Tafseer of Abraham · Ibrahim · 14:37
Our Lord, I have settled some of my descendants in an uncultivated valley near Your sacred House, our Lord, that they may establish prayer. So make hearts among the people incline toward them and provide for them from the fruits that they might be grateful.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Ibrāhīm, the friend of the Most Merciful (khalīl al-Raḥmān), spoke this word when he settled Ismāʿīl and his mother Hājar — as has been transmitted — in Mecca.
As I was told by Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm and al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad, who said: Ismāʿīl ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, on the authority of Ayyūb, who said: it was reported to me concerning Saʿīd ibn Jubayr that he related, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: he said: the very first to perform the saʿy between al-Ṣafā and al-Marwa was the mother of Ismāʿīl; and the very first thing that the women of the Arabs introduced of trailing the hem of the garment came from the mother of Ismāʿīl — when she fled from Sāra she let her hem trail to wipe out her tracks. Ibrāhīm brought her and Ismāʿīl along until he brought them to the place of the House (al-Bayt), and he left them there and turned back. She followed him and said: to whom are you leaving us? To food? To drink? He gave her no answer, and she said: did Allah command you this? He said: yes. She said: then He will not let us perish. He said: she turned back and he went on, until he stood at the mountain pass of Kadāʾ; he turned toward the valley and called out in supplication, and said: رَبَّنَا إِنِّي أَسْكَنتُ مِن ذُرِّيَّتِي بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِي زَرْعٍ عِندَ بَيْتِكَ الْمُحَرَّمِ رَبَّنَا لِيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ فَاجْعَلْ أَفْئِدَةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ وَارْزُقْهُم مِّنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَشْكُرُونَ (Our Lord, I have settled a part of my offspring in a valley without crops, by Your sacred House — our Lord — so that they may establish the prayer. So make the hearts of a part of the people incline toward them, and provide them with fruits, that they may be grateful). He said: the woman had with her an old waterskin with water in it; the water ran out, she became thirsty and her milk dried up; the infant became thirsty. She looked which of the mountains was nearest to the lowland, and climbed al-Ṣafā to listen whether she heard a voice or saw company, but she heard nothing. She came down, and when she reached the valley, she ran hastily — not of her own will, but as an exhausted person runs without wishing to. She looked which of the mountains was nearest to the lowland, and climbed al-Marwa to listen whether she heard a voice or saw company. She heard a voice; she said as one who doubts his own hearing: hush! — until she confirmed it; and she said: you have made me hear your voice, help me — I am perishing and the one who is with me is perishing. The angel came and brought her until he brought her to the place of Zamzam; he struck with his foot and a spring gushed forth. The woman hurried and put it into her waterskin. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Allah has mercy on the mother of Ismāʿīl — had she not hurried, Zamzam would have been a flowing spring." The angel said to her: do not fear thirst for the inhabitants of this land, for this is but a spring for the thirst of the guests of Allah. And he said: the father of this boy will come, and the two of them will build a House for Allah on this spot. He said: a caravan of Jurhum passed by on the way to Shām; they saw the birds over the mountain and said: these birds are surely circling above water — do you know of water in this valley? It was said: no; they took a look and saw the woman; they came to her and asked her permission to encamp beside her; she gave them permission. The perishing of death that befalls all people befell her; she died. Ismāʿīl married a woman from among them. Ibrāhīm came and asked after the dwelling-place of Ismāʿīl until he was guided to it. He did not find him at home but found there a coarse and unkind wife. He said to her: when your husband comes, say to him: an old man of such-and-such description came here, and he says to you: I am not pleased with the threshold of your door — change it. He departed; when Ismāʿīl returned she told him. He said: that was my father, and you are the threshold of his door — he separated from her and married another woman from among them. Ibrāhīm came again and arrived at the house of Ismāʿīl; he did not find him at home but found there a friendly and cheerful wife. He said to her: where has your husband gone? She said: he has gone out hunting. He said: what is your food? She said: meat and water. He said: O Allah, bless them in their meat and in their water — three times. He said to her: when your husband comes, tell him: say: an old man of such-and-such description came here, and he says to you: I am pleased with the threshold of your door — keep her. When Ismāʿīl returned she told him.
