The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 344
PT. 13 IBRAHIM E CH. 14 رَبِّ إِنَّهُنَّ أَضْلَلْنَ كَثِيرًا مِنَ النَّاسِ My Lord, "they have indeed. 37 led astray many among فَمَنْ تَبِعَنِي فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّى وَمَنْ عَصَانِي mankind. So whoever follows فَإِنَّكَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمُ me, he is certainly of me; and whoever disobeys me-Thou art, surely, Most Forgiving, Merciful. 1691 "71:25. he, keep me and my children away from worshipping idols. Was it at all possible for him to stoop to shirk? The answer to this question is that man has been endowed with two kinds of powers. First, there are powers which are embodied in the nature of man. With regard to these, he offers no prayers to God. For instance, man never prays that his head may ever remain one and may never be transformed into two. Secondly, there are powers which he acquires by his own exertion or which he receives as special gift from God and which distinguish him from his fellow beings. As these favours are subject to degeneration or diminution, he has to pray to God for their preservation, even though he may have received a promise from God that they will remain intact, for the prayer is also intended to signify that these gifts are not his personal possession but are God's special favours. It is for this reason that the Prophets never cease to pray to God even with regard to matters pertaining to their position or their function as God's Messengers. The prayer of the Holy Prophet asking for increase in knowledge (20:115) is a case in point. 1552 The prayers of the Prophets for (forgiveness) or their as (repentance) also belong to this class of prayers. These prayers do not show, as has been erroneously supposed, that the Prophets who offered these prayers were sinners. On the contrary, the prayers are offered so that the favours of God may continue to be conferred on them, for it is on the mercy and grace of God that their continuance depends. This is why the Quran repeatedly bids believers to repose their trust in God, for to whatever spiritual heights a man may attain, he must always rely on the help of God and not on his own powers, for there is always the possibility of his fall. Indeed, it is through their trust in God that the Faithful attain to perfection, and the constant confession of their own weaknesses combined with their dependence on God's help serves to protect them from backsliding. 1691. Commentary: This verse shows Abraham to have been possessed of the love of his Creator in an unusually large measure, for he emphatically disowns those among his own children who would not worship the One Almighty God, though he offers an indirect