Al-Hajj · Madani · ayah 43 of 78

Al-Hajj 22:43

وَقَوْمُ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ وَقَوْمُ لُوطٍ

“And the people of Abraham and the people of Lot”

Saheeh International

Essence

Even Ibrahim, the friend of Allah, and Lut, who believed in him, were turned away by the very people they lived among.

A reflection

Known forever by the man they rejected

Notice how these deniers are named. Not by a tribe, a city or a king. They are 'the people of Ibrahim' and 'the people of Lut'. They have no name of their own left. They are remembered only as the people who belonged to the man they turned away.

Now read the ayah inside its own surah. Al-Hajj is the surah of the pilgrimage. A few pages earlier, Allah settles Ibrahim at the site of the House. He is told to keep it pure for those who circle it and pray (22:26). Then comes the command: proclaim the pilgrimage among people. They will come to you on foot and on every lean camel, from every distant pass (22:27).

That is the same Ibrahim this ayah lists among the rejected. His own people threw him into a fire to protect their gods (21:68). He left them with almost nothing but his faith.

And look at what followed. The man his people discarded called out in an empty valley, and the call is still being answered. Every year, pilgrims beyond counting arrive on foot and by every means. The people who rejected him left no monument, no name and no answer.

This is a strange kind of consolation for the Prophet ﷺ. It does not say the rejected man will be vindicated in his own lifetime. It says something larger. The one who is rejected for Allah's sake may become the very reason others are remembered at all.

If you are being dismissed by people close to you for holding to what is right, sit with this. Your critics may one day be known only as the people who knew you. That is not a reason for pride. It is a reason not to let their verdict become your ending.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.