“So We revealed to you that you follow the creed of Abraham...

“So We revealed to you that you follow the creed of Abraham, the upright one, and he was not of the polytheists.” Certainly the methods and the conditions of the prophets have not been identical, yet the path of the prophets has been similar and they were commissioned to follow the foregoing prophets and to preach monotheism. The frequent praising and eulogizing with the same interpretations alongside verses aligned with one another, reflect the utmost sincerity and the position of ‘Ibrahim.

Thus, in this last verse, the latest privilege which was accorded to ‘Ibrahim by Allah because of those prominent attributes, was the fact that his school was not only to be set up and flourishing during his own time but also it was destined to be for people at all times, especially for the nation of Islam as an inspiring school, as the Qur’an says: “So We revealed to you that you follow the creed of Abraham, the upright one…” In this noble verse, He again reemphasizes that: ‘Ibrahim was not from among the polytheists.

“…and he was not of the polytheists.” This refutation sentence is meant mostly for the ‘Quraysh polytheists’ who used to trace back their ancestral line to ‘Ibrahim despite their paganism and worshipping of the idols. Surah An-Nahl – Verse 124 إِنَّمَا جُعِلَ السَّبْتُ عَلَي الَّذِينَ اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَيَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِيمَا كَانُوا فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ 124.

“The Sabbath was appointed only for those who differed about it, and verily your Lord definitely will judge between them on the Day of Judgment in what they used to differ about.” The Jews were repeatedly punished for their obstinacy and hostility by Allah, one of which was proclaimed in verse 118 of this Surah, stating: “And for those who were Jews, We prohibited what We have already related to you…” The designation of the Sabbath as a holiday, which is explained in this verse, is also another punishment, in which case, certainly, some groups have expressed their appreciation and others have been ungrateful, resorting to dirty tricks, for which they got entangled to harsh cases of punishment.

The verse says: “The Sabbath was appointed only for those who differed about it…” Considering the previous verse, the meaning of this verse might be: O’ Prophet! Follow the path of the nation of ‘Ibrahim; holidays on the Sabbath were designated as exclusive to the Jews, which was a type of punishment for them.

✦ ✦ ✦