Surah Maryam (Mary) 19 : 55

Explanatory Note

The sūrah highlights a special quality of Ishmael’s, which was his being true to his promise. This is a characteristic common to all prophets and all God-fearing men and women. The fact that it is highlighted here suggests that in Ishmael’s case it must have had very special significance. Moreover, Ishmael is given the status of messenger of God, which means that he preached God’s message to the Arabs of old. Indeed he was their highest grandfather. We know that even shortly before the advent of the message of the Prophet Muĥammad, there were some individual Arabs who believed in one God. Most probably they were the last remnants of Ishmael’s followers.

The sūrah also mentions that the fundamentals of his faith included prayer and zakat, which he ordered his family and his people to observe. Moreover, the surah leaves us in no doubt that Ishmael earned God’s pleasure, which imparts a sense of contentment and satisfaction to anyone. This contentment is another aspect that permeates the whole sūrah, in the same way as mercy. In fact the two aspects of mercy and contentment are mutually related.