s.) called on his Lord to bestow security and safety as well...

s.) called on his Lord to bestow security and safety as well as sustenance on the residents of Mecca; and the prayer was granted. Far be it from Allah to quote in His speech an unaccepted prayer without hint­ing at its rejection; if He were to do so, His talk would amount to a vain ridicule - far beneath the sublime dignity of His truth­ful speech. He says: ... and the truth do I speak ( 38:83 ) ; Most surely it is a decisive word, and it is no a jest (86:13 - 14).

The Qur'an has quoted numerous prayers which this great prophet had pleaded before his Lord for; for example, his prayer for himself in the beginning of his life; his prayer at the time of his emigration to Syria; his invocation to keep his good name alive; his prayer for himself, for his progeny and parents, and for the believing men and women; his invocation, after building the House, for the residents of Mecca; his prayer and pleading for a Prophet to be sent from among his progeny.

His prayers and the favours he asked from Allah are a canvas which graphi­cally shows his hopes and expectations, creates before our eyes a clear picture of his endeavours and efforts in the way of Allah, and provides a glimpse of his sublime spiritual virtues. In short, these prayers show his status before Allah and his nearness to Him.

One may write a detailed history of his life, basing it on his stories and the laudatory phrases used for him in the Qur'an; and we shall write something on these lines in Chapter 6 (The Cattle). Qur’an: such of them as believe : Ibrahim (a. s.) asked his Lord to give the residents of Mecca security and provide them with fruits.

At the same time he realized that not all of the residents would be believers, that some of them would be unbelievers; also he understood that his prayer for their sustenance was general - it covered the believers as well as the unbelievers; and he was aware that he had already declared himself to be separate from the unbelievers and their idols (as Allah says about him: But when it became clear to him that he, that is, his father, was an enemy of Allah, he declared himself to be clear of him [9:114].

Here Allah bears witness that Ibrahim [a.s.] had declared his separation from every enemy of Allah, not expecting even his father).