2:129

رَبَّنَا وَٱبۡعَثۡ فِيهِمۡ رَسُولٗا مِّنۡهُمۡ يَتۡلُواْ عَلَيۡهِمۡ ءَايَٰتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلۡكِتَٰبَ وَٱلۡحِكۡمَةَ وَيُزَكِّيهِمۡۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلۡعَزِيزُ ٱلۡحَكِيمُ

Rabbana waibAAath feehim rasoolan minhum yatloo AAalayhim ayatika wayuAAallimuhumu alkitaba waalhikmata wayuzakkeehim innaka anta alAAazeezu alhakeemu

Our Lord, and send among them a messenger from themselves who will recite to them Your verses and teach them the Book and wisdom and purify them. Indeed, You are the Exalted in Might, the Wise."

Word by word
  1. رَبَّنَاOur Lord
  2. وَٱبۡعَثۡ[And] raise up
  3. فِيهِمۡin them
  4. رَسُولٗاa Messenger
  5. مِّنۡهُمۡfrom them
  6. يَتۡلُواْ(who) will recite
  7. عَلَيۡهِمۡto them
  8. ءَايَٰتِكَYour Verses
  9. وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُand will teach them
  10. ٱلۡكِتَٰبَthe Book
  11. وَٱلۡحِكۡمَةَand the wisdom
  12. وَيُزَكِّيهِمۡۖand purify them
  13. إِنَّكَIndeed You
  14. أَنتَYou (are)
  15. ٱلۡعَزِيزُthe All-Mighty
  16. ٱلۡحَكِيمُthe All-Wise
Al-Baqarah · 2:129Madinah

Ibrahim prayed for a messenger. The answer was Muhammad ﷺ.

A dua answered centuries later


What the messenger would do
recite Your verses
teach the Bookthe Quran
teach wisdomthe Sunnah
purify themthrough obedience
Time and dua
unanswered means refused
answered in Allah's time

Ibrahim asked Allah to send among them a messenger from themselves to recite, teach the Book and wisdom, and purify them. Al-Hasan and Qatadah said wisdom is the Sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ said: I am the dua of my father Ibrahim and the good news of Isa.

You prayed for years for something and it has not come. Ibrahim never saw his answer in his lifetime. It came, and it changed the world. Your dua for your grandchildren may still be working long after you.

If my dua is not answered soon, it is not going to be.

Allah answers in His time. Some answers outlive the one who asked.

Try this

Make one dua today for people who will come after you: your children, students, or community.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

"Our Lord! Send amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall recite unto them Your verses and instruct them in the Book (this Qur'an), and purify them. Verily, You are the Mighty, the Wise. (129)

Ibrahim's Supplication that Allah sends the Prophet (ﷺ)

Allah mentioned Ibrahim's supplication for the benefit of the people of the Sacred Area (to grant them security and provision), and it was perfected by invoking Allah to send a Messenger from his offspring. This accepted supplication, from Ibrahim, conformed with Allah's appointed destiny that Muhammad ﷺ be sent as a Messenger among the Ummiyyin and to all non-Arabs, among the Jinns and mankind.

Hence, Ibrahim was the first person to mention the Prophet ﷺ to the people. Ever since, Muhammad ﷺ was known to the people, until the last Prophet was sent among the Children of Israel, Jesus the son of Mary, who mentioned Muhammad ﷺ by name. Jesus addressed the Children of Israel saying,

إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُم مُّصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَمُبَشِّرًا بِرَسُولٍ يَأْتِي مِن بَعْدِي اسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُ

(I am the Messenger of Allah unto you, confirming what is before me in the Tawrah, and giving glad tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad)(61:6)

This is why the Prophet ﷺ said,

دَعْوَةُ أَبِي إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَبُشْرَى عِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيـَمَ

(The supplication of my father Ibrahim and the glad tidings brought forth by Jesus the son of Mary.)

The Prophet ﷺ said,

وَرَأَتْ أُمِّي أَنَّهُ خَرَجَ مِنْهَا نُورٌ أَضَاءَتْ لَهُ قُصُورُ الشَّامِ

(My mother saw a light that went out of her and radiated the palaces of Ash-Sham.)

It was said that the Prophet's mother saw this vision when she was pregnant with, narrated this vision to her people, and the story became popular among them. The light mentioned in the Hadith appeared in Ash-Sham (Greater Syria), testifying to what will later occur when the Prophet's religion will be firmly established in Ash-Sham area. This is why by the end of time, Ash-Sham will be a refuge for Islam and its people. Also, Jesus the son of Mary will descend in Ash-Sham, next to the eastern white minaret in Damascus. The Two Sahihs stated,

لَا تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي ظَاهِرِينَ عَلَى الْحَقِّ لَا يَضُرُّهُمْ مَنْ خَذَلَهُمْ وَلَا مَنْ خَالَفَهُمْ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ اللهِ وَهُمْ كَذَلِكَ

وفي صحيح البخاري

وَهُمْ بالشَّامِ

(There will always be a group of my Ummah who will be on the truth, undeterred by those who fail or oppose them, until the command of Allah comes while they are on this.)

Al-Bukhari added in his Sahih, (And they will reside in Ash-Sham.)

The Meaning of Al-Kitab wal-Hikmah

Allah said,

وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ

(and instruct them in the Book) meaning, Al-Qur'an,

وَالْحِكْمَةَ 

(and Al-Hikmah) meaning, the Sunnah, as Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Muqatil bin Hayyan and Abu Malik asserted. It was also said that 'Al-Hikmah', means 'comprehension in the religion', and both meanings are correct. 'Ali bin Abi Talhah said, that Ibn 'Abbas said that,

وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ 

(and purify them) means, "With the obedience of Allah."

إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ

(Verily, You are the Mighty, the Wise).

This Ayah stated that Allah is able to do anything, and nothing escapes His ability. He is Wise in His decisions, His actions, and He puts everything in its rightful place due to His perfect knowledge, wisdom and justice.