وَنَبِّئْهُمْ عَن ضَيْفِ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ · إِذْ دَخَلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِ فَقَالُوا۟ سَلَٰمًا قَالَ إِنَّا مِنكُمْ وَجِلُونَ · قَالُوا۟ لَا تَوْجَلْ إِنَّا نُبَشِّرُكَ بِغُلَٰمٍ عَلِيمٍ
Wa nabbiʾhum ʿan ḍayfi Ibrāhīm · Idh dakhalū ʿalayhi fa-qālū salāman qāla innā minkum wajilūn · Qālū lā tawjal innā nubashshiruka bi-ghulāmin ʿalīm
"Inform them too of the guests of Abraham. · When they entered upon him and said 'peace', he said: 'We are afraid of you.' · They said: 'Do not be afraid! We bring you glad tidings of a knowing boy.'"
The ض-ي-ف root: guest. And because in Arabic the word comes from a verbal-noun origin, it is used for both singular and plural — this is why ḍayf is singular while the verb that follows (dakhalū) is plural.
The same story was treated at al-Dhāriyāt 51/24-30. I rely on that treatment and do not repeat it.
I record the differences between al-Dhāriyāt and al-Ḥijr, because this is a comparison that can be verified:
| Element | al-Dhāriyāt 51/24-30 | al-Ḥijr 15/51-56 |
|---|---|---|
| The attribute of the guests | Al-mukramīn — honoured | No attribute |
| The scene of hospitality | Present — bi-ʿijlin samīn (a fatted calf) | Absent |
| The expression of the fear | Fa-awjasa minhum khīfatan — fear fell within him | Innā minkum wajilūn — he says it openly |
| The calming | Lā takhaf | Lā tawjal |
| Who receives the tidings | Abraham and his wife — the woman's reaction is recounted | Abraham alone |
| Abraham's reaction | Not recounted | A-bashshartumūnī ʿalā an massaniya'l-kibar |
The two sūras show the same event from two different places. I record it per the method (Method): I do not enter into detail the Qurʾān does not give — who the guests were, how many they were, how they appeared, is not in the text.
The root was analysed at al-Ḥajj 22/35, and what was recorded there holds here too; I rely on that treatment:
The root: shuddering with fear, an inward trembling. The lexicographers describe wajal as "the sudden stirring of the heart". And the distinguishing side of the word: khawf is generally felt at a harm to come; wajal is a momentary, bodily shudder.
What belongs here is this, and it must be recorded: the word used in al-Dhāriyāt was khīfa (from the خ-و-ف root); here it is wajal.
| Sūra | Word | What it conveys |
|---|---|---|
| al-Dhāriyāt 51/28 | Khīfa — fear falling within | The verb: awjasa (he concealed it, felt it within) |
| al-Ḥijr 15/52 | Wajilūn — a shudder | Said openly |
I record this as an observation about the vocabulary: in al-Dhāriyāt the fear was concealed (awjasa — he held it within), in al-Ḥijr it is put into words. The two sūras give two different faces of the same moment.
And the response comes with the same root: lā tawjal — "do not be afraid." That is, the answer negates the very word that was used. This is a weave that can be verified by way of the word order.
The attribute must be recorded: ʿalīm — knowing. The same attribute was used in al-Dhāriyāt too (bi-ghulāmin ʿalīm). At al-Ṣāffāt 37/101, however, bi-ghulāmin ḥalīm (forbearing) occurs.
Whether the two attributes belong to two different children or to the same one is debated in the classical commentaries. I do not enter this debate; under the rule of not entering into detail the Qurʾān does not give, I make no preference as to which verse recounts which child.