Al-Jumu'ah · Madani · ayah 2 of 11

Al-Jumu'ah 62:2

هُوَ ٱلَّذِى بَعَثَ فِى ٱلْأُمِّيِّـۧنَ رَسُولًا مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ وَإِن كَانُوا۟ مِن قَبْلُ لَفِى ضَلَـٰلٍ مُّبِينٍ

“It is He who has sent among the unlettered [Arabs] a Messenger from themselves reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book [i.e., the Qur’ān] and wisdom [i.e., the sunnah] - although they were before in clear error -”

Saheeh International

Essence

A man who never read a book was sent to a people without one, and he recited, purified and taught them into a new people.

A reflection

A prayer laid with the foundation stones

In a barren valley, an old man and his son are raising the walls of a house. The Quran records what they said as they worked. 'Our Lord, accept this from us'. Then came a further request, for people not yet born. 'Our Lord, raise up among them a messenger from among them'. He would recite Your ayat to them, teach them the Book and wisdom, and purify them (2:127–129).

Ibrāhīm (as) did not live to see the answer. His descendants traded his worship of the One God for idols. Generations passed in which, as one commentary puts it, the paths had been wiped away and the need had grown severe.

Then comes this ayah. 'It is He who raised among the unlettered a messenger from among them'. The commentaries say it plainly: this is the fulfilment of Allah's answer to His friend Ibrāhīm. The same valley, the same house, the same four tasks, almost word for word.

The verb chosen is baʿatha, and its root carries a picture. A camel kneels with its foreleg hobbled. Someone loosens the rope, and it rises and sets off. So a sleeper is woken, the dead are raised, and a messenger is sent. The Prophet ﷺ was not dropped in from outside. He was raised up from among them, like a camel rising from its own herd.

What does this ask of the reader? Perhaps to take prayers for the unborn seriously. Ibrāhīm prayed for people he would never meet. Some of the most consequential prayers ever made were not answered within the lifetime of the one who made them. A parent praying for grandchildren, or a teacher for her students' students, is doing what Ibrāhīm did. The answer may arrive in a valley you never see again.

On Friday, when the imam reads this ayah, you are hearing a prayer answered. It was made over stones, and the answer is still being recited.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.