Al-'Ankabut · Makki · ayah 27 of 69

Al-'Ankabut 29:27

وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُۥٓ إِسْحَـٰقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَجَعَلْنَا فِى ذُرِّيَّتِهِ ٱلنُّبُوَّةَ وَٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَءَاتَيْنَـٰهُ أَجْرَهُۥ فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَإِنَّهُۥ فِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ لَمِنَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ

“And We gave to him Isaac and Jacob and placed in his descendants prophethood and scripture. And We gave him his reward in this world, and indeed, he is in the Hereafter among the righteous.”

Saheeh International

Essence

The man who left with almost nothing was given a son, a grandson, prophets and scripture in his line, and a place among the righteous.

A reflection

From 'a youth called Ibrahim' to everyone's forefather

When Ibrahim broke the idols, his people could barely place him. 'We heard a young man speaking of them,' they said, 'he is called Ibrahim' (21:60). One classical commentator noticed what that phrasing gives away. You only say 'someone called so-and-so' about a person nobody knows.

Now read this ayah. Wa-wahabnā … wa-jaʿalnā … wa-ātaynāhu: We granted, We placed, We gave. Three verbs, every one of them Allah's. The unknown young man is given a son and a grandson. Prophethood and the Book are placed in his line. The commentators note that every prophet sent after him came from his descendants, down to the last. The early generations add that every religious community claims him. Each one says: he is ours.

The same classical commentator called it a turning of every state into its opposite. Alone in the fire, he was given descendants who filled the earth. His near relatives were idolaters; he was given relatives who were prophets. Obscure, he became a name blessed in prayer until the end of time.

None of that was Ibrahim's doing, and the ayah is careful to say so. Not 'he built' but 'We granted'. That should humble anyone whose ego believes a legacy can be engineered. Picture a founder who names his company after himself and hangs his portrait in reception. Within a year of the sale, the buyer renames the company and the portrait goes into a cupboard. The name you carve for yourself is the easiest thing in the world to erase.

A sceptic may hear the repeated 'We' as boasting. Listen again to what it is doing. The Giver is listing gifts, not demanding tribute. Nothing in Ibrahim's fame adds anything to Him. The ayah tells you where every lasting name comes from, so that you can stop straining to make your own.

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.