Part 54

It was sa id that it was the pl anct Ven us and th en he moved

on frolll it to the 111 0011 , whi ch is bright er th an it and of morc

radiant bcauty. The n he moved ont o the sun , whi ch is morc

visiblc, brightcr and more bea uti ful. And he made clear that

they arc subse rvien t, co ntrol led, subject to Al lah 's Dcc ree and

Hi s Lordshi p, as He, Most High, says, ' A nd from among '-li s

Signs <Irc th c ni gh t ilnd the day, and the sun and th e 11100n .

Prost rate not to tht; sun, nor to Ihe 11100n, bu t prostrate to Allah,

Who created Ih clI1, if you (n..:a ll y) worsh ip I-li m. ) (SoO/'oll

FlIssi/al 4 1:37) T his is why He says, ( Whcn hc saw th e stln

ri s ing up. he sa id. "This is my lord. This is greatcr:' But when

it sc t, hc sai d, "0, my peop lc! 1,1111 indeed free from all th at you

71Ie Storr of Ih"aileell/ ~ 245

j oi n as pan ncrs in wo rship wi th A lla h. Verily, I have turned my

racc tow;;lf(l Him Who has created th e hea vens and the Ea rth

Ihll1iJim (Islami c Monoth eism, i.c. worshippin g non e bu t All ah

A lone) a nd I a m not o r o/·lIIl1sllrikoon." Hi s peop le disputed

wi th hi m. I-Ie sa id. " Do YO ll di spute w ith me concern ing A ll ah

whil e li e has g uid ed me, and r reur not those whol11 you assoc iate

w ith A llah in wo rship. (Nothing can happen to 111e) excep t

whe n my Lord (A ll ah) wi ll s something. My Lord comp rehends

in Hi s Know ledge a ll things. Will you not then rc mem ber?" )

(Sool"oll A/·AI1·o1l1 6:78-80) That is, I care not about the deities

th at you wo rship besides A ll ah , beca use they do not benefi t

an yt hin g and th ey do not hear or understa nd a nything. Rather,

they arc subj ect to A ll ah 's Lordship and subsc rvient to Him,

lik e th e ce lesti al bodies, and oth er simila r things. O r they are

He, Most Hi gh, says in S001"O" As-SajJat, C: And . ,-crily. amo ng

those who roll owcd hi s (Noa h's) way (Islami c ~ l onot h e i s ll1 )

was Ibraheem. When he Came to hi s Lord w ith a pure heart

(a tt ached to A ll ah , Alone, and none e lse, worshi ppin g none but

Alla h. Alone, true Islami c Monothe ism, pure rrom the fi lth or

polythe ism ). W hen he sa id to his rather and to hi s peop le, " What

is it that which you wo rship? Is it raise aliI/ali (gods) ot her than

All ah that you seek? T hen what do you thin k aboll t the Lord of

the 'A/ameel1?" Th en he cast a gla nce at the stars (to dece ive

th em) and he sa id, "Veril y, I am sick (w ith plague}." li e di d

thi s tric k to remai n in their tcmple or idols to destroy them and

n01 10 acco mpan y th em to the pa ga ns' fe ast. So they tlI rncd

awa y rrom hi m and depa rted (ror rear o f the d isease ). T hen

he tu rn ed to thei r alillall (gods ) and said , "Will you not ca l (of

the offering be fore you)? What is th e matte r w ith you that you

speak not?" Th en he turned upon them, striking (t he m) with

(hi s) righ t hand. Then they (the worshippers o r idols) came.

246 The Story oflhraheem ~

toward him , hastenin g. He sa id, "Worship you that wh ich you

(yourselves) carve , w hil e Allah has c reated you and what you

mak e?" They said, "Build for him a building (i t is sa id that the

building was like a furnace) and throw him into the blazing

firc!" So they plotted a plot aga inst him , but We made them the

A ll ah , Most Hi gh, informs us about Ibrahccm ~" Hi s

Klwlee/, and He tell s us that he rebuked hi s people for

worshipping idols and he scorned them in front o f thcm and

be littl ed th em, say ing, ( " What are these images. to which

you are devoted?" ) (Soo/'oll Af-Allhiyo ' 2 1:52) That is , wi th

whi ch you seclude yourselves ~lIld to whi ch you submit. Thi s

is why they said, ( "We found our fathers worshipping them."

