted
with it a people who are not disbelievers in it. These are they whom Allah
guided, therefore follow their guidance. Say: "I do not ask you for any
reward for it; it is but a reminder to the worlds" (6:86 ‑
90).
The context of the above verses shows that this
Divine Guidance is an unalterable firm decree; it will continue in this
ummah even after the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.), and will remain
confined within the progeny of Ibrahim (a.s.), as the verses 43:26-28
prove: And when Ibrahim said to his father and his people: "Surely, I
am clear of what you worship; (I worship) but (only) Him Who
created me, for surely He will guide me. " And He made it a word to
continue in his posterity, so that they may return (to God). When
Ibrahim (a.s.) declared to his people that he was clear of what they
worshipped and that he worshipped only Him Who had created him, he had
already achieved that guidance which contemplation and logical reasoning
can produce. Then he told them of his expectation that Allah would surely
guide him. This subsequent guidance was obviously different from the
earlier one; it was guidance by the command of Allah. Thereafter, Allah
says that He made this Divine Guidance "a word to continue" in Ibrahim's
posterity. This is one of those verses in which "word" has been used not
for speech but for a substance it refers to the guidance as "a word". The
same is the interpretation of "word of piety" in the verse: and made
them keep the word of piety, and well were they entitled to it and worthy
of it (48:26).
The above explanation makes it clear that the
imamah after Ibrahim (a.s.), is confined to his descendants. The
sentences, "(Ibrahim) said: 'And of my offspring?' He said: 'My covenant
will not include unjust' ", point to this fact. Obviously, Ibrahim (a.s.)
had asked for the imamah not for all but only for some of his
descendants, and he was told that it would not be given to the unjust of
his descendants. Needless to say that not all of his descendants were
unjust; therefore, this reply disqualifies only one group and not all. In
other words, it grants the request for a selected group of his offspring
and further sanctifies it as a covenant, and on that basis it says that
the covenant of Allah will not include the unjust ones.
QUR'AN: