Ibrahim (AS) gave a very powerful message to his people, explaining to them who Allah (SWT) was and what he did. In other words, Ibrahim (AS) gave them da’wah towards Allah (SWT). Da’wah means to invite people towards Allah (SWT). Da’wah is not necessarily telling people what to do, but it begins with introducing people to Allah (SWT) or speaking about Allah (SWT) to people so that they recognize who he is. They understand who the true creator or master is. Once they recognize who their master is, how beautiful he is, how powerful he is, then they will feel compelled to submit to him. So, Ibrahim (AS) introduced them to Allah (SWT). Allah (SWT) is the one who does this for me, does this for me, does this for me. So once a person conveys a message of Allah (SWT), that d’awah, that invitation they have given is actually a very noble deed in the sight of Allah (SWT). It is not ordinary to speak about the greatness of Allah (SWT). Because speaking about the greatness of Allah (SWT) leads to people doing all kinds of great things. So, it becomes like the core, becomes like the generator, the engine, or the motor, which leads to all good deeds. And the rule is that when a person does a good deed, Allah (SWT) gives them an opportunity to make du’a and accept that du’a. So, one of the ways of getting our du’as accepted is to do a good deed before. So, in this case the good deed was inviting people towards Allah (SWT) and proclaiming the greatness of Allah (SWT). After Ibrahim (AS) did that, he started making du’a. What did he ask for? In these verses, in surah ash-Shu’ara, rabbi hablee hukmaw-wa alhiqnee bis-saaliheen. The first thing he asked Allah (SWT) for was ‘hukm,’ which is the ability to make decisions, the ability to make judgments, the ability to decide. It includes knowledge, knowledge of what Allah (SWT) wants from him. Rabbi Hablee hukman. And the next thing he asked for was wa alhiqnee bis-saaliheen. Add me, include me to those slaves of yours that are pious. I want to be included in the group of people that are your close slaves. The ones that you love, the ones that are upright, the ones that do good deeds. The third thing he asked for was, wa ja ‘allee lisaana sidqin fil aakhireen. Lisaan means tongue, sidq means truth, grant me a tongue of truth. In other words, have people speak about me truthfully after I am gone. Why did he say this? Because he knew, the da’wah he was giving, the message he was conveying was going to be looked at in different ways. Most of the people would not accept his invitation, they rejected him. They rejected his invitation. And because of that they were saying all kinds of nasty things about him, all kinds of bad things. And in this world, they were putting him down, they were treating him like an outcast, treating him roughly, making up all kinds of stories just because they did not like what he was saying. But he said, “O Allah (SWT) after I leave, have people speak truthfully about me, in other words let them know who I really was, and let that be on the tongues of the people.” My actual legacy, my actual deeds, my actual mission, my actual character, O Allah (SWT) reveal that to people after I am gone. Wa ja’allee lisaana sidqin fil aakhireen. Then the fourth thing he asked for, wa ja’allee miw-waraqati jannatin-na’eem. O Allah have from those people, make me from those people who inherit, in other words they become entitled to Jannah, they become entitled to the highest places in paradise. Of course, he was asking that Allah (SWT) accept his effort, include him amongst the pious people, and join them in akhirah as well. Then he made another du’a, which was very natural for any child to make. He said, waghfirli abee innahu kaana minadh-dhaalleen. Forgive my father, he was from those who was astray. Now his father Aazar, we spoke about him a little bit, he was the one who used to make idols for a living and sell them. And when Ibrahim (AS) gave him a lot of da’wah he told him to get lost, go away, leave him alone. So, Ibrahim (AS) responded to his rough words by saying salaamun ‘alaik, I say salaam to you, sa astaghfiru laka rabbee, I promise I will ask Allah (SWT) to forgive you, innahu kaana bee hafiyya. Allah (SWT) will consider what I say. So, because he made a promise to Allah (SWT), he needed to abide by it, and that was why he made istighfaar. He said waghfirli abee. But generally speaking, the teaching in the Quran is makaan lin-nabiyyi walladhina aamanoo ay-yastaghfiroo lil mushrikeen. You can not make istighfaar for people who ascribe partners with Allah (SWT). Yes, you can pray that Allah (SWT) guides them but do not ask Allah (SWT) to forgive them. Why? Because Allah says innallaha laa yaghfiru ay-yushraka bih. Allah (SWT) will not pardon those who ascribe partners to him. So, you are going against the law of Allah (SWT) in that du’a. That du’a would be displeasing to Allah (SWT). And he clarified wa maa kaanastigfhaaru ibraheema li abeehi illaa am-maw’idatiw-wa’adahaa iyyah. Ibrahim (AS) also only made that du’a for his father because he had promised him, he needed to fulfill that promise. In any case, look at the beautiful du’as that Ibrahim (AS) was making, he conveyed the message, he knew that he was very close to Allah (SWT). Because he conveyed the message of Allah (SWT) to his people. When we talk about Allah (SWT), we give da’wah towards Allah (SWT) and in summary, Allah (SWT) gave the prophets (AS) two great powers, two great abilities. One was the ability to invite towards him, and the other was the ability to take from him da’wah and du’a. This is what we learned from these verses. May Allah (SWT) also enable us to follow in these footsteps.
