35 Preface وَإِذ قالَ إِبراهيمُ رَبِّ اجعَل هٰذَا البَلَدَ آمِنًا وَاجنُبني وَبَنِيَّ أَن نَعبُدَ الأَصنامَYusuf AliRemember Abraham said:1 “O my Lord! make this city one of peace and security: and preserve me and my sons from worshipping idols.2The Prayer of Abraham, the True in Faith, the progenitor of the Semitic peoples and the Prototype of their Religion, is introduced in this place, to illustrate the points referred to in the preceding section 14:31-34, viz., how the new Revelation through the Ka‘ba bears out the universal Revelation of Prayer and Charity, Love of God and man, recognition of God’s handiwork in nature, and insistence on man’s turning away from false worship and ingratitude to God. Notice the four divisions into which it falls: (1) verses 35-36 are spoken by Abraham on his own behalf (“O my Lord!”); (2) verse 37-38 are spoken on behalf of his progeny (“O our Lord!”) but with special reference to the elder branch, the children of Isma'il; (3) verses 39-40 are again a personal appeal, but both branches of his family, viz., the sons of Isma'il and Isaac, are expressly mentioned; (4) verse 41 is a Prayer for himself, his parents, and all Believers, typifying that in the universality of Islam all nations are to be blessed. Jerusalem, for the Mosaic Law and the Gospel of Jesus, was the centre and symbol for the Jews, though of course all God’s Truth is universal; Mecca, the centre of the Arabs, was to throw off its tribal character and become universal in spite of the Meccans themselves.Cf. 2:125-129. Abraham (with Isma'il) built the Ka‘ba, and Abraham asks a blessing on his handiwork and forgiveness for such lapses into idolatry as both branches of his family might fall into.