) (Saara" AI-AI/bi)'a ' 21 :53) They had no eviden ce except the

prac tices of their fathers and their grandfathers and th e idol-

worship in wh ich th ey used to take part. ( He sa id, " Indeed

you and your fath l.: rs have been in man ifest error." ) (SoOl'oh

A I-A I/bi)'a '21 :54) Thi s is lik e His Words, ( When he said to his

fath er and to his peop le, "What is it that which you worshi p? Is

it fal se alilla" (gods) other than Allah thal yo u seek? Then whal

do YO ll think about th e Lord of the ;AlomeellT' ) (Sooral1 As-

Saffat 37:85-87) Qaladah said that it means: What do youlh ink

that He wi ll do with you if you meet him and yo u have been

worshipping (fa lse deities) other than I-lim? He said to them,

( He said, "Do they hear you when you call (on them)? Or

do lhey benefil you or do they haml (you)?" They said, "Nay,

bu t we found ou r fathers doing so." ) (Soorah Ash-Shu 'ara '

26:72-74) They admitted to him lhat lhey (lhe ido ls) did nOl

hea r suppli cation s and that they co uld neither hann nor benefit

and that the onl y thing whi ch caused them to worship these

ido ls was the fact that th ey were following Lhe exampl e of their

ancestors and those like th em in error, such as their fa thers

Tlte Story oj Ibraheem ~ 247

and th e ignorant , which is w hy he sa id to them, ( " Do you

observe Ihal whi ch you have been worshipping, you and your

ancient fathers? Veril y! They are enemies 10 me , save the Lord

of th e 'Alollleell ) (SoO/·oll Ash-SIII/ 'ara ' 26: 75-77). This is

irrefUlabl e ev idcnce of' th e fa lseness of th e di vinity which they

claimed for th eir id ols, beca llse he dec lared himsc lf' innoccn t

of them and be littles them. If thcy had posscsscd th e powc r

to harm or affec t him, they would have done so. ( They said ,

" Ha ve you brought us the trulh , or arc you onc o f those who

pl ay about?" ) (SoO/'oil AI-A I/bi)'o . 21:55). They as ked, ' This

spcech whi ch you are say ing to us and by whi ch you beli ttl e

our gods and du e to whi ch you curse our f~lIh c r s - is it the

carnest tTwh, or arc you simpl y playing with us?' ( Ilc said,

" N'IY, your Lord is the Lord o f the heavens and the carth , Who

created them and o f that I am onc o f th e witncsses. ,. ) (So01·o11

AI-Anhiyo' 2 1:56). That is, on the contrary, I say thi s to you

ca rncst ly and truthfu lly; and your God is Allah, besides Whom

none has the ri ght to be worshi pped. He is YOUT Lord and the

Lord of all thin gs, th e Or iginator of the heavcns and the earth

and th eir Creator, in a unique manne r. So it is He Who dese rves

to be worshipped, Alone, withoul partners, and I bear witn ess

to that. He said, ( "A nd by Allah, I shall pl ot a plan (to destroy)

your idols after you ha ve gone away and turned yo ur backs."

) (SoO/'ail AI-A I/biya ' 21 :57) He swo re by Allah that he would

pial against these ido ls whi ch thcy worshipped a ftcr they had

gone away to ce lebrate one o f their paga n fes ti va ls. It has been

menti oned that he said thi s to himse lf sec retl y. 'Abdul lah Ibn

Mas'ood ~ said, "Somc of them heard h im and they had an

annllal festi va l during which they used to sac rifi ce anim als

outside the city. Hi s father ca ll cd on hi m to accompany him to

the fest iva l, but he sa id, " I am sick," as All ah, Most Hi gh, says.

( Th en he cast a glance at the stars (to dece ive them) and hc

248 The Slot}· oflhraheem ~

said, "Verily, I am sick (with plague. lie did this trick to remain

in their temple of idols to des troy them and not to accompany

them to the pagans fcast)." ) (SaO/·"II !ls-SoJfar 37:88,89) He

resorted to dissimulation so Ihal he could altn in his objective,

whi ch wns to humil iate their idols and support Allah's Reli gion

of lru th, by making clem the fa lseness of lhe idol-worship Ihal

they practiced - and those idols deserved to be broken and to

be hu mi liated. So when they wcnt out to aLtend their restivai,

leaving him behind in the city, ( Then he lumed 10 their ali/mil

(gods). ) (SaO/·oll As-SafJill 37:9 1) That is, he we nt to them

hastil y and in secret and he foun d them in a great hall. In fronl

Of lhcll1, th ey had placed a variely of foods as offcrings to them.

and said in to nes of mockery and ridicule, ( Will you 110t cat (of

the offering before you)? What is the malter with yOli tl1<11 you