14.39
Abbas - Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs
(Praise be to Allah) Thanks to Allah (Who hath given me, in my old age, Ishmael and Isaac!) he was then 100 years old and his wife Sarah was 99 years old. (Lo! my Lord is indeed the Hearer of Prayer) He answers prayers.
Praise be to God Who has given me despite my old age Ishmael — born to him when he Abraham was 99 years old — and Isaac — born to him when he was 112 years old. Lo! my Lord is indeed the Hearer of supplication.
Praise be to God Who has given me, at the advanced age of perfection, Ishmael, the considerative rational faculty, and Isaac, the cognitive one. Lo! my Lord is indeed the Hearer of supplication, that is, [He is indeed] the Hearer of the supplication of the preparedness, as one [of them] said, 'Suffice it as my supplication [of Him] that He should have knowledge of my state'.
(O our Lord! Certainly, You know what we conceal and what we reveal.) meaning, `You know the intention behind my supplication for the people of this town, seeking Your pleasure in sincerity to You. You know all things, apparent and hidden, and nothing escapes Your knowledge on the earth or in heaven.''' He next praised and thanked his Lord the Exalted and Most Honored for granting him offspring after he became old,
(All praise is due to Allah, Who has given me in old age Isma'il (Ishmael) and Ishaq (Isaac). Verily, my Lord is indeed the All-Hearer of invocations.) `He accepts the supplication of those who invoke Him, and has accepted my invocation when I asked Him to grant me offspring. ' Ibrahim said next,
رَبِّ اجْعَلْنِى مُقِيمَ الصَّلوةِ
(O my Lord! Make me one who performs Salah,), preserving its obligations and limits,
وَمِن ذُرِّيَتِى
(and (also) from my offspring,), make them among those who establish the prayer, as well,
رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَآءِ
(our Lord! And accept my invocation.), all of my invocation which I invoked You with herein,
رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لِى وَلِوَالِدَىَّ
(Our Lord! Forgive me and my parents,) Ibrahim said this before he declared himself innocent from his father, after he became sure that he was an enemy of Allah,
وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
(and the believers), all of them,
يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الْحِسَابُ
(on the Day when the reckoning will be established.) on the Day when You will reckon Your servants and recompense or reward them for their deeds - good for good and evil for evil.
14.35-41
Maududi - Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an
In the preceding verses (32-35), an appeal was made to the Quraish to be grateful to that Allah Who has bestowed so many bounties on mankind in general. But in this passage the same appeal is being made on the plea that Allah had bestowed His special bounties on the Quraish in particular. They have been asked to remember that Prophet Abraham had settled their forefathers near the Ka'abah and made their city, Makkah, a "City of Peace" and Allah showered His blessings on the Quraish in answer to the prayer of Prophet Abraham. They have been admonished to remember those "bounties" and mend their ways.
Makkah.
This is a figurative way of saying that idols have been the means of turning many people away from Allah's Way into the ways of deviation.
This forbearance shown towards those who followed a different way from the Right Way is an instance of Prophet Abraham's leniency to mankind. He left their case to the Forgiveness and Mercy of Allah for he could not bear to see them under Divine scourge. Another instance of this has been cited in Surah Hud. When the angels were on their way to destroy the wicked people of Lot, Prophet Abraham began to plead for them: "Abraham began to dispute with Us concerning the people of Lot for he was tender-hearted and merciful."(XI: 74-75) Likewise Prophet Jesus was so tender-hearted that even when Allah will show to him that his followers had deviated from the Right Way, he will plead their case: "Now if you punish them, they are your own servants, and if you forgive them, you are All- Mighty and All-Wise" (v: 118).
Allah granted this prayer of Prophet Abraham. That was why people from the whole of ' Arabia used to come there for Haj and `Umrah at the time of the revelation of this Surah, and now people gather there from all over the world. Besides this, there is plenty of food and fruit in all-seasons of the year, though the valley is absolutely barren and no vegetation grows in it even for animals.
That is, "Lord: Thou hearest what I utter with my tongue and also hast full knowledge of my thoughts and feelings."
This parenthetical clause has been inserted to confirm the statement of Prophet Abraham.
Prophet Abraham included his mushrik father in his prayer because he had made promise that the would pray to his Lord for his forgiveness (XIX: 48). But afterwards when he realized that he should not pray for his forgiveness because he was an enemy of Allah, he absolved himself of that promise. (IX: 114).
