The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 163
PT. 12 HUD Patriarch, was the son of Terah. He was born at Ur of the Chaldees. It is difficult to say when exactly he lived. He is said to have died at the age of 175. Abraham is the progenitor of the two great peoples, the Israelites and the Ishmaelites, who equally revere him. Abraham's real name was Abram but after the birth of Ishmael, according to God's own command, he came to be called Abraham which means the "Father of a multitude" or the "Father of many nations. " One branch of his progeny, the Israelites, lived in Canaan and the other, the Ishmaelites, in Arabia. In fulfilment of his famous dream, Abraham took his son Ishmael and his wife Hagar to the desert of Arabia where the posterity of Ishmael grew and multiplied and where in fulness of time and in conformity with God's promise to Abraham, the Holy Prophet of Islam, the greatest of all Prophets, appeared "to bring back the erring flock into the Master's fold!" (Gen. 10:26-25:10, & Jew. Enc. ). To this fact the Holy Prophet has himself referred in one of his famous sayings viz. i. e. "I am the prayer personified of Abraham". ('Asākir). Commentary: There exists a difference of opinion as to who were the "messengers" to whom reference has been made in this verse. Some hold them to be human beings, while others think they were angels. The former view appears to be the correct one, though they have been called "angels" by some for their piety, as Joseph is 1371 CH. 11 called "an angel" in 12:32. In this connection see also 17:96. The reason why God chose these men to convey news of the impending punishment to Lot (see vv. 75 & 78) is not clear from the context, but one explanation appears probable. Both Abraham and Lot, who were closely related, were strangers in that land, and it is quite possible that God sent His word to some pious men of that locality that they might take Lot to a safe place before the visitation actually overtook his people. It should also be remembered that these "messengers" did not come to give the first warning of the punishment. The people of Lot had already been threatened with punishment (15:13-15 & 15:65). The "messengers" came only to inform Lot that the appointed hour of the threatened punishment had arrived, and to take him to a place of safety. The mention of Abraham has been made in this Surah only incidentally, to serve as an introduction to the account of the Prophet Lot which follows. It is the story of Lot that is primarily meant to be mentioned here, for this Surah gives an account of only those Prophets whose people were visited with Divine punishment. The reason why the story of Lot has been introduced with a reference to Abraham is that Lot was one of those persons who had believed in Abraham and had migrated to Syria with him; and, though he himself was a Prophet of God, he was subordinate to Abraham, as Ishmael and Isaac were subordinate to him and as Aaron