Surah Maryam: Verse 54 - واذكر في الكتاب إسماعيل ۚ... - English

وَاذْكُرْ‌ فِي الْكِتَابِ إِسْمَاعِيلَ

"And mention in the Book (the story of) Isma` il." - 19:54.

The reference here is clearly to Sayyidna Ismail (علیہ السلام) the son of Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) ، who has not been mentioned earlier along with his father Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) and brother Ishaq (علیہ السلام) but mention has been made of him after a brief interlude in which an account of Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) is given. It is possible that by making a reference to Sayyidna Ismail (علیہ السلام) apart from others, instead of treating him along with them, the intention was to give him prominent status. In this verse the prophets have not been mentioned in the order in which they were granted missions of prophethood, because Idris (علیہ السلام) who has been mentioned last was, in fact, the earliest of them all.

كَانَ صَادِقَ الْوَعْدِ

"He was indeed true to his promise." - 19:54.

Fulfillment of promise .is regarded as an important part of the moral code by all decent men, just as a breach of it is considered worthy of contempt. A saying of the Holy Prophet ﷺ has described the breaking of promise as a sign of hypocrisy. Thus, none of the prophets and messengers of Allah have been accused of bad faith / a breach of promise.

Here certain attributes have been assigned to some of the prophets, but this does not mean that the other prophets did not possess them. It only suggests that these special attributes distinguish them from all the other prophets, just as Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) has been described as مُخلَص . All the other prophets possessed this quality, but it has been specifically applied to Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) . Hence a special mention of him with the attribute.

Sayyidna Ismail (علیہ السلام) occupies a place of honour where keeping a promise is concerned and he stood by his promise whether made to Allah or to humans. He fulfilled his promise to Allah that he would offer himself for sacrifice and will not be found wanting in courage. When the time came he stood by his promise. Once, he promised to meet a man at an appointed place and time. The man did not turn up at the appointed time, but Sayyidna Ismail علیہ السلام waited for him at the place for three days, and according to another tradition for full one year. (Mazhari) A similar incident is reported about The Holy Prophet ﷺ by Tirmidhi on the authority of Abdullah Ibn Ari Al-Khamsa that he waited for three days for someone who had promised to meet him at a particular place. (Qurtubi)

Importance of keeping one's promise.

Fulfillment of promise is a distinctive trait of the character of the prophets and the pious, and a normal code of conduct with all decent persons. Breaking of a promise, on the other hand, is a habit of the wicked, mean and liars. A saying of The Holy Prophet ﷺ is اَلعدۃ دَین "A promise is like a debt." i.e. it is as obligatory to honour a promise as it is to repay a debt. There is another saying of The Holy Prophet ﷺ which says وای المؤمن واجب . It means that "promise is an obligation for a believer."

Jurists are all agreed that a promise is a debt and its fulfillment obligatory, but only in the sense that its violation without a religious (شرعِی) excuse is a sin though no remedy can be sought for its breach in a court of law. In the language of the Jurists a debt is an obligation which is enforceable, while a promise is not.

Mentioning Isma`il

Here Allah has commended Isma`il, the son of Ibrahim, the Friend of Allah. He (Isma`il) is the father of all of the Arabs of the Hijaz because he was true to what he promised. Ibn Jurayj said, "He did not make any promise to his Lord, except that he fulfilled it." He never obligated himself to do any act of worship with a vow, except that he fulfilled it and carried it out, giving it its full due. Some said,

((he was) true to what he promised.) "This was said about him because he said to his father,

(If Allah wills you will find me of the patient.) 37:102 So he was truthful in that." Being true to one's promise is one of the praiseworthy characteristics, just as breaking one's promise is of the detested characteristics. Allah, the Exalted, says,

(O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do Most hateful it is with Allah that you say that which you do not do.) 61:2-3 The Messenger of Allah said,

(The sign of the hypocrite is three things. When he speaks, he lies; when he promises, he breaks his promise; and when he is entrusted with something, he is disloyal to his trust.) Thus, if these are the characteristics of the hypocrites, then behaving contrary to these is a characteristic of the true believer. For this reason, Allah commended His servant and Messenger Isma`il, for he was true to his promise. Likewise, the Messenger of Allah was true to his promise. He did not promise anyone anything, except that he fulfilled his promise to that person. He also commended Abu Al-`As bin Ar-Rabi`, the husband of his daughter Zaynab, by saying,

(He spoke to me and he told me the truth, and he promised me and he fulfilled his promise to me.) When the Prophet died, the Khalifah (his successor), Abu Bakr As-Siddiq said, "Whoever received any promise from the Messenger of Allah or was owed any debt by him, then let him come to me and I will fulfill it on his behalf." So Jabir bin `Abdullah came and related that the Messenger of Allah said,

(If the wealth of Bahrain comes (to me), then I would give you such and such and such.) This meant that he would fill his hands with wealth. Therefore, when the wealth of Bahrain came (to them), Abu Bakr commanded Jabir to come and fill his hands from that wealth. Then, he commanded him to do so again, until he collected five hundred Dirhams. Then, Abu Bakr gave him its double along with it.(i.e. one thousand extra Dirhams). Concerning Allah's statement,

(and he was a Messenger, (and) a Prophet.) In this is a proof of Isma`il's favored status over his brother, Ishaq. Ishaq was only described as being a Prophet, but Isma`il was described with both prophethood and messengership. It is confirmed in Sahih Muslim that the Messenger of Allah said,

(Verily, Allah chose Isma`il from the sons of Ibrahim...) Then, Imam Muslim mentions the rest of the Hadith in its entirety. However, this statement proves the correctness of what we have said. Allah said,

(And he would enjoin on his family and his people the Salah and the Zakah, and his Lord was pleased with him.) This is also a beautiful form of praise, a commendable quality, and and upright characteristic. He was commanded in this way because of his persistence in obedience of his Lord, and enjoining his family to do so. This is as Allah said to His Messenger ,

(And enjoin the Salah on your family, and be patient with them.) 20:132 Also, Allah, the Exalted, said,

(O you who believe! Protect yourselves and your families against a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who disobey not, (from executing) the commands they receive from Allah, but do that which they are commanded.) 66:6 This means to command them to do good, forbid them from evil and do not neglect them. If you do so, and they obey your command, the Fire (of Hell) will not devour them on the Day of Resurrection. It has been reported in a Hadith from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah said,

(May Allah have mercy upon a man who gets up at night to pray and he wakes his wife. If she refuses to get up, he sprinkles water in her face. May Allah have mercy upon a woman who gets up at night to pray and she wakes her husband. If he refuses to get up, she sprinkles water in his face.) This Hadith was recorded by Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah.