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Surah ‘Aali-’Imran: Verses 33 - 34

إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَىٰ آدَمَ وَنُوحًا وَآلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَآلَ عِمْرَانَ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ

Surely, Allah chose Adam and Nuh and the descendants of Ibrahim and the descendants of ‘Imran above all the worlds (3:33).

ذُرِّيَّةً بَعْضُهَا مِنْ بَعْضٍ ۗ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

Offspring, one of the other; and Allah is Hearing, Knowing (3:34).

Commentary

Now begins the story of ‘Isa, son of Maryam, with all the related topics, sifting the truth from the falsehoods that cover his life and personality; the chapter further offers clear arguments against the People of the Book. The two verses serve as the joining link between the coming discourse about ‘Isa (‘a) and the preceding verses regarding the People of the Book.

Surely, Allah Chose Adam And Nuh

“Surely, Allah chose Adam and Nuh and the descendants of Ibrahim and the descendants of ‘Imran above all the worlds” (3:33).

It was explained under the verse:

“And most certainly We chose him in this world” (2:130).

That “al-istifa’“. ( اَلْاِصْطِفَآءُ ) means to take the choicest part of a thing; to purify a thing from all impurities. It may be translated, for all practical purposes, as selection or choosing. Comparing it with various stages of “al-wilayah” ( اَلْوِلَايَةُ = friendship of Allah), we find that it fits perfectly the stage of “Islam”, that is, total surrender of the servant to the will of his Lord, being truly happy with what the Lord decrees for him.

But that “selection” is not what this verse implies. It does not say, Allah chose them from among the worlds. It says, He chose them “above all the worlds”. “From among the worlds” would have implied that only they were the Muslims; that the total surrender to the will of Allah was exclusively reserved for them. Obviously, such a connotation would be wrong. The clause used in the verse, “above all the worlds”, has given a new connotation to the selection, and shows that they were chosen and given excellence and precedence over other people in some things exclusively given to them. To appreciate the difference between the two selections, look at the verse which says:

“And when the angels said: ‘O Maryam! surely, Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds’” (3:42).

Clearly the first choosing is related to her own virtues without looking at anyone else, and the second implies a sense of comparison, exalting her over all other women.

First of the chosen ones was Adam (‘a). He was the first human vicegerent of Allah appointed for this earth, as Allah says:

“And when your Lord said to the angels, ‘Verily I am going to make in the earth a vicegerent’...” (2:30).

Was the first to open the door of repentance and Divine forgiveness, as Allah says:

“Then his Lord chose him, so He turned to him [i.e., with forgiveness] and guided him” (20:122).

And was the first of those for whom Allah ordained the religion, as He says:

“So if there comes to you guidance from Me, then whoever follows My guidance, he shall not go astray nor be unhappy” (20:123).

These virtues exclusively belong to him, and enough are they for one’s excellence!

Then the verse mentions Nuh (‘a). He was the first of the five ul al-‘azm apostles who were given a Divine Book and a new Shari‘ah, as we explained under the verse:

“Mankind was but one people, so Allah sent the prophets...” (2:213).

Also, he was the second father of the human race; and Allah sent peace on him in the worlds, saying:

“And We made his offspring the survivors” (37:77)-

“And We perpetuated to him [praise] among the later generations” (37:78).

“Peace be on Nuh in all the worlds” (37:79).

Then Allah mentions the descendants of Ibrahim and thedescendants of ‘Imran among the chosen ones. “al-Al” ( اَلْآلْ ) of a man is someone closely related to him. ar-Raghib says in his Mufradat al-Qur’an: “al-Al: It is said that it is an altered form of al-ahl; yet its diminutive, al-uhayl ( اَلْاُهَيْلُ ) has got the “h” ( ه ) restored; but it has the peculiarity that, unlike al-ahl, it is always annexed (in genitive construction) to the proper names of rational beings, and not to common nouns, places or eras. It is said: Al of Zayd; but not al of man, nor al of this place or that period.

Also, they do not, for example, say, al of the tailor; rather it is always annexed to a great and noble personality, for example, al of the Sultan, al of Allah. As for al-ahl, it is annexed to all types of words; for example, they say, ahl of Allah, ahl of the tailor; likewise, they say, ahl of this era, ahl of that town etc. (On the other hand) some people say that al-al actually means the name of a person; and that its diminutive is uwayl ( اُوَيْلُ ); and it is used for someone who is very closely and personally related to a person, either by close kinship or by love and attachment.”

