Al-An'am · Makki · ayah 84 of 165

Al-An'am 6:84

وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُۥٓ إِسْحَـٰقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ ۚ كُلًّا هَدَيْنَا ۚ وَنُوحًا هَدَيْنَا مِن قَبْلُ ۖ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِهِۦ دَاوُۥدَ وَسُلَيْمَـٰنَ وَأَيُّوبَ وَيُوسُفَ وَمُوسَىٰ وَهَـٰرُونَ ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ

“And We gave to him [i.e., Abraham] Isaac and Jacob - all [of them] We guided. And Noah, We guided before; and among his descendants, David and Solomon and Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron. Thus do We reward the doers of good.”

Saheeh International

Essence

The man who left his people for Allah was given a family of prophets, and the same promise reaches everyone who does good.

A reflection

A gift, not a trophy

The ayah opens with a verb of giving: wa-wahabnā lahu, and We gave him. Ibrahim does not produce Isaac and Jacob. He receives them.

The lexicons define the root precisely. A hiba is making what you own someone else's, with no price and no return expected. One lexicon adds that a true gift is free of any exchange or hidden aim.

The timing makes the gift sharper. One commentary recalls that Isaac came when Ibrahim was old and his wife had given up hope of a child. She cried out in astonishment at the news (11:72). The same commentary links the gift to what Ibrahim had given up. He left his people and his homeland for Allah. Another ayah says it outright: when he withdrew from them, We gave him Isaac and Jacob (19:49).

Picture a father at his daughter's wedding. In his speech he lists his children's achievements: a doctor, an engineer, a place at a famous university. Then he explains how he did it. The early bedtimes, the tutors, the rules about screens. The guests smile politely. In the front row his own mother, who prayed for those children every night, says nothing.

This is where the ego has to bow. Children, a legacy, a name that outlives us: we are tempted to treat them as trophies of good management. The ayah calls them hiba, a gift from Someone else's hand.

Does Allah say 'We gave' because He wants the credit? He is the Rich, free of need (35:15). The reminder is for the receiver. A gift known to be a gift is held lightly and thankfully. A gift mistaken for an achievement makes its holder proud, and anxious.

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.