Verse 129
رَبَّنَا وَابْعَثْ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ ()
And, our Lord, raise in their midst a Messenger from among them, who should recite to them Your verses, and teach them the Book and the wisdom, and make them pure. Indeed You, and You alone, are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.

The prayer of Ibrahim (AS) for the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam)
Let us start by commenting on certain words which occur in this verse. The Arabic word Yatlu (translated in English as "recite", or "read out") comes from the word Tilawah, تلاوة which lexically signifies "to follow, to obey", but in the terminology of the Qur'an and the Hadith denotes the recitation or reading of the Holy Qur'an or of a Divine Book, for one who reads a Divine Book is also required to obey it fully. The word also suggests that it is obligatory to read the Holy Qur'an exactly as it has been revealed by Allah, and not to add or subtract a word on one's own part, not even to change the pronounciation of a word which often may, in the Arabic language, change the very meaning of the word concerned. In his "Mufradat al-Qur'an", Imam al-Raghib al-Isfahani says that the word Tilawah cannot, in current idiom, be applied to the reading of any book other than the Word of Allah.
The word Kitab (Book) in this verse, of course, refers to the Holy Qur'an itself. As to the word Hikmah (usually translated in English as "wisdom"), it carries various meanings in Arabic - for example, arriving at the truth, justice, exact knowledge, etc. (ai-Qamus). According to al-Raghib al-Isfahani, when the word is used in speaking of Allah, it connotes the total and perfect knowledge of all existents, and flawless creation; but when applied to someone other than Allah, it connotes a proper knowledge of the existents, and good deeds. In connection with the present verse, Maulana Mahmud al-Hasan has interpreted the word as "profound truths, or subtle realities", while Maulana Ashraf 'Ali Thanavi has taken it to mean "the art of understanding properly". The commentators from among the blessed Companions and their immediate successors, whose interpretations come directly from the teachings of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) himself, have advanced different connotations of the word Hikmah - some say that it refers to the commentary and exegesis of the Holy Qur'an, others believe that it means the proper understanding of the religion (Din), or the injunctions of the Shari'ah, or such commandments of Allah which have been received through the word of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). But the truth of the matter is that in spite of the apparent variety of expressions used, the substance of all these statements is the same namely, the Way (Sunnah) of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and the Hadith. This is the interpretation reported from Qatadah by Ibn Kathir and Ibn Jarir.

Commentary
Now, to proceed with the commentary, let us consider why Sayyidna Ibrahim (AS), in praying for the well-being of his descendants in this world and in the other, requested Allah to send a prophet from among them. The reason is twofold. Firstly, the appearance of a prophet from among them would in itself be an honour and a blessing. Secondly, the prophet being a member of their own group, they would be thoroughly familiar with his past and present and with his ways, and thus find it easy to have trust in him, and to profit from his guidance. According to a hadith, in accepting this prayer Allah promised that this prophet would be sent in the last of all ages. (Ibn Jarir and Ibn Kathir)
According to a hadith reported by Imam Ahmad in his "Musnad", the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) has said that Allah had chosen him as the Last Prophet at a time when Sayyidna Adam (AS) was not yet born and only his clay was being prepared, and that he was the manifestation of the prayer of his father, Sayyidna Ibrahim (AS), of the good tidings brought by Sayyidna 'Isa (Jesus Christ AS), and of the dream seen by his mother. The good-tidings refer to the announcement made by Sayyidna 'Isa (AS), as reported in the Holy Qur'an:
مُبَشِّرًا بِرَسُولٍ يَأْتِي مِنْ بَعْدِي اسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُ
"I have brought the good-tidings of a prophet who is to come after me, and his name is Ahmad." (61:6)
And the mother of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) had, during her pregnancy, seen in a dream that a light went out of her which illumined the places in far-off Syria. Then, the words of the present prayer of Sayyidna Ibrahim (AS) have been repeated in two different places in the Holy Qur'an - once in Surah '"Al-Imran" (Ch.3) and then in Surah "Al-Jumu'ah" (Ch. 62). Both the passages where these words have been repeated speak of the prophethood of Sayyidna Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), and thus show that he is the prophet whom Sayyidna Ibrahim (AS) had prayed for.
All these verses - namely, the present verse from Surah "Al-Baqarah", and the other two from Surah '"Al-'Imran" and Surah "Al-Jumu'ah" respectively - say the same thing about the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) in the same words. That is to say, they define the purpose of his being sent to the world as the Messenger of Allah and his functions as a prophet. These functions are threefold. Firstly, to recite the verses; secondly, to teach the Book and also to teach "wisdom"; and thirdly, "to purify" the people. Now, let us examine the three in detail.
(1) The verse speaks separately of "reciting" the Holy Qur'an and of "teaching" it. Since "reciting" pertains to the words, and "teaching" to their meanings, the explicit distinction between the two shows that the words of the Holy Qur'an are no less important in themselves and for themselves than their meanings, and that the recitation and preservation of the words is obligatory, and constitutes an act of worship. In order to understand this aspect of the question we have only to recall that the first and immediate listeners and disciples of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) not only knew Arabic very well but were themselves very eloquent speakers of the language, some of them being even poets. For an audience like this it should have apparently been enough to recite the Holy Qur'an, without any explanation or commentary, for them to be taught - in their case, the "reciting" and the "teaching" should have, for all practical purpose, become one and the same thing. Why has the Holy Qur'an, then, mentioned them separately as two distinct prophetic functions?
