HISTOSY OF HAZRAT ABRAHAM





Abraham, known as Ibrahim (إِبْرَاهِيْمُ, pronounced [ʔɪbraːˈhiːm]), in Arabic, is recognized as a prophet and messenger[1][2] of God in Islam. Abraham plays a prominent role as an example of faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Muslim belief, Abraham fulfilled all the commandments and trials wherein God nurtured him throughout his lifetime. As a result of his unwavering faith in God, Ibrahim was promised by God to be a leader to all the nations of the world.[3] The Quran extols Ibrahim as a model, an exemplar, obedient and not an idolater.[4] In this sense, Abraham has been described as representing "primordial man in universal surrender to the Divine Reality before its fragmentation into religions separated from each other by differences in form".[5] The Islamic holy day 'Eid al-Adha is celebrated in memory of the sacrifice of Abraham, and each able bodied Muslim is supposed to perform the pilgrimage to pay homage at the Kaaba in the Hejazi city of Mecca, which was built by Abraham and his son Ishmael as the first house of worship on earth.[6]
Muslims believe that the prophet Abraham became the leader of the righteous in his time and that it was through him that Adnanite-Arabs and Israelites came. Abraham, in the belief of Islam, was instrumental in cleansing the world of idolatry at the time. Paganism was cleared out by Abraham in both the Arabian peninsula and Canaan. He spiritually purified both places as well as physically sanctifying the houses of worship. Abraham and Ismāʿīl (Ishmael) further established the rites of pilgrimage,[7] or Ḥajj ('Pilgrimage'), which are still followed by Muslims today. Muslims maintain that Abraham further asked God to bless both the lines of his progeny, of Isma'il and Isḥāq (Isaac), and to keep all of his descendants in the protection of God.
Family[edit]
Muslims maintain that Abraham's father was Aazar (Arabic: آزَر‎, romanized: Āzar),[8][9] which could be derived from the Syriac Athar,[10] who is known in the Hebrew Bible as Terah. Abraham had two children, Isaac and Ishmael, who both later became prophets. Abraham's two wives are believed to have been Sarah and Hājar, the latter of whom was originally Sarah's handmaiden.[11] Abraham's nephew is said to have been the messenger Lut (Lot), who was one of the other people who migrated with Abraham out of their community. Abraham himself is said to have been a descendant of Nuh through his son Shem.[12]
Personality and wisdom[edit]
See also: Ulu-l-‘Azm
Abraham's personality and character is one of the most in-depth in the whole Quran, and Abraham is specifically mentioned as being a kind and compassionate man.[13] Abraham's father is understood by Muslims to have been a wicked, ignorant and idolatrous man who ignored all of his son's advice. The relationship between Abraham and his father, who in the Quran is named Azar, is central to Abraham's story as Muslims understand it to establish a large part of Abraham's personality. The Quran mentions that Abraham's father threatened to stone his son to death if he did not cease in preaching to the people.[14] Despite this, the Qur'an states that Abraham in his later years prayed to God to forgive the sins of all his descendants and his parents. Muslims have frequently cited Abraham's character as an example of how kind one must be towards people, and especially one's own parents. A similar example of Abraham's compassionate nature is demonstrated when Abraham began to pray for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah after hearing of God's plan through the angel Gabriel for them. Although the angel Gabriel told Abraham that God's plan was the final word, and therefore Abraham's prayers would be of no effect, the Quran nonetheless reinforces Abraham's kind nature through this particular event.[15]
Life according to the Quran and Islamic tradition[edit]
Youth[edit]

Ruins in the ancient Iraqi city of Ur, 2016

The Ziggurat of Ur, where idolatry was practiced in ancient times, in 2010
Ibrahim was born in a house of idolaters in the ancient city of Ur of the Chaldees, likely the place called 'Ur' in present-day Iraq, in which case, the idolaters would have been practitioners of the hypothesized Ancient Mesopotamian religion.[16] His father Azar was a well-known idol-sculptor that his people worshiped. As a young child, Ibrahim used to watch his father sculpting these idols from stones or wood. When his father was finished with them, Ibrahim would ask his father why they could not move or respond to any request and then would mock them; therefore, his father would always scold him for not following his ancestors' rituals and mocking their idols.[17]
Despite his opposition to idolatry, his father Azar would still send Ibrahim to sell his idols in the marketplace. Once there, Ibraham would call out to passersby, "Who will buy my idols? They will not help you and they cannot hurt you! Who will buy my idols?" Then Ibrahim would mock the idols. He would take them to the river, push their faces into the water and command them, "Drink! Drink!" Once again, Ibrahim asked his father, "How can you worship what does not see or hear or do you any good?" