The prophets of Allah receive the revelation from Allah through the angel Gabriel, a truthful dream, or angels, who come to them in the form of human beings. The Prophet will know their true nature after some conversation. This variation is to help the prophet feel at ease with the divine revelation.
Tell them about the guests of Ibrahim. [Q 15: 51]
When they came to him, they said, ‘Peace be upon you.’ He said, ‘Indeed, we are afraid of you.’ [Q 15: 52]
They said, ‘Do not be afraid. We bring you good news of a knowledgeable son.’ [Q 15: 53]
He said, ‘Do you bring me good news though old age has come upon me? So what good news you are giving me!’ [Q 15: 54]
They said, ‘We have given you good news of the truth. So do not be one of the despairing.’ [Q 15: 55]
He said, ‘No one despairs of the mercy of His Lord but the misguided.’ [Q 15: 56]
He said, ‘What is the matter you have come for, O messenger?’ [Q15:57]
They said, ‘We have been sent to a sinful people, [Q 15:58]
except the family of Lot. Indeed, we will save them all, [Q15: 59]
but his wife, we have ordained that she would surely be of the doomed. [Q15: 60]
Relationship with the Previous Part
The beginning of the surah confirms prophet-hood. Then it mentions proofs denoting Allah’s Oneness, the occurrence of the Day of Judgment, and the conditions of righteous and the misguided people. Then the surah mentions some stories of Allah’s prophets to motivate the listeners to obey Allah and warn them of disobeying Him.
Tafsir
Tell them about the guests of Ibrahim. [Q 15: 51]
O Messenger! Tell My slaves about the story of the guests of Ibrahim. Indeed, it is an amazing story, containing beneficial lessons. The guests of Prophet Ibrahim were angels. They visited him in the form of human beings.
Then the ayat mention the conversation that took place between Prophet Ibrahim and his angelic guests.
When they came to him, they said, ‘Peace be upon you.’ He said, ‘Indeed, we are afraid of you.’ [Q 15: 52]
When the angelic guests came to Prophet Ibrahim, they saluted him saying ‘Peace be upon you.’ Prophet Ibrahim replied, saying, ‘Indeed, we are afraid of you.’ He used ‘we’ because he and his family were afraid of the guests.
Some reasons for the fear of Prophet Ibrahim were that the guests entered his house without asking for permission at the unusual time for a visit, and they did not eat from the food that he offered them. These reasons are mentioned in other surahs of the Quran.
Then the ayat mention what the angelic guests said to Prophet Ibrahim to relieve his fear.
They said, ‘Do not be afraid. We bring you good news of a knowledgeable son.’ [Q 15: 53]
The angels said to Prophet Ibrahim that they came to give him the good news of the birth of a knowledgeable son, i.e. Isaac. The boy will be knowledgeable of the law of Allah, His commands, and prohibitions.
He said, ‘Do you bring me good news though old age has come upon me? So what good news you are giving me!’ [Q 15: 54]
Prophet Ibrahim was amazed at the news that he would have a son. He said to the angels ‘Do you bring me good news of the birth of a boy though I have reached old age. What good news you are giving me!’
Prophet Ibrahim was amazed at the ability of Allah, as He would grant him and his wife a child though they were very old. Giving birth to children at such age is an unusual matter. Another reason for Prophet Ibrahim's amazement is that a person may keenly want something but he does not have it at the usual time for having it. Then after the passage of a long time, this person receives the good news that he would attain that thing. He would be extremely happy. He might be astonished to the extent that he might say strange things, or might repeatedly ask about the reality of the matter to hear the good news to enjoy it again and again.
They said, ‘We have given you good news of the truth. So do not be one of the despairing.’ [Q 15: 55]
The angels said to Prophet Ibrahim that they gave him the good news of a confirmed fact that would certainly take place, namely, Allah would give him a son though he and his wife reached very old age. They told him not to despair of the mercy of Allah, as nothing could stand before the ability of Allah, Exalted be He.
The angels’ reply implied assurance to Prophet Ibrahim and emphasis of the good news of the birth of the knowledgeable boy.
He said, ‘No one despairs of the mercy of His Lord but the misguided.’ [Q 15: 56]
Prophet Ibrahim said to the angels that no one despairs of the mercy of Allah but those who follow the path of misguidance. He did not despair of the mercy of Allah but the great good news of having a son at such a very old age made him amazed.
He said, ‘What is the matter you have come for, O messenger?’ [Q15:57]
Then Prophet Ibrahim asked the angels about the reason for their visit. He said, ‘What is the matter you have come for other than giving me the good news of the birth of the son?
He asked them because he understood from the circumstances of the situation that there was another reason for their visit. If giving the good news was the reason, then only one angel would be sufficient. However, they were a group of angels. Thus, he understood that there was another reason for their coming.
Then the angels told Prophet Ibrahim about the reason for their coming.
They said, ‘We have been sent to a sinful people, [Q 15:58]
except the family of Lot. Indeed, we will save them all, [Q15: 59]
but his wife, we have ordained that she would surely be of the doomed. [Q15: 60]
The angels told Prophet Ibrahim that Allah sent them to an extremely misguided, corrupt, sinful people, namely, the people of Lot. They said that the followers of Prophet Lot, who believed in him and did not commit the heinous deeds of his people, were not from the misguided and corrupt people.
Allah, Exalted be He, sent the angels to destroy the people of Lot, except his family and the believers. However, Allah, Exalted be He, ordained that the wife of Lot would be excluded from his family, and remain with the doomed people.
The angels said ‘we have ordained’ though Allah, Exalted be He, was the one who ordained the destruction of the sinful people among the people of Prophet Lot and his wife. That is because they had a high rank with Allah. It is as if an authorized person by the king says, ‘We have commanded to do so and so’ though the king was the one who commanded.
Learned Lessons From Surah al-Hijr Ayah: 51-60
• It is an etiquette that a guest should greet his host.
• Prophet Ibrahim was amazed at the good news of the birth of a knowledgeable son because he and his wife were very old, but he did not despair of the mercy of Allah.
• Allah is able. Even in the absence of the usual means of procreation, Allah can give offspring to whomever He wants of His slaves.
• It is prohibited to despair of the mercy of Allah.
• The anger of Allah is severe. Destruction will befall the transgressors.
• The wife of Prophet Lot was destroyed with the wrongdoers and her relationship to her husband did not avail her as she followed the path of misguidance.
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