The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 233
PT. 1 AL-BAQARAH CH. 2 إِذْ قَالَ لَهُ رَبُّةَ أَسْلِمُ قَالَ أَسْلَمْتُ ,When his Lord said to him. 132 'Submit', he said, "I have submitted to the Lord of the worlds'. 138 "3:68; 4:126. لِرَبِّ الْعَلَمِينَ himself, or his mind acts foolishly (Aqrab, Mufradāt, Lisān & Lane). derived from which means, it him did We choose) is) اصطفيناه اصفاه بكذا. became pure and clean means, he chose him for that, or he honoured him with that. so means, he chose or selected him from among others; he chose him in preference to others (Aqrab). Commentary: The attention of Jews and Christians is drawn to the point that when it has been proved that, in accordance with the prayer of Abraham, a Prophet was to appear from among the children of Ishmael and that Prophet has actually appeared, it is incumbent upon them to ponder over his claims and not to belie the prayer of Abraham and go against their own religion. The verse emphasizes the fact that anybody who departs from the way of the great patriarch of the People of the Book betrays his own folly. The religion of Abraham leads to salvation, whereas defection from it leads to ruin and deprivation. 138. Important Words: اسلم (submit), being in the imperative mood, means, submit or surrender or resign thyself; or become a Muslim, i. e. one resigned to God. 233 For a fuller discussion of the word see 2:113. Commentary: The Jews are here told that the greatness of their ancestor Abraham lay in the fact that he was always ready to submit fully and resign himself completely to the will of God. Therefore, if they too wish to become great in the sight of God, they should also submit to Him and obey His commands and accept His Prophet. The verse beautifully describes Abraham's religion. When God asked him to submit, he immediately replied, I have submitted to the Lord of the worlds. This reply of Abraham points to two important inferences: (1) That Abraham does not use the words "I will submit" or even "I do submit" but I have submitted, which means that he was so eager to obey his Lord that he took no time in making his submission, as if the act were already a thing accomplished. (2) That Abraham does not merely say I have submitted, but adds the words to the Lord of the worlds, which signifies that his submission was not based on any ulterior motive but on the simple fact that the "Being" to Whom he was submitting was the Lord and Master of the world and hence entitled to obedience.