The Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him and his pure progeny) [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

(peace be upon him and his pure
progeny)

Father of the Prophets

The
birth of a Great Prophet

Ibrahim was
born when his father Tarakh was seventy-five years old at the time.
Both his parents passed away when he was of very young age and he ended up
in the care of his uncle Azhar. As was the custom
of the Babylonians he was known as the son of Ahzar after his parents
death. Ahzar was an idolator like the rest of the people of the Kingdom of
Babylon and Ibrahim (a.s.) was brought up in a house of
idolaters.

His
"father" Aazar was a well known idol sculptor that his people worshipped.
As a young child, Ibrahim used to watch his father sculpting these idols
from stones or wood. When his father was done with them, Ibrahim would use
them as toys, riding on their backs, and kicking them at times. Then after
a while, he would see these same statues in the temple, and people
prostrating in front of them! Ibrahim asked his father: "Why do you take
these toys to the temple?" His father said: "They are statues that
represent our gods. We worship them, we ask favors from them, and we offer
them presents." Ibrahim's mind rejected this idea, and he felt a repulsion
towards the idols.

In search for the Truth

Time went by, and Ibrahim became a young man.
He still could not believe that his people were worshipping the statues.
He laughed whenever he saw them entering the temple, lowering their heads,
silently offering the statues the best of their food, crying and asking
forgiveness from them. He started feeling angry towards his people, who
could not realize that these are only stones that could neither benefit
nor harm them. They could not be gods, they have no power. God is Greater
than what his people were worshipping, Most Powerful, Most Magnificent.
One could not find Him sitting on a table in a temple!

One night, Ibrahim went up to the mountain,
leaned against a rock, and looked up to the sky. He saw a shining star,
and told his people: "Could this be my Lord?" But when it set he said: "I
don't like those that set." The star has disappeared, it could not be God.
God is always present. Then he saw the moon rising in splendor and told
them: "Could this be my Lord?" But it also set. At daybreak, he saw the
sun rising and said: t "Could this be my Lord, this is bigger?" But when
the sun set he said: "O my people I am free from all that you join as
partners with Allah! I have turned my face towards Him Who created the
heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah." Our Lord
is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and everything. He has the
power to make the stars rise and set. Ibrahim then heard Allah calling
him: "O Ibrahim!" Ibrahim said trembling: "Here I am O my Lord!" "Submit
to Me! Be a Muslim!" Ibrahim fell on the ground, prostrating and crying,
he said: "I submit to the Lord of the universe!" Ibrahim kept prostrating
until night came again. He got up and went back to his home, in t peace,
full of conviction that Allah has guided him to the Truth.

Ibrahim invites his father
to Islam

A new life started for Ibrahim. His mission
now was to call his people to the Truth. He would start with his father
who was the closest person to him, and whom he loved so much. He said to
him in the softest and kindest voice: "O father! Why do you worship that
which doesn't hear, doesn't see, and cannot avail you in anything? O
father, I have got knowledge which you have not, so follow me. I will
guide you to a straight path." His father replied angrily: "Do you reject
my gods, O Ibrahim? If you don't stop I will stone you. Get away from me
before I punish you." Ibrahim said: "Peace be on you! I will ask
forgiveness of my Lord for you."

Ibrahim confronts his
people and rejects their idols

He left his
father after he lost hope to convert him to the right path, and directed
his efforts towards the people of the town, but they rejected his call and
threatened him. By Allah, he said, I shall plot a plan to destroy their
idols. He knew that a big celebration was coming soon, where everybody
would leave town for a big feast on the riverbank. After making sure that
nobody was left in town, Ibrahim went towards the temple armed with an ax.
Statues of all shapes and sizes were sitting there adorned with
decorations. Plates of food were offered to them, but the food was
untouched. "Well, why don't you eat? The food is getting cold." He said to
the statues, joking; then with his ax he destroyed all the statues except
one, the biggest of them. He hung the ax around its neck and left.

How big was the shock when the people entered
the temple! They gathered inside watching in awe their gods broken in
pieces. They wondered who might have done this? Then they all remembered
that the young Ibrahim was talking evil of their idols. They brought him
to the temple and asked him: "Are you the one who has done this to our
gods?" Ibrahim said: "No, this statue, the biggest of them has done it.
Ask them if they can speak." "You know well that these idols don't speak!"
They said impatiently. "Then how come you worship things that can neither
speak nor see, nor even fend for themselves? Have you lost your minds?"

