Surah Al-Anbya 21:73

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.)

Allah menyebutkan dalam ayat ini tambahan karunia-Nya kepada Ibrahim, selain karunia yang telah diterangkan pada ayat yang lalu, yaitu bahwa keturunan Ibrahim itu tidak hanya merupakan orang-orang yang saleh, bahkan juga menjadi imam atau pemimpin umat yang mengajak orang untuk menerima dan melaksanakan agama Allah, dan mengajak kepada perbuatan-perbuatan yang baik dan bermanfaat, berdasarkan perintah dan izin Allah.

Nabi Ibrahim yang diberi gelar "Khalilullah" (kekasih Tuhan) juga merupakan bapak dari beberapa nabi karena banyak di antara nabi-nabi yang datang sesudahnya adalah dari keturunannya, sampai dengan Nabi dan Rasul yang terakhir, yaitu Muhammad saw adalah termasuk cucu-cucu Ibrahim a.s. melalui Nabi Ismail. Mereka memperoleh wahyu Allah yang berisi ajaranajaran dan petunjuk ke arah bermacam-macam kebajikan, terutama menaati perintah Allah dan meninggalkan larangan-Nya.

Di samping itu Allah juga mewahyukan kepada mereka agar mendirikan salat dan membayarkan zakat. Kedua macam ibadah ini disebutkan Allah secara khusus, sebab ibadah salat memiliki keistimewaan sebagai ibadah jasmaniah maupun sebagai sarana yang mengokohkan hubungan hamba dengan Tuhannya, sedang zakat mempunyai keistimewaan baik sebagai ibadah harta yang paling utama yang mempererat hubungan dengan sesama hamba, lebih-lebih bila diingat bahwa harta benda sangat penting kedudukannya dalam kehidupan manusia.

Kedua macam ibadah ini, walaupun harus dilengkapi dengan ibadahibadah lainnya, namun ia telah mencerminkan dua sifat utama pada diri manusia yaitu taat kepada Allah, dan kasih sayang kepada sesama manusia.

Akhirnya, pada ujung ayat ini Allah menerangkan bahwa keturunan Nabi Ibrahim itu adalah orang-orang yang beribadat kepada Allah semata-mata dengan penuh rasa khusyuk dan tawadu.