16 Preface وَإِبراهيمَ إِذ قالَ لِقَومِهِ اعبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاتَّقوهُ ۖ ذٰلِكُم خَيرٌ لَكُم إِن كُنتُم تَعلَمونَYusuf AliAnd (We also saved) Abraham: behold, he said1 to his people, “Serve God and fear Him: that will be best for you- If ye understand!The story of Abraham has been told in various phases in different passages. The ones most germane to the present passage are: 21:51-72 (his being cast into the fire and being saved from it); and 19:41-50 (his voluntary exile from the home of his fathers). Here the story is not told but is referred to in order to stress the following points; (1) Abraham’s people only responded to his preaching by threatening to burn him (29:16-18, 24); (2) evil consorts with evil but will have a rude awakening (29:25); (3) the good adhere to the good, and are blessed (29:26- 27). Note that the passage 29:19-23 is a parenthetical comment, though some Commentators treat a portion of it as part of Abraham’s speech.