The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 165
PT. 12 HŪD CH. 11 وَامْرَأَتُهُ قَابِمَةٌ فَضَحِكَتْ فَبَشَّرْنَهَا And his wife was standing. 72. بِإِسْحَقَ وَ مِنْ وَرَاءِ إِسْحَقَ يَعْقُوبَ whereupon "We gave her glad by, and she too was frightened, tidings of the birth of Isaac and, after Isaac, of Jacob. 1452 21:73; 51:29. persecuted him; and though Abraham, to whom Lot was a junior and subordinate Prophet prayed for these wicked people and interceded with God on their behalf, they were destroyed on account of their iniquities and transgression (Lane, Enc. Bri. & Jew. Enc. ). Commentary: Abraham at first took the "messengers" to be ordinary way- farers, but when they refrained from eating of the roasted calf he had placed before them (see the preceding verse), he realized that they were on some special mission which he had failed to understand. He knew that as ordinary wayfarers they could not refuse his hospitality, for wayfarers in that arid land entirely depended on the hospitality of the inhabitants for their food. The words, conceived a fear of them, do not mean that Abraham was afraid of the strangers but that, when they did not partake of the food, he feared that he might have done something against the etiquette of hospitality and thus had displeased them. He did not, however, express his fear, for such an expression would have implied that he perhaps took them to be mean and greedy. The guests, it appears, read Abraham's perturbed state of mind from the uneasy expression of his face, so they at once removed his anxiety by telling him that they were in no way displeased and that the reason why they did not partake of food was that their dreadful mission had made them disinclined to eat. This answer of the visitors also shows that they were not angels; for had they been angels, they would have said that being not human they could not partake of the food. 1452. Important Words: she) ضحكت was frightened) is formed from which means: (1) he laughed; (2) he wondered (3) he was frightened or he feared. means, the woman menstruated (Lane & Mufradāt). المرأة ضحكت Commentary: When Abraham's wife, Sarah, heard the sad news of the impending destruction of Lot's people, she was naturally frightened and her heart became filled with pain and pity for them. Sarah's feeling of pity for Lot's people pleased God and He hastened to give her the glad tidings of the birth of a grandson (Jacob) in addition to the announcement of a son (Isaac) that had already been made to Abraham in v. 70. 1373