21:71 Al-Anbiyaa (The Prophets)

{ وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَلُوطًا ْ} وذلك أنه لم يؤمن به من قومه إلا لوط عليه السلام قيل: إنه ابن أخيه، فنجاه الله، وهاجر { إِلَى الْأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ ْ} أي: الشام، فغادر قومه في \" بابل \" من أرض العراق، { وَقَالَ إِنِّي مُهَاجِرٌ إِلَى رَبِّي إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ ْ} ومن بركة الشام، أن كثيرا من الأنبياء كانوا فيها، وأن الله اختارها، مهاجرا لخليله، وفيها أحد بيوته الثلاثة المقدسة، وهو بيت المقدس.

يقول تعالى مخبرا عن إبراهيم إنه سلمه الله من نار قومه وأخرجه من بين أظهرهم مهاجرا إلى بلاد الشام إلى الأرض المقدسة منها. قال الربيع بن أنس عن أبي العالية عن أبي بن كعب في قوله " إلى الأرض التي باركنا فيها للعالمين " قال الشام وما من ماء عذب إلا يخرج من تحت الصخرة وكذا قال أبو العالية أيضا وقال قتادة كان بأرض العراق فأنجاه الله إلى الشام وكان يقال للشام أعقار دار الهجرة وما نقص من الأرض زيد في الشام وما نقص من الشام زيد في فلسطين وكان يقال هي أرض المحشر والمنشر وبها ينزل عيسى ابن مريم عليه السلام وبها يهلك المسيح الدجال وقال كعب الأحبار في قوله " إلى الأرض التي باركنا فيها للعالمين " إلى حران وقال السدي انطلق إبراهيم ولوط قبل الشام فلقي إبراهيم سارة وهي ابنة ملك حران وقد طعنت على قومها في دينهم فتزوجها على أن يفر بها رواه ابن جرير وهو غريب والمشهور أنها ابنة عمه وأنه خرج بها مهاجرا من بلاده وقال العوفي عن ابن عباس إلى مكة ألا تسمع إلى قوله " إن أول بيت وضع للناس للذي ببكة مباركا وهدى للعالمين فيه آيات بينات مقام إبراهيم ومن دخله كان آمنا ".

The Migration of Ibrahim to Ash-Sham (Greater Syria), accompanied by Lut

Allah tells us that He saved Ibrahim from the fire lit by his people, and brought him out from among them, migrating to the land of Ash-Sham, to the sacred regions thereof.

وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ إِسْحَـقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ نَافِلَةً

(And We bestowed upon him Ishaq, and Ya`qub Nafilatan.) `Ata' and Mujahid said, "Nafilatan means as a gift." Ibn `Abbas, Qatadah and Al-Hakam bin `Uyaynah said, "The gift of a son who has a son," meaning that Ya`qub was the son of Ishaq, as Allah says:

فَبَشَّرْنَـهَا بِإِسْحَـقَ وَمِن وَرَآءِ إِسْحَـقَ يَعْقُوبَ

(But We gave her glad tidings of Ishaq, and after Ishaq, of Ya`qub) 11:71. `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said, "He asked for one son, and said,

رَبِّ هَبْ لِى مِنَ الصَّـلِحِينِ

("My Lord! Grant me from the righteous.") So Allah gave him Ishaq, and gave him Ya`qub in addition.

وَكُلاًّ جَعَلْنَا صَـلِحِينَ

(Each one We made righteous. ) means, both of them were good and righteous people.

وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ أَئِمَّةً

(And We made them leaders,) means, examples to be followed.

يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا

(guiding by Our command,) inviting to Him by His leave. Allah says:

وَأَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْهِمْ فِعْلَ الْخَيْرَتِ وَإِقَامَ الصَّلوة وَإِيتَآءَ الزَّكَـوةِ

(and We revealed to them the doing of good deeds, performing Salah, and the giving of Zakah,) Here the general is followed by the specific.

وَكَانُواْ لَنَا عَـبِدِينَ

(and of Us (Alone) they were the worshippers.) means, they did what they enjoined others to do.

The Prophet Lut

Then Allah mentions Lut, whose full name was Lut bin Haran bin Azar. He believed in Ibrahim and followed him, and migrated with him, as Allah says:

فَـَامَنَ لَهُ لُوطٌ وَقَالَ إِنِّى مُهَاجِرٌ إِلَى رَبِّى

(So Lut believed in him. He (Ibrahim) said: "I will emigrate for the sake of my Lord") 29:26. Allah gave him wisdom and knowledge; He sent Revelation to him, made him a Prophet and appointed him to Sadum (Sodom) and its vicinity, but they rejected him and resisted him, so Allah utterly destroyed them, as He tells us in several places in His Book. Allah says;

وَلُوطاً آتَيْنَـهُ حُكْماً وَعِلْماً وَنَجَّيْنَـهُ مِنَ الْقَرْيَةِ الَّتِى كَانَت تَّعْمَلُ الْخَبَـئِثَ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُواْ قَوْمَ سَوْءٍ فَـسِقِينَ - وَأَدْخَلْنَـهُ فِى رَحْمَتِنَآ إِنَّهُ مِنَ الصَّـلِحِينَ

(and We saved him from the town who practised Al-Khaba'ith. Verily, they were a people given to evil, and were rebellious. And We admitted him to Our mercy; truly, he was of the righteous.)

And We delivered him as well as Lot — son of his Abraham’s brother Hārān — from Iraq and brought them to the land which We have blessed for all peoples blessed it with an abundance of rivers and trees and this is Syria. Abraham settled in Palestine and Lot in the Sinful City al-mu’tafika cf. Q. 5353; and between the two is the distance of a day’s journey.

وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَلُوطًا إِلَى الْأَرْ‌ضِ الَّتِي بَارَ‌كْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ

And We rescued him and Lut towards the land We blessed for all the worlds. - 71

That is, We delivered Sayyidna Ibrahim and Sayyidna Lut (علیہ السلام) from the land ('Iraq) where Namrud ruled and sent them to the peaceful land of Syria where our bounties were in abundance, not only for the locals but for the people of the world. Syrian land abounds both inwards and outwards bounties of Allah Ta ala. Inward bounties in the sense that many prophets were born in this land, and outward bounty in the sense that it has a moderate climate and is full of natural beauty with greenery, springs and streams all around and sustains a large variety of vegetation, fruits and flowers.