Then he said: then he came a third time and the two of them built up the foundations of the House.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbbād related to us, he said: Ḥammād ibn Salama related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: he said: the prophet of Allah Ibrāhīm brought Ismāʿīl and Hājar and settled them in Mecca at the place of Zamzam. When he left, Hājar called after him: O Ibrāhīm, I ask you only three times: who commanded you to settle me in a land without herd or crop, without company, without provisions and without water? He said: my Lord commanded me. She said: then He will not let us perish. He said: when Ibrāhīm turned away to depart, he spoke رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ تَعْلَمُ مَا نُخْفِي وَمَا نُعْلِنُ (Our Lord, You know what we conceal and what we make public) — that is, of grief — وَمَا يَخْفَى عَلَى اللَّهِ مِن شَيْءٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ (And nothing is hidden from Allah on earth nor in the heaven). When Ismāʿīl became thirsty, he began to stamp the ground with his heel. Hājar went and climbed al-Ṣafā — the valley was deep that day; she climbed al-Ṣafā and peered to see whether she saw anything, but saw nothing. She came down and reached the valley, ran hastily through it until she was out of it, and reached al-Marwa; she climbed it and peered to see whether she saw anything, but saw nothing. She did this seven times, and then she went from al-Marwa to Ismāʿīl, who was stamping the ground with his heel; the spring had gushed forth — that is Zamzam. She began to dig the ground with her hands for the water; whenever water collected she took it into her bowl and put it into her water-container. The Prophet ﷺ said: "May Allah show her mercy — had she left it, it would have been a flowing spring that streams until the Day of Judgment." Jurhum that day were in a valley near Mecca; the birds kept circling above the valley when they saw the water; when Jurhum saw the birds, which kept circling above the valley, they said: these stay only because there is water — they came to Hājar and said: if you wish, we will be with you and keep you company, and the water is your water. She said: yes. They stayed with her until Ismāʿīl grew up; Hājar died, and Ismāʿīl married a woman from among them.
Ibrāhīm asked Sāra for permission to visit Hājar; she gave him permission on condition that he would not encamp. Ibrāhīm arrived and Hājar had died. He went to the house of Ismāʿīl and said to his wife: where is your companion? She said: he is not here — he has gone hunting; and Ismāʿīl went out of the sanctuary (ḥaram) to hunt and returned. Ibrāhīm said: do you have hospitality, do you have food or drink? She said: no, I have nothing, and I have no one with me. Ibrāhīm said: when your husband returns, convey my greeting to him and say to him: he should change the threshold of his door. Ibrāhīm departed; Ismāʿīl arrived and smelled the scent of his father. He said to his wife: has anyone been here? She said: an old man such-and-such — as if she made light of his affair. He said: what did he say to you? She said: he said to me: convey my greeting to your husband and say to him: he should change the threshold of his door. He separated from her and married another. Ibrāhīm waited as long as Allah willed that he wait, and then asked Sāra for permission to visit Ismāʿīl; she gave him permission on condition that he would not encamp. Ibrāhīm arrived at the door of Ismāʿīl and said to his wife: where is your companion? She said: he is hunting and he will come now if Allah wills — encamp, may Allah show you mercy. He said to her: do you have hospitality? She said: yes. He said: do you have bread or wheat or dates or barley? She said: no. She brought milk and meat; he prayed for them with blessing — had she brought bread or wheat or barley or dates that day, it would have become the land of the world most endowed with wheat, barley and dates. She said to him: encamp so that I may wash your head — he did not encamp. She brought him the Station (al-maqām) and placed it at his right side; he placed his foot upon it and the imprint