الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ بِالْغَيْبِ وَهُمْ مِنَ السَّاعَةِ مُشْفِقُونَ ﴿۴﴾ وَهَذَا ذِكْرٌ مُبَارَكٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ أَفَأَنْتُمْ لَهُ مُنْكِرُونَ ﴿۵۰﴾ وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا إِبْرَاهِيمَ رُشْدَهُ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَكُنَّا بِهِ عَالِمِينَ ﴿۵۱﴾ إِذْ قَالَ لِأَبِيهِ وَقَوْمِهِ مَا هَذِهِ التَّمَاثِيلُ الَّتِي أَنْتُمْ لَهَا عَاكِفُونَ ﴿۵۲﴾ قَالُوا وَجَدْنَا آبَاءَنَا لَهَا عَابِدِينَ ﴿۵۳﴾

﴾49﴿ Allazeena yakhshawna Rabbahum bilghaibi wa hum minas Saa'ati mushfiqoon
﴾50﴿ Wa haazaa Zikrum Mubaarakun anzalnaah; afa antum lahoo munkiroon
﴾51﴿ Wa laqad aatainaaa Ibraaheema rushdahoo min qablu wa kunnaa bihee 'aalimeen
﴾52﴿ Iz qaala li abeehi wa qawmihee maa haazihit tamaaseelul lateee antum lahaa 'aakifoon
﴾53﴿ Qaaloo wajadnaaa aabaaa'anaa lahaa 'aabideen

﴾49﴿ Those who fear their Lord unseen, and they are apprehensive about the Hour (of Judgment)
﴾50﴿ And this is a blessed reminder which We have revealed. Will you then reject it
﴾51﴿ And indeed, We had given Abraham knowledge [and guidance] before, and We were well aware of him
﴾52﴿ When he said to his father and his people, What are these images to which you are devoted in worship
﴾53﴿ They said, We found our forefathers worshipping them

[49] These are the very qualities of the God-conscious (muttaqīn) by which they truly benefit from the Book of Allah the Exalted.
Yakhshawna (they fear): Khashyah is fear of the heart accompanied by reverence for the One feared.
Ishfāq is a softness of the heart that arises from fear, love, and care, and its effects become visible on the body.
The meaning of bil-ghayb is that they fear Allah the Exalted when they are unseen by people and hidden from view—so they fear Him in private, just as they would in public.
The second meaning is that they have not seen Allah the Exalted, yet still fear Him.
[50] This is an encouragement toward the Noble Qur’an.
The point is: just as the Torah was revealed for remembrance (dhikr), the Qur’an has also been revealed for dhikr.
So why do you reject it?
[51] From this verse up to verse 73, there is a transmitted proof from Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him), intended to remind the heedless of Tawḥīd by illustrating Ibrāhīm’s struggle against the polytheists.
The meaning of rushdahu (his guidance) is prophethood.
Min qabl (from before) means either: before Mūsā (peace be upon him) and Hārūn (peace be upon him), or it means before his maturity (i.e., before reaching adulthood).
It can also mean the guidance of faith and Tawḥīd, given to him before puberty.
From this, it becomes clear that the stories written by some commentators—claiming that Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) lived in a cave, came out, and did not recognize his Lord, sometimes calling the stars, the moon, or the sun his Lord—are all Isrā’īliyyāt (narratives from Jewish sources) and contradict this verse.
[52] In this verse, the meaning of rushd (right guidance) is clarified: it is to reject shirk (polytheism), even if it exists in one’s own father.
The phrase mā hādhihi (what are these?) is a questioning of the reason and logic behind their worship, or it is a statement about the reality of these objects—that they are man-made and created, and thus not worthy of worship.
At-tamāthīl is the plural of timthāl (idol), referring to objects made to resemble created beings. The people of Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) had made some idols resembling stars, and some resembling righteous servants.
‘Ākifūn means those who remain devotedly attached to something and direct their attention to it in a manner of reverence and worship.
[53] That is, they were involved in shirk purely by imitating their forefathers, without having any proof or reasoning for it.
This has always been the ancient argument of polytheists in every era.