Sunni Feedback on The Issues of Infallibility and Ahulbayt [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Was Azar the Father of Prophet Abraham?

Surah Al Anaam - Chapter VI - Verse 74
And when Ibrahim said to
his sire, Azar : Do you take idle for
gods ? Surely I see you
and your people in manifest error.

and Surah Al Tauba - Chapter IX - Verse 114
And Ibrahim asking
forgiveness for his sire was only owing to
a promise that he made
to him; but when it became clear to him
that he was an enemy of
Allah, he declared himself to be clear
of him; most surely
Ibrahim was very tenderhearted and forbearing.
In the above verses, the word ' Ab ' has been used for Azar.

However,
'Ab'
has different meanings and does not necessarily mean 'Walid'
(biological
father).

The Holy Prophet (PBUH&HF) has said that the essence of
his existence had
been transmitted and ultimately conveyed to his immediate
parents through a
pure, a holy and sanctified progeny.

Now the word ' Ab ' in Arabic language may mean father as
well as ancestor
or even uncle as Ishmael ( Ismail ) the uncle of Jacob (
Yaqoub ) has been
addressed as ' Ab ' in the following Quranic verse .

Nay ! were you witnesses
when death visited Yaqoub, when he said
to his sons : What will
you serve after me ? They said : Well
will serve your God and
the God of your fathers, Ibrahim and Ismail
and Ishaq, one God only,
and to Him do we submit.
[ 2 : 113 ] Since Ishmael was not the father of Jacob, and yet Quran uses
the word 'Ab'
for him as uncle, then the usage of this word for other than
biological
father is established.

Besides Prophet Abraham prays for his biological father (Walid)
along with
the other believers, which clearly indicates that his
biological father was
not a polytheist.

This is evident from the
following Quranic verse .

O our Lord ! grant me
protection and my parents (Walidayn) and the
believers on the day
when the reckoning shall come to pass.
[14:41]
But what is surprising, that knowing for fact Ibrahim's ( as
) father was
'Tarakh' and not 'Azar' as stipulated by some Sunni
historians, which
is in total conformity with the opinion of Shia.

Ibn
Katheer in his work
on history writes:
Ibrahim ( as ) was the
son of Tarakh.

When Tarakh was 75 years of
age, Ibrahim ( as ) was
born to him.

Sunni reference: al-Bidaya wan Nahaya, by Ibn Katheer, v 1 p
139
This is also confirmed by Tabari, as he gives the lineage of
Ibrahim's (AS)
family in his history collection, but then also in his
Commentary of the
Quran he states that 'Azar' was NOT the father of Ibrahim
(AS).

Sunni references :

- History of al-Tabari,
v 1 p 119 - Tafsir Tabari, by Ibn
Jarir al-Tabari, v 7 p 158