Accordingly, al of Ibrahim and al of ‘Imran mean their closely related family members and those who were exclusively attached to them. (That is why we have translated the word as ‘descendants.)

Obviously, al of Ibrahim should refer to all the purified ones among his descendants, for example, Ishaq, Israel and other prophets from the house of Israel as well as Isma‘il and his purified descendants, chief of whom was Muhammad (may Allah bless him and his progeny); and those who followed them to various stages of the friendship of Allah. But the verse then mentions al of ‘Imran, and it shows that al of Ibrahim does not have such a wide connotation. The said ‘Imran is either the father of Maryam or the father of Musa (‘a), and in any case he was himself a descendant of Ibrahim (‘a) and so were his descendants; by mentioning them separately, it has been made clear that the phrase al Ibrahim ( الُ اِبْرِاهيْمُ = the descendants of Ibrahim) refers to some, and not all, of his purified descendants.

Allah has said in another place in the Qur’an:

“Or do they envy the people for what Allah has given them of His grace? So, indeed, We have given to Ibrahim’s children [descendants] the Book and the wisdom, and We have given them a grand kingdom” (4:54).

The context shows that this verse describes and condemns the envy of the Israelites which they felt against Muhammad (S). Other verses too support this interpretation. And it makes it clear that the phrase, “descendants of Ibrahim”, does not include here the Israelites; in other words it has been used for Ibrahim’s descendants other than Ishaq, Ya‘qub and the progeny of Ya‘qub (who are generally called the Israelites). After excluding that branch, the only descendants to whom this phrase is applicable are Isma‘il and his purified descendants, including the Prophet and his progeny. (Allah willing, we shall later prove that the word, “the people”, used in the verse 4:54, refers to the Prophet, and that undoubtedly, he is one of the “descendants of Ibrahim” mentioned therein.)

Some other verses also support this connotation. For example:

“Most surely, the nearest of people to Ibrahim are those who followed him and this Prophet and those who believe; and Allah is the guardian of the believers” (3:68).

“And when Ibrahim and Isma‘il were raising the foundations of the House: Our Lord! accept from us; surely, Thou art the Hearing, the Knowing” (2:127).

“Our Lord! and make us both submissive to Thee and [raise] from our offspring a group submitting to Thee, and show us our ways of devotion and turn to us [mercifully]. Surely, Thou art the Oft-returning [with mercy], the Merciful” (2:128).

“Our Lord! and raise up in them an Apostle from among themselves who shall recite to them Thy communications and teach them the Book and the wisdom, and purify them; surely, Thou art the Mighty, the Wise” (2:129).

The phrase, the descendants of Ibrahim, therefore, refers to his offspring from the branch of Isma‘il.

It should be pointed out here that the verse in no way implies any exclusiveness; it simply says that certain named prophets and families were chosen and given excellence over the nations; it does not say that others were not chosen or exalted. It follows that:

1. There is no discrepancy between this verse (which is silent about the excellence of Ibrahim (‘a) himself, and of Musa (‘a) and other Israelite prophets) and numerous other verses which eulogize their virtues and excellence. (The Qur’an, contains very many such verses and there is no need to quote them here.) However, as we said, to affirm one thing does not mean to negate or reject the others.

2. Likewise, there is no conflict between this verse and those which bestow similar excellence to the Children of Israel; for example:

“And certainly We gave the Book and the wisdom and the prophecy to the Children of Israel, and We gave them of the goodly things, and We made them excel the nations” (45:16).

3. The fact that two prophets and two families were exalted and given excellence over the nations, does not mean that others could not similarly be given excellence over the nations; nor that some others could not be exalted and given excellence over those already exalted. Giving excellence to one or various groups and nations only implies that they were given precedence, in some worldly or other worldly virtue, over those below them. It does not say anything on whether some others could be given excellence over them or whether some others too could be exalted over the worlds.

4. They were chosen over all the worlds. This is not in conflict with the concept that some among them were made to excel the others. We know that Allah chose the prophets over all other people, but at the same time He gave some of them more prestige than the others. He says:

“And every one (i.e., of the prophets) We made to excel the world” (6:87).

“And again He says: and certainly We have made some of the prophets to excel others...” (17:55).