If one considers the question seriously, one can easily draw two important conclusions. To begin with, one would come to see that the Holy Qur'an is not like other books where meanings are the ultimate object, while words have only a secondary place as being no more than a vehicle for the ideas, and can hence tolerate minor changes and modifications so long as the meaning does not suffer. In the case of man-made books, it would thus be totally frivolous to go on reading the words without paying any attention to the meanings. On the contrary, in the case of the Holy Qur'an the words are in themselves as necessary and inalienable a part of the intention as the meanings, and the Shari'ah has laid down particular injunctions with regard to the words of the Holy Qur'an. That is why in the Science of the Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence (Usul al-Fiqh) the Holy Qur'an has been defined as comprehending words and meaning both. In other words, if the meanings of the Holy Qur'an are expressed in a different language, or even if certain other Arabic words are substituted for the revealed ones, such a version shall not be entitled to the name "Qur'an", in spite of the meanings being intact. Consequently, if one were to recite this modified version in Salah, one's prayers shall not be valid. Similarly, a reading of this version shall not bring one the reward promised in the Hadith for the recitation of the Holy Qur'an, nor shall any of the injunctions related to the Holy Qur'an apply to it. Hence the Fuqaha' have forbidden the printing and publication of a translation of the Holy Qur'an without the Arabic text. It is quite wrong to speak of an "Urdu Qur'an" or "English Qur'an", simply because a translation of the original into any language whatsoever cannot properly be called "the Qur'an".
In short, the word Yatlu in the present verse leaves no doubt as to the fact that the "recitation of the verses" is an end in itself, for one does not "recite" meanings, but words. Of course, it goes without saying that Allah has sent the Holy Qur'an for us to understand it and to follow its guidance. To be content with memorizing the words alone and being indifferent to the meanings would merely show one's ignorance of the nature of the Book of Allah, and one's ungratefulness. But there are so many people these days who suppose that the Holy Qur'an is like other books, and believe that it is a waste of time to read or memorize its words without knowing what they mean. In view of this wide-spread error, we cannot insist too much on the truth that the recitation of the words of the Holy Qur'an is in itself a regular act of worship and brings a great reward.
This is borne out by the practice of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and his blessed Companions. They knew the meanings of the Holy Qur'an as no one else can, and yet they never thought that once they had understood it and acted upon it, nothing more was required of them. On the contrary, they kept reciting the Holy Qur'an again and again as long as they lived. Some of the Companions used to recite the whole Book of Allah in a single day, some in two days, and some in three. Reciting the Holy Qur'an in one week has always been quite a usual practice among the Muslims, which is indicated by the division of the Holy Qur'an into seven stages (Manazil). In fact, by instituting the recitation of the Holy Qur'an as an act of worship, carrying a reward of its own, and by giving it a separate and regular position among the prophetic functions, Allah has been very merciful to those Muslims who are not for some reason yet able to understand the meanings, and has saved them from the misfortune of being indifferent to the words and thus being totally deprived of the blessings which flow from His Book. Even such Muslims should, no doubt, keep trying to understand the meanings too so that they may receive the blessings in full, and the ultimate purpose of the Revelation may be realized.
(2) According to the present verses, "teaching the Book" is a prophetic function distinct from "reciting the Verses". We can easily infer from it the principle that in order to understand the Holy Qur'an it is not sufficient merely to know the Arabic language, but that it also requires the "teaching" of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). As every one knows, in order to learn a science or art - be it medicine or engineering, or something as ordinary as cookery - it is not enough to read a book or to be proficient in a language. Had it been the only qualification required, one could have easily mastered all the sciences and the arts on which one could find books written in the language one knew. To learn the meanest craft, then, one needs the regular and constant guidance of a teacher. This being so, how can one hope to understand, unaided, the Holy Qur'an which has something to say on the most difficult subjects possible, ranging from theology to philosophy and physics? Had a competence in the Arabic language been sufficient for this task, scores of Jewish and Christian scholars and men of letters in the Arabic countries today would have been counted among the greatest commentators as would have been Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab in the days of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). By distinguishing "the teaching of the Book" from "the reciting of the verses" as a distinct prophetic function, the Holy Qur'an has underlined the fact that in order to understand the Book of Allah properly it is not enough, even for those who know Arabic very well, merely to listen to a recitation of the verses, but that such an understanding can be acquired only through the teaching of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), and that to separate the one from the other, and to make an attempt at interpretation on one's own is no more than a self-delusion. Had it not really been necessary to explain and teach the meanings of the Holy Qur'an, why should have Allah sent us a Messenger? There were many other ways of conveying His Book to men. But Allah knows everything, and is All-Wise. He knows that an understanding of His Book depends on the guidance of a teacher much more than that of human sciences and arts does - in fact, on the guidance, not of an ordinary teacher, but of one who in his turn receives guidance from Allah Himself directly through Revelation (Wahy), and who is designated in Islamic terminology as a Nabiyy (Prophet) and a Rasul (Messenger of Allah). According to the Holy Qur'an itself, Allah has sent the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) to men for the express purpose of explaining to them in detail the injunctions and the meanings of the Divine Book - لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ: "So that you should explain to men what We have revealed for them". (16:44)
According to the present verse, the prophetic function of "teaching the Book" also includes the "teaching of Hikmah". As we have shown above, although this word carries various meanings in the Arabic language, yet, with reference to this verse and similar ones, the blessed Companions and their immediate successors have interpreted Hikmah as "the Sunnah" or the Way of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa-
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-sallam). It means that along with "teaching the Book" the prophetic functions include the teaching of the principles and modes of spiritual discipline. The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) has himself said, إنما بعثت معلما :"I have been sent only as a teacher." From this, it necessarily follows that his followers are required to be disciples, and that every Muslim, man or woman, should as a Muslim be a life-long student, keen to learn what the Holy Prophet ||- has taught. If one cannot for some reason master the different sciences connected with the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah, one must try to acquire at least a satisfactory knowledge and understanding of the basic doctrines of Islam and of the fundamental injunctions of the Shari'ah which are absolutely indispensable for every Muslim.