Part 53

whi ch came n OI lII lIO you. So fo ll ow me. I will gu ide YOLI 10 a

Straight Path. 0, my father! Worship not 511oi/(1II (Salan). Veri ly!

S/wiflJlI has been a rebel again st the Most Benefice nt (Allah). 0,

my father! Ve ri ly! r fear lest a tormen t from the Most Benefi cent

(A lI ah) ove rtake YO Ll , so th at YOll become a com panion of 5/wirall

(in the Hellfire). (Tc!fseer ,.lI-Qllrfllhi) He (his father) said, " Do

YO ll reject my gods, 0 , Ibrahccm'! If you stop not (thi s), I will

indeed stone yOll. So get away fro m me safe ly before I pun ish

you." Ibraheem said, '·Peace be on you! I will ask Forgi veness

of my Lord for YOll. Veril y! l ie is mHO me Ever t-. lost Gracious.

And I shaH turn away from YOll and from those wh om YOLl invoke

besides All ah. And I shall ca ll an my Lord: and I hope th at I

shall not be u n bl e ~sed in my invocation to my Lord:' ) (SoO/'oll

Allah, Most High, mention s the di spute and th e argum ent

between him and hi s fat her and desc ribes how he invited

his father to the trut h usi ng the kindest and most courteous

expressions and the best advice; he exp lai ned to him the

in va lidity of worship ping idols and the sin that he was

Th (' S/lJI:v oj lhrahef!1II ~ 24\

incurring by worsh ipping grave n images, which cannot hea r

th e supplications of those who worship them and ca nnot see

where th ey are. So how can they ava il them anything or do any

good fo r them, such as sustaining th em or he lpi ng them?

Then, alludi ng to th e guidance and beneficial knowledge

that Allah had given him, th ough he was younger than hi s

father, he said, ( "0 , my fat her! Veri ly! There has come to

me of know ledge that which cam c not unto you. So follow

me. I wil l gu ide you to a Strai ght Path." ) (Soorall Maq1am

19:43) That is, a straight, clear, easy and true path, which will

lead yo u to goodness in your relig ion and in your Hereafter.

But when he presented this guidance to him and gave hi m this

adv ice, he did not accept it and he did not act upon it. Instead,

he threatened him and warned him to desist, saying, ( "Do

you reject my gods. 0. lbrahcem'! II' you stop not (t his), I wi ll

indeed Slone YOUo" ) (Soorail Mm)'alll 19:46) II was sa id lhal

the Arabi c ve rb rajama used in the Verse mea ns to rev ile or

curse and it was also said that it means to stone. tl) ( "So get

away from me safely." ) (Soorall /\lfwyam 19:46) That is, sever

the relatio nship with me and prolong the se paration. Whe n he

said this, Ibraheem ~ said, ( "Peace be on yo u!" ) (SoOl'all

Mwyam 19:46) That is, nothin g unpleasant will come to yo u

from me and no hanll will be infl icted on you by me; on the

contrary, you are safe from me.

He added more kindness by saying, ( " I wi ll ask Forgiveness

of my Lord ror you. Veri ly! lie is unto mc, Evcr Mos t Gracious."

) (SoO/oail MQ/J'Q/1/ 19:47) •Abdu llah Ibn ' Abbas ~ and olhers

said it means: I-Ie is Kind 10 me, in Ihal He has guid ed me to

worship Him and sincere devotion to Him and this is why he

said, ( And I sha ll turn away from you and rrom those whom

(I) Both meanings are linguistically valid.

242 The SlOry o/ Ihmltc:c:m +-.1-

you in voke besides Alluh. And I shall ca ll on my Lord; and

I hope Ihal I shall nOI be unblessed in my in vocation to my

Lord." ) (Soorall MCllYOIl1 19:48) Ibrahcclll ~, had asked

Allah to forg ive him in his suppli ca ti ons, as he had promised

Ihat he woul d. BUI when it bceamc clear to him th at he was

an enemy of Allah, he declared himself innoccllI of him, as

Alla h, Mosl High, says, ( And Ibraheem's im"oki ng (of Allah)

for his fa ther 's forgive ness was onl y because of a promise he

(lbraheem) had made to him (his fath er). But when it became

clear 10 him (Ibra heem) that he (his fat her) was an enemy to

Allah, he dissociatrd himself from hi m. Verily, Ibrn hecl11 was

AI-AwII'(IIt. (It has firteell difrcrcIl t 1l1canin gs but the correct one

seems 10 be that he lIsed to invoke Allah with hu mi li ty, glorify

llim and remember Him muc h), and was forbea ring. ( T(lJ.~ee,.

