Instances of “Words”

In explaining the meaning and identifying the instances of the “words” mentioned in the verse under discussion, several aspects have been mentioned:

1. One explanation suggests that the “words” refer to ten practices related to purity and cleanliness that have been passed down from Abraham, the Friend of God (a.s.). These practices include five actions related to the head and five related to the body. The ten practices are: trimming the mustache, rinsing the mouth, inhaling water through the nose, using the miswāk, parting the hair, trimming the nails, circumcision, removing pubic and armpit hair, and washing the area of urine and feces with water.(25)

Note: This aspect is not acceptable. These simple practices cannot be considered the complete “words” by which God, the Glorified, would test one of the resolute prophets (ūlū l-ʿazm), particularly if they were meant to elevate Prophet Abraham to the lofty station of imāma.(26)

2. The intended meaning is around thirty qualities of Islam, which are attributes mentioned in the chapters of Tawba, Muʾminūn, Aḥzāb, and Maʿārij:

“[They are] the repentant, the worshippers, the praisers, the travelers, those who bow and prostrate, those who enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and maintain God’s limits. And give good news to the believers” [9:112].

“Those who are humble in their prayers, who avoid idle talk, who are active in paying the zakāt, who guard their private parts except from their spouses or slave women, for then they are not blameworthy. But whoever seeks beyond that—it is they who are the transgressors. And those who are keepers of their trusts and covenants, and those who are watchful of their prayers” [23:1-9].

“Indeed, the Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women, the obedient men and obedient women, the truthful men and truthful women, the patient men and patient women, the humble men and humble women, the charitable men and charitable women, the fasting men and fasting women, the men who guard their private parts and the women who do so, and the men who remember God often and the women who do so—God has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward” [33:35].

“[They are] those who are constant in their prayers, and those in whose wealth there is a known right for the beggar and the deprived, and who believe in the Day of Judgment, and who are fearful of the punishment of their Lord. Indeed, the punishment of their Lord is not something from which one is safe. And those who guard their private parts except from their wives or those their right hands possess, for indeed, they are not to be blamed. But whoever seeks beyond that, then they are the transgressors. And those who are attentive to their trusts and promises, and those who are upright in their testimonies, and those who carefully maintain their prayers” [70:22-34].(27)

Note: The attributes mentioned in these verses—such as repentance, worship, praise, traveling, bowing, prostrating, enjoining good, forbidding wrong, maintaining God’s limits, faith, Islam, obedience, truthfulness, patience, humility, charity, fasting, chastity, remembrance, turning away from idle talk, paying zakāt, fulfilling covenants, keeping trusts, and maintaining constancy in prayer—despite their repetition and falling short of the specified number, cannot be considered as the “words” referred to in the verse under discussion.

Firstly, these qualities are general attributes of the believers, which everyone is commanded to embody and be tested on. Secondly, there is no definitive evidence to suggest that the intended meaning of the “words” in the verse are these attributes. Thirdly, the “words” refer to the command of God, the Glorified, which are conveyed through revelation to a prophet.

Moreover, if the intended meaning of imāma__n in this context is “prophet,” then it is not possible to attribute these qualities to Abraham, the Friend of the Merciful (a.s.), before he attained that exalted station or achieved the status of being the Friend of God.

The intended meaning of the “words” is said to be imāma (leadership), the purification of the House of God, the raising of its walls, and Islam, which are mentioned later in the verse and in the following verses.(28) However, this view is also rejected because the divine test for prophets (a.s.) typically occurs through revelation, and the test of Abraham, the Friend (a.s.), was of a similar nature. Therefore, he had already attained the station of prophethood before this test.

Thus, the elements proposed as instances of the testing “words” in this view cannot be considered as the foundation or prelude for Abraham’s elevation to the station of imāma if it refers to prophethood. If the test was for attaining the station of imāma after prophethood, then it can be suggested, provided it involves significant matters.

Considering the critiques made against such views, some of which enumerate up to thirteen(29), it can be concluded that the intended meaning of “words” in the noble verse under discussion refers to significant matters such as separating oneself from one’s people, combating idolatry, breaking idols, debating with Nimrod, enduring the trial of being cast into the fire, migrating from one’s homeland, hosting guests, the test of sacrificing his son, and similar trials that Abraham (a.s.) had previously undergone.(30)

God, the Glorified, in introducing Abraham (a.s.), said that he fulfilled [his responsibilities] completely and perfectly: “And Abraham who fulfilled” [53:37]. Thus, the “words” mentioned in the verse were divine covenants, as indicated by the use of the feminine plural pronoun hunna, signifying that they were existential realities, not merely words, letters, or concepts. Otherwise, the verse would have said, “So he completed them” (fa-atammahā). This is similar to the use of the masculine pronoun hum in the noble verse, “And He taught Adam all the names, then presented them to the angels” [2:31], which also points to existential realities rather than mere concepts.