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fa-ʾawjasa minhum khīfatan qālū lā takhaf wa-bashsharūhu bi-ghulāmin ʿalīmin
Then he felt a fear of them. They said, ‘Do not be afraid!’ and they gave him the good news of a wise son.
— Ali Quli Qarai
51Aḏ-ḎāriyātالذارياتVerse 28 of 60
The Winnowing Winds51. Aḏ-Ḏāriyātالذاريات
al-Dhāriyāt
The Winnowing Winds
MeccanVerse 28 of 60
Surah al-Dhariyat - Verses 28-30
28. Then he entertained fear of them [when they ate not]. They said: “Fear not [since we are God’s angels].” And they bore him glad tidings of a son having knowledge.
29. Then his wife [hearing the glad tidings of a son] came forward with a loud voice: She smote her face and said: “[How] a barren old woman [may conceive a child]!”
30. They [the angels] said [unto him]: “Thus says your Lord. Indeed, He is the All-Wise, the Omniscient.”
The Arabic word awjas (“apprehensive, entertaining fear, having presentiments”) derives from w-j-s (“be apprehensive, have presentiments, be seized by fear”). The Arabic noun Khiyfa (“fear, dread”) derives from the root kh-’-f (“fear, dread”) and its nunnation (tanwin) indicates diversification (tanwi‘) connoting that Abraham was seized by a kind of fear. The blessed Verse is saying that the angels introduced themselves to Abraham saying that they were not human beings in need of partaking food, but they were angels sent on a mission by God Almighty to inform him of a son who would be quite knowledgeable and wise.
The son mentioned herein may refer to Ishmael (Isma‘il) born to Hagar (Hajar). The following blessed Verse indicates that the son mentioned in the blessed Verse 28 was Isaac (Ishaq) born to Sarah (Sara). The blessed Verse 29 is saying that upon hearing such glad tiding, Sarah, Abraham’s (as) wife, hastened toward the room with a loud voice (fi sarratin) saying:
“How may I conceive a child when I am an old [barren] woman.”
Qur’anic exegets maintain that Sarah and Abraham (as) were ninety five and one hundred and ninety years of age respectively at the time. The blessed Verse 30 is saying that replying to Abraham’s (as) wife seized by great surprise and fear, the angles said:
“Thus says your Lord. Indeed, He is the All-Wise, the Omniscient,”
i.e. he is All-Aware of all good and evil things. The angels might have intended to say that they were on a mission from God Almighty to bear them glad tidings rather than saying something of their own, aiming to make her understand that God Almighty willed to reflect his Omnipotence to the world that whatever He willed would be realized and there was nothing impossible against His Omnipotence. Thus, the angels said:
“He is the All-Wise, the Omniscient.”
The emphatic conjunction inna (“behold, verily, truly”) indicates that whatever God Almighty wills is based upon His Wisdom and Omniscience as to improving the affairs and vanity may never penetrate his Sacred Divine Presence.