III-Q"r/l/ hi) ) (SoO/'ail 111-Tmvb,,11 9: 11 4)

AI-B ukhari narrated on the authority of Abu I-Iu ra irah .;e,

from the Prophet ~ that he said, " Ibraheem wi ll meet his

father, AZa r on tht' Day of Resurrection whose face will be

dark and covered with dust (and Prophet Ibra heelll ~ wi ll say

to him), " Did I Ilot tell you Ilot to disobey me?" His fat her

wi ll reply, "Today I wi ll not disobey you." ' lbrahecl11 will say:

"0 , Illy Lord! You promised to not di sgrace me on the Day of

Resurrection; and what will be more disgraceful to me than

cursing and di shonori ng my father?" Then Allah will say (to

him), " I have fo rbiddcn Paradise fo r the di sbelieve rs." Thc n

he will be addressed, "0, Ibraheem! Look! Wha t is undemca th

your feet?" He wi ll loo k and there he wi ll sec a Dheekh (hye na-

or an anima l) blood-sta ined, wh ich will be caught by the legs

and thrown in the (Hell) Fire." ( 11 And this is how he narrated it

in the sial)' of Ib ra h eell1 lM..~ se pa rately.

(I) Narnucd by AIlJukhari (3350).

Tlte SIOI:I' of Ibralteem ~- 243

Allah, Most Hi gh, said, ( And (remember) when Ibraheelll

said to hi s fat he r, Azar, "Do you take ido ls as alilwh (gods)?

Ve ril y, I see yo u and your peop le in manifest error." ) (Soorah

A I-An 'am 6: 74) Thi s proves that Ibrah ee m 's f~lther 's name was

Azar and the majority of" those with knowledge of genea logy,

including' Abdu ll ah Ibn ' Abbas .J;c, hold that hi s fath er 's name

was Tarikh , whi le the Peopl e of the Scripture ea ll him Tarikh .

It was said that he was nicknamed Azar, that being th e name of

an idol that he used to worship.

Allah, Most High , says, ( Thu s did we show Ibraheem the

kingdom of the heavens and the earth that he be onc of those

who ha ve faith with certainty. When the night covered him

ovc r with darkness he saw a star. li e said . "Thi s is my lord:'

But when it set, he said, " I like not those that se L" When he saw

the moon ri s ing up, he sa id, "This is my lord ." But when it set,

he sa id : "U nless my Lord guides me. I shall surely be among

the CITing pcop lc." When he saw the SUIl ri sing up. he sa id,

"Thi s is my lord. Thi s is greater." But when it se t. hc said, "0,

my peopl e ! I am indecd free from all that you j oin as partners in

worship with A \la h. Verily, I have turned my fa ce towa rds Il im

Who has c reated the heavens und the Earth J-/al1[{cm (Isl ami c

Monotheism, i.c. worshipp ing nOlle but Allah Alone) and I

am not of al-l1Iushrikoo/l . Ili s peop le di sputed with him. He

sa id, "Do yo u di spu te wi th me concerning All ah while li e

has gui ded me, and I fear not th ose whom you associate with

Allah in worsh ip. (Nothing can happen to me) except whe n my

Lord (A ll ah) will s. something. My Lord comprehends in His

Kn ow ledge all things. Will you not then remember? And how

should 1 fear those whom you associate in worship with Allah

(though they can neither benefit nor haml), whil e you fear not

th,lt yo u have j oin ed in wors hip with Allah thin gs for which

Hc has not scnt dow n to you any autho rit y. (So) whi ch of th e

244 The SIOI:I' orlh"(lheem ~

two parties has morc right to be in securi ty? If you but knew:'

It is those who believe (in th e Onencss of Allah and worship

none bu t lIim Alont!) and confuse 1101 their belief w ith :::'111111

(wrongdoing i.c. by worshipping others besides A llah), for

tht!m (o nl y) there is security and they arc the guided. And that

was Our Proof whidl We gave Ibrahecl11 ( Ibrahcem) against

hi s people. We ra ise whom We will in degrces. Certa inly your

Lord is Most Wise, All-Knowing , (SoO/·ail AI-All 'am 6:75-83)

Thi s was the pos ition of debating w ith hi s people and an

exp lan at ion that the visibl e and lumi nous celestial bodies a rc

not deservi ng of wo rshi p bes ides All ah, the Almi gh ty, the A II -

Powerful , beeausc they are crcated, subj cct to A llah 's Lordsh ip,

made, controll ed, subserv ient. At times thcy ri se a nd at oth er

ti mcs they sct, so they are absent from thi s world, wh il e the

Lord is never absent from anyth ing and 110 sec rets are kept from

1-lil11 . On th e con trary, I-Ie is the Eterna l, the Eve rlast ing, Who

never di sa ppears. Nonc has the right to be wors hi pped but I-Ie

a nd there is no lord besides Him. So he fi rst of all madc c1ear to

th em that th e ce lesti al bodi es did 1101 deserve to be worshipped.