They kept silent for a while, for he got a
point there. Their minds and their senses were telling them that the Truth
is with Ibrahim, but their pride prevented them to accept it, and reject
the idols they were worshipping for generations. This they thought would
be total defeat. They started yelling at him and shouting: "Burn him! Burn
him! Take revenge for your gods !"

The Miracle: Allah saves
Ibrahim from the fire.

The decision to burn Ibrahim to death was
affirmed by the priests and the king of Babylon, Nimrod. The news spread
like a fire in the kingdom, and people were coming from all places to
watch the execution. A huge pit was dug up and a large quantity of wood
was piled up. Then the biggest fire people ever witnessed was lit. The
fire flames were so high up in the sky that the birds could not fly over
it for fear of being burned ! Ibrahim's hands and feet were chained, and
he was put in a catapult to throw him into the fire. At that time, Angel
Jibreel came to him and said: "O Ibrahim! Is there anything you wish for?"
Ibrahim could have asked to be saved from the fire, to be taken away, but
no, he said: "I only wish that Allah be pleased with me." The catapult was
released, and Ibrahim was thrown in the heart of the fire. But Allah would
not allow His Prophet to be killed, He ordered the fire: "O fire! Be
coolness and safety for Ibrahim!" And the miracle happened. The fire
obeyed and burned only his chains. Ibrahim came out from it as if he was
coming out from a garden, peaceful, his face illuminated, and not a trace
of smoke on his clothes. People watched in shock and said: "Amazing !
Ibrahim' s God has saved him from the fire!"

Ibrahim debates the
Babylonian king, Nimrod

Ibrahim's notoriety grew bigger after this
event and the king of Babylon felt that his throne was in danger, and that
he was loosing power, because he was pretending that he was a god. He sent
for Ibrahim. He wanted to debate with him and show his people that he, the
king is indeed the god, and Ibrahim was a liar. He asked Ibrahim: What can
your god do that I cannot?

-My Lord is He Who gives life and death."
Ibrahim said

-I give life and death. I can bring a person from the
street and have him executed, and I can grant my pardon to a person who
was sentenced to death and save his life." The king said proudly

-Well
my Lord Allah makes the sun rise from the East. Can you make it rise from
the West?

The king was confounded. He was beaten at his own game, on
his own territory, in front of his own people! Ibrahim left him there
speechless and went back to his important mission, calling people to
worship the one and only God, Allah.

Allah blesses Ibrahim with
a son to become a prophet

Only a woman named Sarah and a man named Lot
believed in Allah, and followed Ibrahim. He realized that nobody else
would listen to him, and decided to emigrate for the cause of Allah, and
to spread His Message elsewhere. Before leaving, he tried once again to
convert his father to Islam, but to no avail. Ibrahim said to his father
and his people: "We are free of you and of whatever you worship besides
Allah. We have rejected you and there has arisen between us and you enmity
and hatred forever unless you believe in Allah and Him alone."

Ibrahim, Lot and Sarah started their long
travel. They crossed Babylon, went through Syria and Palestine calling
people to Allah, helping the poor and doing good deeds. By that time
Ibrahim married Sarah. Their hope was to have children who would spread
the Message of Allah after their death. As for Lot, he emigrated to the
land of Sodom and settled there.

Time went by and no children were born to
Sarah. She realized she was sterile. She accepted her fate and submitted
to the will of Allah. Ibrahim and Sarah moved to Egypt where the king gave
Sarah a woman to be her servant. The woman's name was Hajar. Sarah was
seeing Ibrahim' s hair getting white, and it grieved her to see his chance
of having any child slipping away. She offered Hajar her servant as a wife
to her husband, and prayed Allah to bless Hajar and Ibrahim with a child.
And so came Ismail, a baby boy born to Hajar. How unselfish Sarah was! For
her, the need to have an offspring who would carry the Message after
Ibrahim was greater than her pride. Fourteen years later Allah rewarded
Sarah with a son, Ishaq in spite of her old age.

Young Ismail and his mother
alone in the desert of Makkah

Ibrahim woke up one day and asked Hajar to
prepare herself and baby Ismail for a long travel. Ibrahim and Hajar kept
walking, crossed a fertile land followed by barren mountains till they
arrived at the Arabian desert. Ibrahim brought Hajar to a high hill called
al-Marwa, made her and her baby sit under a tree, placed a bag of dates
and some water near her, and set out homeward. Hajar ran after him and
said: "Are you going to leave us in this desert where there is no one to
keep us company?" She repeated this many times but he would not look back
at her. She asked: "Has Allah ordered you to do so?" He said yes. "Then He
will not neglect us." She said. Ibrahim walked away until he got out of
their sight, he raised his hands and prayed Allah: "O our Lord! I have
made some of my offspring dwell in a valley with no cultivation, by Your
Sacred House, in order that they may offer prayers. So fill some hearts
among men with love towards them, and provide them with fruits, so that
they may give thanks."

