My Prayer and My Sacrifice

Then Allah (swt) tells the Prophet (peace be upon him):

If you would have all these things, and all goodness, this is the Book We have revealed; it is blessed. Fa-ttabiʿūhu wa-ttaqū laʿallakum turḥamūn: follow it, and have taqwā, that you may obtain mercy from Allah. Do you desire mercy? Read the Book. May Allah (swt) make this study a source of mercy for us.

Allah (swt) brings forward again something of the dīn of Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him), in verse 161:

Say to them — and it must be remembered that all of this was a discourse with the disbelievers, so at last Allah tells him: say to them that my Lord has guided me to the straight path. This is the straight dīn; it is the religion of Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him), which is that of pure monotheism; and he was not of the idolaters, not of those who ascribe partners. And then say — qul — and this may be called one of the most famous verses of submission, for a man who would declare his submission to Allah:

May Allah make it a reality for us. Say that my prayer, my rites, my living and my dying are all for Allah, the Lord of the worlds. So for those who blaspheme against Allah — who say, you believe in Allah, do you? and where is your God to help you in this case? and all such things — read this verse. Reading it is almost a duʿāʾ; it is almost a giving of strength to oneself. Mark these verses. Some of those most profound verses which help us in such situations deserve mention; so qul inna ṣalātī, which is verse 162. Lā sharīka lahu wa-bi-dhālika umirtu wa-anā awwalu al-muslimīn: He has no partner, and with that have I been commanded, and I am the first of those who submit.

And finally, to close the sūrah, the last two verses distinguish between those who do good and those who do evil. The famous principle is here, the famous fact:

Wa-lā taziru wāziratun wizra ukhrā: none shall bear the sin and burden of another. That is a clear principle of the Qur'an. Wa-lā taksibu kullu nafsin illā ʿalayhā, and wa-lā taziru wāziratun wizra ukhrā: each shall be in his own grave; each shall have his own record; we shall each have our own. May Allah make our records good. Thumma ilā rabbikum marjiʿukum: then your return is at last to your Lord; fa-yunabbiʾukum, and He will inform you, bimā kuntum fīhi takhtalifūn, of all those matters in which you used to differ — plainly, for the truth will there be manifest. But again, as with everything:

Inna rabbaka sarīʿu al-ʿiqāb: Allah is swift in His punishment. But then, almost always, there is targhīb and tarhīb — persuasion and dissuasion. Here is dissuasion first, and then: wa-innahu la-ghafūrun raḥīm — yet Allah is Forgiving, and He is the Most Merciful. And there the sūrah closes.