Surah Al-Anbya 21:71

The Migration of Ibrahim to Ash-Sham (Greater Syria), accompanied by Lut

Allah tells us that He saved Ibrahim from the fire lit by his people, and brought him out from among them, migrating to the land of Ash-Sham, to the sacred regions thereof.

(And We bestowed upon him Ishaq, and Ya`qub Nafilatan.) `Ata' and Mujahid said, "Nafilatan means as a gift." Ibn `Abbas, Qatadah and Al-Hakam bin `Uyaynah said, "The gift of a son who has a son," meaning that Ya`qub was the son of Ishaq, as Allah says:

(But We gave her glad tidings of Ishaq, and after Ishaq, of Ya`qub) 11:71. `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said, "He asked for one son, and said,

("My Lord! Grant me from the righteous.") So Allah gave him Ishaq, and gave him Ya`qub in addition.

(Each one We made righteous. ) means, both of them were good and righteous people.

(And We made them leaders,) means, examples to be followed.

(guiding by Our command,) inviting to Him by His leave. Allah says:

(and We revealed to them the doing of good deeds, performing Salah, and the giving of Zakah,) Here the general is followed by the specific.

(and of Us (Alone) they were the worshippers.) means, they did what they enjoined others to do.

The Prophet Lut

Then Allah mentions Lut, whose full name was Lut bin Haran bin Azar. He believed in Ibrahim and followed him, and migrated with him, as Allah says:

(So Lut believed in him. He (Ibrahim) said: "I will emigrate for the sake of my Lord") 29:26. Allah gave him wisdom and knowledge; He sent Revelation to him, made him a Prophet and appointed him to Sadum (Sodom) and its vicinity, but they rejected him and resisted him, so Allah utterly destroyed them, as He tells us in several places in His Book. Allah says;

(and We saved him from the town who practised Al-Khaba'ith. Verily, they were a people given to evil, and were rebellious. And We admitted him to Our mercy; truly, he was of the righteous.)

Dalam ayat ini dijelaskan bahwa Allah melengkapi rahmat-Nya kepada Ibrahim. Allah telah menyelamatkannya dari kobaran api. Dalam sejarah diterangkan bahwa Allah telah menyelamatkannya dari kejahatan penduduk kota Ur di Mesopotamia Selatan, yaitu negeri asalnya, lalu ia hijrah ke negeri Harran, kemudian ke Palestina di daerah Syam.

Dalam ayat ini disebutkan bahwa negeri Syam adalah negeri yang telah diberi Allah keberkahan yang banyak untuk semua manusia. Sehingga negeri tersebut amat subur, banyak air dan tumbuh-tumbuhannya, sehingga memberikan banyak manfaat bagi penduduknya. Selain itu, negeri tersebut juga merupakan tempat lahir para nabi yang membawa sinar petunjuk bagi umat manusia. Baitul Makdis yang terletak di Palestina juga termasuk daerah Syam, dan kiblat pertama bagi umat Islam.

Dalam ayat ini diterangkan bahwa Nabi Lut juga berhijrah bersama ke negeri Syam itu. Menurut keterangan sejarah Nabi Lut adalah anak saudara lelaki Ibrahim a.s