Islam Guidance

Verse126

(126) وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّ اجْعَلْ هََذَا بَلَدًا آمِنًا وَارْزُقْ أَهْلَهُ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ مَنْ آمَنَ مِنْهُم

بِاللّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ قَالَ وَمَن كَفَرَ فَأُمَتِّعُهُ قَلِيلاً ثُمَّ أَضْطَرُّهُ إِلَى عَذَابِ النَّارِ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ

126. " And (remember) when Abraham said: ' My Lord, make this a secure City and provide its people with fruits such of them that believe in Allah and the Last Day.' He said: ' And whoever disbelieves, I shall let him enjoy himself for a little while, then I shall drive him to the Punishment of Fire and an evil destination it is ! ' "
Commentary :
Abraham's (a.s.) Petition to Allah !
In this verse Abraham (a.s.) asks Allah two great requests in favour of the inhabitants of this Holy land, one of which was referred to in the previous verse. The Qur'an says:
" And (remember) when Abraham said: ' My Lord, make this a secure City ..."
As it was pointed out in the previous verse, Allah accepted this invocation from Abraham (a.s.) and set this Holy land as a secure center, both outward and inward security. his second petition was thus:
"... and provide its people with fruits such of them that believe in Allah and the Last Day.'...."
It is interesting that Abraham (a.s.) requested ' security 'first , and then he asked for material gifts which itself is a reference to the fact that a safe and soundeconomic status is not possible unless there exists security in a town or country.

The opinions are divided amongst the commentators as to the meaning of the term ' fruits ' here. On the whole, it seems that the word has a vast meaning, so broad that it includes any material bounty whether it is fruits or other nutritious substances, as well as spiritual bounties.
Concerning the meaning of this term in the above verse, Imam Sadiq (a.s.) in a tradition has said: " It is the fruits of hearts." (1) This indicates that Allah attracts the attention and affection of human beings to the people of this Holy land.
This is also noteworthy, that Abraham (a.s.) invocates this petition only for the believers in Allah, the only True God, and the Last Day, because he might have realized from the statement: " My covenant does not include the unjust," cited in the former verse, the fact that some groups of his future offspring would follow the path of polytheism and injustice; then, to show reverence in a courteous manner, here, he did not include them in his petition.
However, Allah's answer to this invocation of Abraham (a.s.) was:
"... He said: ' And whoever disbelieves, I shall let him enjoy himself for a little while, ..."
"...then I shall drive him to the Punishment of Fire and an evil destination it is ! ' "
This is, in fact, the same ' General Mercy ' of Allah by which His unlimited bounties are available to all creatures so that good doers and evildoers equally enjoy from His vast bountiful Table in this world, but in the next world, where His ' Specific Mercy ' comes forth, wrongdoers will have no share of it and also they will have no way to rescue themselves.

(1) Bihar-ul-Anwar, vol.12.86 & 100

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