Zamzam

Hajar went on nursing Ismail and drinking
from the water until it was all used up. She became very thirsty and the
child was crying. She left him on the al-Marwa hill and hurried to the
nearest hill, as-Safa. She stood there and started looking at the valley
keenly so that she might see somebody, but she could not see anybody. She
descended from as-Safa, crossed the valley running and reached al-Marwa
hill. She stood and started looking but could see nobody. She kept running
between as-Safa and al-Marwa seven times. When she reached al-Marwa for
the last time, she was exhausted, she sat next to the baby. Then she heard
a voice. She stood up and said: "O whoever you might be! Have you got
something to help me?' She saw an angel, Angel Jibreel, digging the earth
until water flowed! She built a little basin around it. She scooped water
with her hands, drank, filled her water-skin, and nursed her baby. The
place from which water flowed was Zamzam. Muslims till this day drink from
the holy water of Zamzam, and during Hajj they walk between as-Safa and
al-Marwa seven times to commemorate this event.

Some Arabs traveling through Makkah saw birds
flying around alMarwa. "They must be flying around water." They said. When
they arrived at the water, they found Hajar and asked her: "Would you
allow us to stay with you, and use the water from your well?" She agreed
and was pleased by their company. The people sent for their families,
settled there and became permanent residents. The whole valley became
alive. Ismail grew up, learned Arabic, and later married a woman from
amongst the Arabs.

Meanwhile, Ibrahim who had not seen his son
since he was a baby, came back to Makkah to visit him. Upon arriving, he
heard that Hajar had died, but Ismail was still living there. Ibrahim was
yearning to see his son whom he loved and missed a lot. He saw Ismail
under a tree near Zamzam, sharpening his arrows. When he saw his father,
Ismail rose up, hugged him and greeted him. It was the happiest moment for
both father and son. But Allah wanted to put them to test, and it was a
tough test indeed. During one night, Ibrahim had a dream. He came to
Ismail and said: "O my son ! I have seen in a dream that I am slaughtering
you as a sacrifice to Allah, so what do you think?" They both realized
that this was an order from Allah. Ismail said without hesitation: "Do
what you are commanded, you shall find me very patient insha Allah." They
had both submitted to the will of Allah. Ibrahim laid his son prostrate,
put his forehead on the ground and directed a sharp knife towards his
neck. At this very moment, Allah called him: "O Ibrahim! You have
fulfilled the dream! Thus do We reward the good doers !" A big sheep was
sent down from heaven to be slaughtered instead of Ismail, which Ibrahim
did, and they both had a big celebration that day. This event is
celebrated every year by all Muslims. It is Eid al-Adha where we slaughter
the sacrificial sheep.

Ibrahim and Ismail kept on calling people to
worship Allah. At that time there was no place built for the worship of
Allah. Ibrahim wished there could be such a place where people would be in
peace, and concentrate solely for the worship of Allah. His wish was
answered when Allah ordered him to build the Sacred House, the Ka'bah.
Ibrahim said to Ismail: "O Ismail, Allah has given me an order, will you
help me execute it?" "Yes I will." Ismail said. "Allah has ordered me to
build a house here." He said, pointing to a hillock higher than the land
surrounding it. They went towards the place and started building the
foundations of the Ka'bah Ismail brought the stones and Ibrahim built the
walls, and when the walls became high, Ismail brought a large stone and
put it in front of his father who stood over it and carried on building,
while Ismail was handing him the stones. Both of them went on building and
going around the Ka'bah, saying: "O our Lord accept this service from us."
When they finished the building, Angel Jibreel descended from heaven and
showed Ibrahim the rituals of Hajj. Then Ibrahim stepped on the stone and
called on people: "O people obey your Lord." This large stone which
Ibrahim stepped on is still there to this day near the Ka'bah. It is
called Makam Ibrahim.

Thus ends the story of Ibrahim, the father of
the prophets. From him descended all the prophets who came later,
including Muhammad, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam. Ibrahim devoted all his
life calling others to the True religion: Islam. Alone he stood against
his people, his father, and even the mighty king of Babylon, and never
flinched. Yet his method was always to gradually persuade them by bringing
irrefutable proofs, that most often embarrassed those who refused to
accept the Truth, but as Allah said: "Any whom Allah leaves to stray,
there is none to guide!"