Volume 10 Surah 12 - 15 - Enjoy Islam

Ibrahīm (Abraham) | GRACE AND GRATITUDE
rhythm, now comes to a close. It imparts an air of gentle tenderness and care which
makes people’s hearts long to be with God, and remember His grace and blessings.
Abraham, the father of a long line of prophets, is seen as a pious servant who does
not forget His Lord’s grace, or his duty to be thankful for it. He is given as an
example to be followed by God’s servants who truly believe in Him, for, just before
relating Abraham’s supplication, the sūrah addressed them. We note how Abraham
repeats several times the addressing phrase, “My Lord” or “Our Lord”. This repeated
acknowledgement of God’s Lordship over him and his offspring is significant. He
does not mention God by His attribute of Godhead, but instead by His Lordship.
Godhead has rarely been subject to controversy even in jāhiliyyah societies. Nor was it
so in the ignorant society of Arabia at the advent of Islam. What people have always
argued about is the Lordship of God, and the need to submit to Him in everyday life
on earth.
This is in fact the central point between submission to God, and believing in His
oneness on the one hand, and the association of partners with Him on the other.
People either submit to God, and this means that they acknowledge Him as their
Lord, or they submit to others who would become their lords. This makes all the
difference in life. The Qur’ān relates Abraham’s supplication to the Arab idolaters,
emphasizing his acknowledgement of God’s Lordship to draw their attention to the
fact that their own way of life was in complete contrast with what this supplication
truly signifies.
No Heeding of Past Lessons
The sūrah moves on with its presentation of these issues, speaking to those “who
have exchanged God’s blessings for unbelief and landed their people in the House of
Perdition.” (Verse 28) It speaks to them as they continue with their erring ways,
before they are subjected to God’s punishment. They are the ones whom the Prophet
had been told to say to them: “Enjoy yourselves in this life, for you will surely end up in
hell.” (Verse 30) He is further ordered to address those who believe in God, and to
command them to offer their prayers and pay their zakāt: “Tell My servants who have
attained to faith that they should attend regularly to their prayers and spend [in My way],
secretly and openly, out of the sustenance We provide for them, before a day shall come when
there will be no trading and no friendship.” (Verse 31)
Here the sūrah completes the picture, showing what God has prepared for those
unbelievers who deny God’s blessings, and tells when they will face their inevitable
destiny. This comes in quick images of the Day of Judgement which fill our hearts
with fear: “Never think that God is unaware of what the wrongdoers are doing. He only
grants them respite till the Day when eyes will stare fixedly in horror, when they will be
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