Prophet Ibrāhīm: Part 2 — A Nation by Himself, the House and Lūṭ
Section 3 of 21 · Lives of the Prophets
Our Lord, Accept It From Us
Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) and Ismāʿīl started building the House. Allah (swt) says:
وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبْرَٰهِـۧمُ ٱلْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَإِسْمَـٰعِيلُ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ
“When Ibrāhīm was raising up the foundations of the House, along with Ismā‘īl (Ishmael) (supplicating): “Our Lord accept (this service) from us! Indeed, You - and You alone - are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing!” (2:127)
Wa idh yarfaʿu Ibrāhīmu al-qawāʿida min al-bayti wa Ismāʿīlu, rabbanā taqabbal minnā innaka anta al-samīʿu al-ʿalīm. And remember when Ibrāhīm and his son Ismāʿīl were raising the foundations of the House. Ibrāhīm and Ismāʿīl (peace be upon them), when they were building the House of Allah (swt), they had duʿāʾ:
رَبَّنَا وَٱجْعَلْنَا مُسْلِمَيْنِ لَكَ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِنَآ أُمَّةً مُّسْلِمَةً لَّكَ وَأَرِنَا مَنَاسِكَنَا وَتُبْ عَلَيْنَآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ رَبَّنَا وَٱبْعَثْ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ
“Our Lord, make us both submissive to You, and (make) of our progeny as well, a people submissive to You and show us our ways of Pilgrimage and accept our repentance. Indeed, You - and You alone - are the Most-Relenting, the Very-Merciful. And, our Lord, raise in their midst a Messenger from among them, who should recite to them Your verses, and teach them the Book and the wisdom, and cleanse them of all impurities. Indeed You, and You alone, are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.”” (2:128–129)
Rabbanā wa-jʿalnā muslimayni laka wa min dhurriyyatinā ummatan muslimatan laka wa arinā manāsikanā wa tub ʿalaynā innaka anta al-tawwābu al-raḥīm. Rabbanā wa-bʿath fīhim rasūlan minhum yatlū ʿalayhim āyātika wa yuʿallimuhumu al-kitāba wa al-ḥikmata wa yuzakkīhim.
Allah (swt) says: and remember when Ibrāhīm and his son Ismāʿīl were raising the foundations of the House, saying: Our Lord, accept this service from us; verily, You are the All-Hearer and the All-Knower. O Allah, accept it from us. Our Lord, and make us submissive unto You, and of our offspring a nation submissive unto You, and show us our manāsik, the Hajj, how to do Hajj. Our Lord, send amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall recite unto them Your verses, and instruct them in the Book, and sanctify them; verily, You are the Almighty and the All-Wise.
Ibrāhīm and Ismāʿīl, they asked Allah to accept it from them. And they asked Allah (swt) to make them submissive to Allah, muslimīn. And they asked Allah (swt) to make their descendants submissive to Allah (swt). And then they asked Allah to send among these people a Nabī. Who is that Nabī? Muhammad (peace be upon him). Allah accepted the duʿāʾ.
They asked Allah (swt) to give this Nabī three things. Yatlū ʿalayhim āyātik: he recites unto them Your verses. Wa yuʿallimuhumu al-kitāba wa al-ḥikmah: and he teaches them the Book and wisdom. What is wisdom? The Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Wa yuzakkīhim: sanctify them and purify them.
So Muhammad (peace be upon him) purifies us: tazkiyah. He purifies us. Following the way of Muhammad (peace be upon him) is a purification for us. Because if you look at the daʿwah of Muhammad (peace be upon him), you see that he started out with men that had hearts like rock. And then look at how the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) carried them from this state, and he elevated them, to make them the best generation that lived on the face of the earth. Allah (swt) accepted the duʿāʾ of Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him), and sent to this Ummah Muhammad (peace be upon him).