Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:129
Our Lord, and send among them a messenger from themselves who will recite to them Your verses and teach them the Book and wisdom and purify them. Indeed, You are the Exalted in Might, the Wise."
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.
رَبَّنَا وَابْعَثْ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِكَ
(Our Lord, raise up among them a messenger from themselves who recites to them Your signs.)
**The statement concerning the interpretation of the words of the Exalted: رَبَّنَا وَابْعَثْ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِنْهُمْ (Our Lord, raise up among them a messenger from themselves).**
This is the supplication (duʿāʾ) of Ibrāhīm and Ismāʿīl that specifically concerns our Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ. It is the supplication concerning which our Prophet ﷺ used to say: "I am the supplication of my father Ibrāhīm and the glad tidings of ʿĪsā."
1708 – Concerning this, Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Thawr ibn Yazīd, on the authority of Khālid ibn Maʿdān al-Kulāʿī: that a group of the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "O Messenger of Allah, tell us about yourself!" He said: "Indeed. I am the supplication of my father Ibrāhīm and the glad tidings of ʿĪsā ﷺ."
1709 – ʿImrān ibn Bakkār al-Kulāʿī related to me, saying: Abū al-Yamān related to us, saying: Abū Kurayb related to us, on the authority of Abū Maryam, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Suwayd, on the authority of al-ʿIrbāḍ ibn Sāriya al-Sulamī, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: "Truly, I was with Allah, in the Mother of the Book (umm al-kitāb), the seal of the prophets, while Ādam still lay outstretched in his clay. And I shall presently inform you of the interpretation of that: I am the supplication of my father Ibrāhīm, and the glad tidings of ʿĪsā to his people, and the vision of my mother."
\* Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya informed me; and ʿUbayd ibn Ādam ibn Abī Iyās al-ʿAsqalānī related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: al-Layth ibn Saʿd related to us, on the authority of Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ — both of them said together —, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Suwayd, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hilāl al-Sulamī, on the authority of ʿIrbāḍ ibn Sāriya al-Sulamī, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, with a similar narration.
\* Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Suwayd, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Aʿlā ibn Hilāl al-Sulamī, on the authority of ʿIrbāḍ ibn Sāriya, that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say; and he mentioned something similar.
A group of the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) concurred with what we have said concerning this. Mention of who said that:
1710 – Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words: رَبَّنَا وَابْعَثْ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِنْهُمْ (Our Lord, raise up among them a messenger from themselves): Allah did that, and He raised up among them a messenger from themselves, whose countenance and lineage they knew, who leads them out of the darknesses into the light and guides them to the path of the Almighty, the Praiseworthy.
1711 – Mūsā related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: رَبَّنَا وَابْعَثْ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِنْهُمْ (Our Lord, raise up among them a messenger from themselves): that is Muḥammad ﷺ.
1712 – It was related to us on the authority of ʿAmmār, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: رَبَّنَا وَابْعَثْ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِنْهُمْ (Our Lord, raise up among them a messenger from themselves): that is Muḥammad ﷺ. It was said to him [Ibrāhīm]: "That is granted, but it will come to pass at the end of time."
The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, means by His words: يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِكَ (who recites to them Your signs): he recites to them Your Book which You reveal to him.
وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ
(and he teaches them the Book and the wisdom.)
**The statement concerning the interpretation of the words of the Exalted: وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ (and he teaches them the Book and the wisdom).**
By "the Book" He means the Qurʾān. I have already explained earlier why the Qurʾān is called a "Book" (kitāb) and what the interpretation of that is. This is the statement of a group of the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl). Mention of who said that:
1713 – Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ (and he teaches them the Book): the Qurʾān.
Then the people of interpretation differed concerning the meaning of the "wisdom" (al-ḥikma) that Allah mentions in this place. Some of them said: it is the Sunna (al-sunna). Mention of who said that:
1714 – Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "and the wisdom", that is to say: the Sunna.
And some of them said: the wisdom is the knowledge of the religion and the deep understanding (fiqh) therein. Mention of who said that:
1715 – Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: I asked Mālik: "What is the wisdom?" He said: "The knowledge of the religion, the deep understanding (fiqh) in the religion, and the following of it."
1716 – Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His words: وَالْحِكْمَةَ (and the wisdom): he said: The wisdom is the religion which they can know only through him ﷺ; he teaches them this. He said: And the wisdom is the understanding in the religion. And he recited: وَمَنْ يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ أُوتِيَ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا (And whoever is given the wisdom has been given much good) (2:269). And He said concerning ʿĪsā: وَيُعَلِّمُهُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَالتَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنْجِيلَ (and He teaches him the Book and the wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel) (3:48). He said: And Ibn Zayd recited: وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ الَّذِي آتَيْنَاهُ آيَاتِنَا فَانْسَلَخَ مِنْهَا (And recite to them the tidings of the one to whom We gave Our signs, but who divested himself of them) (7:175). He said: He derived no benefit from the signs, because there was no wisdom along with them. He said: And the wisdom is something that Allah places in the heart, by which He illuminates it for him.
The correct view of the statement, in our opinion, concerning the wisdom is: that it is the knowledge of the ordinances of Allah (aḥkām Allah), the knowledge of which can be obtained only through the exposition of the Messenger ﷺ, and the understanding of it, and what points to it of similar matters. It is, in my opinion, derived from "al-ḥukm", which has the meaning of distinguishing between truth and falsehood, in the same way that "al-jilsa" and "al-qaʿda" (the posture of sitting) are derived from "al-julūs" and "al-quʿūd" (sitting). One says of this: "Truly, so-and-so is indeed wise, clear in wisdom", meaning that he is clearly correct in word and deed.
And since that is so, the interpretation of the verse is: Our Lord, raise up among them a messenger from themselves who recites to them Your signs, and who teaches them Your Book which You send down upon them, and the discernment of Your adjudication, and Your ordinances which You teach him.
وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ
(and he purifies them.)
**The statement concerning the interpretation of the words of the Exalted: وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ (and he purifies them).**
We have already shown earlier that the meaning of al-tazkiya (purification) is "cleansing" (al-taṭhīr), and that the meaning of al-zakāh is "growth and increase" (al-namāʾ wa-l-ziyāda). The meaning of His words: وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ (and he purifies them) in this place is therefore: and he cleanses them from associating partners with Allah (al-shirk) and from the worship of idols, and he causes them to grow and increases them through obedience to Allah. As:
1717 – Al-Muthannā ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِكَ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ (who recites to them Your signs and purifies them): he said: by al-zakāh here is meant: obedience to Allah and sincerity (al-ikhlāṣ).
1718 – Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj said concerning His words: وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ (and he purifies them): he said: he cleanses them from shirk and frees them from it.
إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ
(Truly, You are the Almighty, the All-Wise.)
**The statement concerning the interpretation of the words of the Exalted: إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ (Truly, You are the Almighty, the All-Wise).**
The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, means by it: Truly You, O Lord, are the Almighty, the Strong, whom nothing that He wills can render incapable; so do with us and with our descendants what we have asked of You and requested from You. And the All-Wise: that is the One into whose governance no defect and no error penetrates; so grant us what benefits us and benefits our descendants, in a manner that diminishes nothing from You and diminishes nothing from Your treasuries.