Now we come to the “descendants of ‘Imran”: Apparently the name, ‘Imran, refers to the father of Maryam. These two verses are immediately followed by the stories of the wife of ‘Imran and their daughter, Maryam; moreover, ‘Imran, father of Maryam, has been repeatedly mentioned by his name in the Qur’an, while ‘Imran, father of Musa, has not been mentioned even once in a way as to make it clear that it was he who was intended. All this supports the view that here too ‘Imran refers to the father of Maryam; and “al ‘Imran” ( الُ عِمْرَانُ = translated here as descendants of ‘Imran) refers to Maryam and ‘Isa (peace be on both of them), alone or together with the wife of ‘Imran.

Reportedly the Christians do not agree that Maryam’s father was called ‘Imran: but the Qur’an is not bound to cater to their views.

Offspring, One From The Other

“Offspring, one of the other” (3:34).

It is said that “adh-dhurriyyah” ( اَلذُّرِّيَّةُ ) originally meant small children: later the meaning was extended to cover all the offspring. It is the latter meaning that is implied in this verse. The word is in the accusative because it has the force of an explanatory conjunction.

The clause, “one from the other”, shows that if you look at any one of the group, it begins from, and returns to, the others. In other words, the whole is made of similar parts, one part does not differ from the other in its attributes and qualifications. The clause, in the framework of its theme and context, implies that these descendants do not differ from one another in the attributes of excellence, and that it is for this reason that Allah made them to excel over the worlds; actions of Allah are not done haphazardly or at random - surely, such a selection cannot be done recklessly, because it is the spring-head of such good thing in this world.

And Allah Is Hearing, Knowing

“And Allah is Hearing, Knowing” (3:34).

Allah hears their speech which shows their inner thoughts; He knows what is in their minds and hearts. This concluding sentence gives the reason why they were chosen. And the preceding clause, “Offspring, one from the other”, explains why the whole group was considered worthy of this Divine selection.

The verse implies the following connotation: Allah made them to excel the worlds; that excellence and selection covered them all, because they were a group, each of them being similar to the others, in their spiritual sublimity, surrender of hearts and established truth of the words; Allah, bestowed this excellence on them because He is the Hearing and Knowing, He hears what they say, and knows what is in their minds.

Traditions

Ar-Ridha’(‘a) had a talk with al-Ma’mun; during which al-Ma’mun said: “Has Allah given the offspring (of the Prophet - (S)) excellence over all other people?” Ab al-Hasan (Ar-Ridha’- (‘a)) said: “Indeed Allah has clearly described, in His decisive Book, the excellence of the (said) offspring over all the people.” al-Ma’mun asked: “Where is it in the Book of Allah?” Ar-Ridha’(‘a) said: “In His words: Surely, Allah chose Adam and Nuh the descendants of Ibrahim and the descendants of ‘Imran above all the worlds;

“Offspring, one of the other” (3:34). (‘Uyun al-akhbar)

Ahmad Ibn Muhammad narrates from Ar-Ridha’(‘a) (who narrates) from Abu Ja‘far (‘a) that he said: “Liar is he who thinks that He (Allah) is finished with the (management of the) affairs, because the pleasure is of Allah regarding His creation; He wills what He pleases and does what He pleases. Allah has said: offspring, one from the other, and Allah is the Hearing, the Knowing. Its (i.e., the offspring’s) last is from its first, and its first is from its last. Therefore, if you were told that a certain thing would happen in respect of a particular offspring, and it happened about another (person) from the same (offspring), then the thing happened exactly as you were told.” (al-‘Ayyashi)

The author says: This tradition proves the explanation written earlier, of the verse,

“Offspring, one of the other” (3:34).

al-Baqir (‘a) recited this verse and said: “We are from them, and we are the remnant of that al-‘itrah ( اَلْعِتْرَةُ = family).” (al-‘Ayyashi)

The author says: al-‘itrah actually means the foundation, the root, the basis which a thing relies upon. That is why it is used for the children and near relatives of preceding generations. In other words, it refers to the vertical genealogy of a person.

It is because of this semantic value of the word that the Imam has taken the clause (offspring, one from the other) to refer to a vertical genealogical line beginning with Adam, and passing through Nuh to the al of Ibrahim and al of ‘Imran.

It also explains why Allah has mentioned Adam (‘a) and Nuh (‘a) with the two families; it was done to establish an unbroken chain of selection right from the beginning of the human race to Muhammad (S) and his purified and sinless progeny.