of his foot remained upon it. She washed the right side of his head; then she moved the Station to his left side and washed the left side. He said to her: when your husband comes, convey my greeting to him and say to him: the threshold of your door stands straight — keep her. When Ismāʿīl arrived he smelled the scent of his father; he said to his wife: has anyone been here? She said: yes, an old man of the most beautiful face and the finest scent of people; he said to me this and that, and I said to him this and that, and I washed his head — and this is the place of his foot on the Station. He said: and what did he say to you? She said: he said to me: when your husband comes, convey my greeting to him and say to him: the threshold of your door stands straight — keep her. He said: that is Ibrāhīm. He waited as long as Allah willed that he wait; Allah commanded him to build the House, and he built it together with Ismāʿīl. When they had built it, it was said to him: call the people to the pilgrimage (ḥajj). He began to pass by no group of people without saying: O people, a House has been built for you — perform the ḥajj to it. And nothing heard him — no rock, no tree, no thing — without saying: "Labbayk Allāhumma labbayk." He said: and there were between his word رَبَّنَا إِنِّي أَسْكَنتُ مِن ذُرِّيَّتِي بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِي زَرْعٍ عِندَ بَيْتِكَ الْمُحَرَّمِ and his word الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي وَهَبَ لِي عَلَى الْكِبَرِ إِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ (Praise be to Allah who has granted me in old age Ismāʿīl and Isḥāq) so-and-so many years — ʿAṭāʾ had not memorized it.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda concerning رَبَّنَا إِنِّي أَسْكَنتُ مِن ذُرِّيَّتِي بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِي زَرْعٍ عِندَ بَيْتِكَ الْمُحَرَّمِ: it is a House that Allah has purified from evil, which He has made a prayer direction (qibla), which He has made His sanctuary (ḥaram) — the prophet of Allah Ibrāhīm chose it for his progeny.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda concerning غَيْرِ ذِي زَرْعٍ: he said: Mecca had no crop that day.
Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj: he said: Ibn Kathīr informed me — al-Qāsim said in his transmission: ʿAmr ibn Kathīr informed me; but Abū Jaʿfar says: I changed it and made it: Ibn Kathīr informed me, and I omitted ʿAmr because I do not know a person named ʿAmr ibn Kathīr who transmitted from Ibn Jurayj; for Maʿmar transmitted from Kathīr ibn Kathīr ibn al-Muṭṭalib ibn Abī Wadāʿa, and I fear that the transmission of Ibn Jurayj too is from Kathīr ibn Kathīr. He said: I was together with ʿUthmān ibn Abī Sulaymān among a group of people with Saʿīd ibn Jubayr at night; Saʿīd ibn Jubayr said to the group: ask me questions before you can no longer ask me. The people questioned him and were abundant in that; one of the matters about which he was asked was: is it true what we have heard about the Station (al-maqām)? Saʿīd said: what have you heard? They said: we have heard that Ibrāhīm the Prophet of Allah, when he arrived from Shām, had sworn to his wife not to encamp in Mecca until he would return; the Station was offered to him and he encamped upon it. Saʿīd said: it is not so — Ibn ʿAbbās related to us, but he related to us that when there was between the mother of Ismāʿīl and Sāra what there was, he took Ibrāhīm along with Ismāʿīl. Then he mentioned a transmission like that of Ayyūb, except that in his transmission he added: the Prophet ﷺ said: "They asked her permission to encamp beside her, and the mother of Ismāʿīl loved company; they encamped and sent messengers to their family, who arrived. Their food was hunting; they went out of the sanctuary and Ismāʿīl went with them hunting; when he came of age, they married him off, and his mother had died before that time." And the Prophet ﷺ said: "When he prayed for them both that he would bless them in meat and water, he said to her: do you have grain or other food? She said: no. Had he found grain for her that day, he would also have prayed for her for blessing therein."
