Tafseer of Those drawn up in Ranks · As-Saaffaat · 37:99
And [then] he said, "Indeed, I will go to [where I am ordered by] my Lord; He will guide me.
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.
His statement وَقَالَ إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَى رَبِّي سَيَهْدِينِ ("And he said: I am going to my Lord, He will guide me") means: and Ibrāhīm said, when Allah had given him victory over his people and had saved him from their plots: إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَى رَبِّي ("I am going to my Lord") — that is to say: I emigrate (mūhājir) away from the dwelling place of my people, toward Allah: that is, toward the holy land. I leave them and separate myself from them in order to worship Allah.
Qatāda used to say concerning this what Bishr related to us: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda concerning وَقَالَ إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَى رَبِّي سَيَهْدِينِ : he goes with his deed, his heart, and his intention.
Others said concerning this: Ibrāhīm said إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَى رَبِّي precisely at the moment when they wanted to cast him into the fire.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, he said: Abū Dāwūd related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, he said: I heard Sulaymān ibn Ṣurad say: when they wanted to cast Ibrāhīm into the fire قَالَ إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَى رَبِّي سَيَهْدِينِ ("he said: I am going to my Lord, He will guide me"). They gathered the firewood, and an old woman came along with firewood on her back. She was asked: "Where do you want to go?" She said: "I want to go to this man who is being cast into the fire." When he was cast into it, he said: "Allah is sufficient for me, in Him I have placed my trust" — or he said: "Allah is sufficient for me, and He is the best Protector." He said: then Allah spoke: "O fire, be cool and safe for Ibrāhīm." He said: then a son of Lūṭ, or a son of Lūṭ's brother, spoke: "The fire did not burn him on my account" — and there was a kinship between them. Then Allah sent upon him a tongue of fire, which burned him.
I have indeed chosen the view that I gave concerning this, because Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, mentions His report — and the report of his people — in another place. He reported that Ibrāhīm, when He had saved him from what his people intended for him, namely the burning, said: "I emigrate to my Lord." The exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) have explained this as: I emigrate to the land of Syria (al-Shām). So too is his statement إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَى رَبِّي , because this is equivalent to his statement "I emigrate to my Lord." And his statement سَيَهْدِينِ ("He will guide me") means: He will keep me steadfast upon the guidance (hudā) that I have perceived, and assist me therein.