Ibn ʿAbbās said: then he waited as long as Allah willed that he wait; then he arrived and found Ismāʿīl seated under a great tree at the side of the well, cutting arrows for himself. Ibrāhīm greeted him and came down to him; he sat with him and said: O Ismāʿīl, Allah has commanded me a matter. Ismāʿīl said: then obey your Lord in what He has commanded you. Ibrāhīm said: He has commanded me to build a House for Him. Ismāʿīl said: build. Ibn ʿAbbās said: Ibrāhīm pointed out to him a small hill before them, raised above what was around it, toward which the floodwaters came from all sides but which they did not cover. He said: the two of them came to lay bare the foundations, building and saying رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا إِنَّكَ أَنتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ (Our Lord, accept from us — truly, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing) — Our Lord, accept from us — truly, You hear the supplication. Ismāʿīl carried the stones upon his neck while the old man Ibrāhīm built. When the building grew high and it became difficult for the old man to reach it, Ismāʿīl brought him this stone; he stood upon it and built, moving it around the sides of the House until it was finished. Ibn ʿAbbās says: that is the Station of Ibrāhīm and his standing upon it.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: my father related to us, on the authority of Sharīk, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās concerning رَبَّنَا إِنِّي أَسْكَنتُ مِن ذُرِّيَّتِي بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِي زَرْعٍ: he said: he settled Ismāʿīl and his mother in Mecca.
Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, he said: Abū Aḥmad related to us, he said: Sharīk related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr concerning إِنِّي أَسْكَنتُ مِن ذُرِّيَّتِي بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِي زَرْعٍ: he said: when he left Ismāʿīl behind.
Abū Jaʿfar says: the purport of the words is then: Our Lord, I have settled a part of my progeny in a valley without crop. And in his word ﷺ there is an indication that there was no water there that day, for had there been water, he would not have described it as a valley without crop by Your House that You have declared sacred for all Your creatures by making it inviolable.
And His declaring it sacred was, as has been transmitted, as follows: Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: he said: it has been transmitted to us that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said in a sermon: this House, the very first to administer it were people of Ṭasm; they were disobedient to their Lord and violated its sanctity and treated its right with contempt — Allah destroyed them. Then people of Jurhum administered it; they were disobedient to their Lord and violated its sanctity and treated its right with contempt — Allah destroyed them. Then you, the community of Quraysh, have received the administration over it — so do not be disobedient to its Lord, do not violate its sanctity and do not treat its right with contempt; by Allah, one prayer therein is dearer to me than a hundred prayers elsewhere — and know that disobediences therein are of a like order.
And He said إِنِّي أَسْكَنتُ مِن ذُرِّيَّتِي بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِي زَرْعٍ (I have settled a part of my progeny in a valley without crop) — without mentioning to what the action relates. The full syntactic formulation ought to be: I have settled a group, or a man, or a people of my progeny; but that is not permissible together with "min" (a part) because this pronoun already indicates the intent of the sentence. The Arabs do that much with it, as one says: we have killed of the Banū Fulān, and we have eaten of the grass and drunk of the water; and from this too is the word of Allah, exalted is He: أَنْ أَفِيضُوا عَلَيْنَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ أَوْ مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ اللَّهُ (pour over us some water or something of what Allah has provided you).
Should there now be questions: how did Ibrāhīm say, when he settled his son in Mecca, إِنِّي أَسْكَنتُ مِن ذُرِّيَّتِي بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِي زَرْعٍ عِندَ بَيْتِكَ الْمُحَرَّمِ (by Your sacred House), while in the transmissions that I have mentioned it states that Ibrāhīm built the House some time afterward? One says: there are opinions about that which I have mentioned in the sūra al-Baqara — among them that the meaning is: by Your sacred House that existed before it was raised up from the earth at the time of the Flood; and among them: by Your sacred House that is sacred against the violation of the prohibitions of Allah therein and against treating its right with contempt.
His word رَبَّنَا لِيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ (Our Lord, so that they may establish the prayer): this means: this I did, Our Lord, so that Your obligatory prayers would be established — the prayers (ṣalāh) that You have imposed upon them in Your sacred House.
His word فَاجْعَلْ أَفْئِدَةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ (so make the hearts of a part of the people incline toward them): Allah, exalted be His mention, tells herewith about His friend Ibrāhīm that in his supplication he asked that He would make the hearts of a part of His creatures long for the dwellings of his progeny that he had settled in a valley without crop by His sacred House. That is on his part a supplication for them that Allah would provide them with the pilgrimage (ḥajj) to His sacred House.
As Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Ḥakkām ibn Salm related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Abī Qays, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr concerning أَفْئِدَةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ: had he said: the hearts of all people incline toward them, then Jews, Christians and Magians would perform the ḥajj; but he said: the hearts of a part of the people — those are the Muslims.
Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid concerning فَاجْعَلْ أَفْئِدَةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ: he said: were it the hearts of all people, then the Persians and the Byzantines would throng to it; but it is the hearts of a part of the people.
Ibn Ḥumayd and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, they said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid concerning فَاجْعَلْ أَفْئِدَةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ: he said: had he said: the hearts of all people incline toward them, then the Persians and the Byzantines would throng to it.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: ʿAlī — that is Ibn al-Jaʿd — related to us, he said: Jarīr informed us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid — the same.
Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥakam: he said: I asked ʿIkrima about this verse فَاجْعَلْ أَفْئِدَةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ and he said: their hearts incline toward the House.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: my father related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of ʿIkrima, ʿAṭāʾ and Ṭāwūs concerning فَاجْعَلْ أَفْئِدَةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ: toward the House their hearts incline — they visit it.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbbād related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥakam: I asked ʿAṭāʾ, Ṭāwūs and ʿIkrima about فَاجْعَلْ أَفْئِدَةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ: they said: the ḥajj.
Al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Shabāba and ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd related to us, they said: Saʿīd informed us, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, Ṭāwūs and ʿIkrima concerning فَاجْعَلْ أَفْئِدَةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ: he said: their longing for Mecca — to perform the ḥajj there.
Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Ādam related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥakam: I asked Ṭāwūs, ʿIkrima and ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ about فَاجْعَلْ أَفْئِدَةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ and they said: make their longing for the ḥajj.
Al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbbād related to us, he said: Ḥammād ibn Salama related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: he said: had Ibrāhīm said: the hearts of all people incline toward them, then the Jews, the Christians and all people would perform the ḥajj; but he said أَفْئِدَةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ (the hearts of a part of the people).
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda concerning فَاجْعَلْ أَفْئِدَةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ: he said: longing toward them.
Al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn ʿAṭāʾ related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda — the same.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, they said: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda — the same.
Others said: he prayed for them that they would long for residence in Mecca.
Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās concerning فَاجْعَلْ أَفْئِدَةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ: he said: Ibrāhīm, the friend of the Most Merciful, asked Allah that He would make a part of the people long for residence in Mecca or for dwelling there.
His word وَارْزُقْهُم مِّنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ (and provide them with fruits): Allah, exalted be His mention, says: provide them with the fruits of plants and trees as You have provided the inhabitants of the countryside and the settlements with water and rivers — even though You have settled them in a valley without crop and without water. He provided them therewith, exalted be His praise.
As al-Muthannā related to us, he said: Isḥāq related to us, he said: Hishām related to us: I read aloud to Muḥammad ibn Muslim al-Ṭāʾifī that when Ibrāhīm prayed for the sanctuary وَارْزُقْ أَهْلَهُ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ (and provide its people with fruits), Allah moved al-Ṭāʾif from Palestine.
His word لَعَلَّهُمْ يَشْكُرُونَ (that they may be grateful): that they may be grateful to You for what You have provided them and what favors You have shown them.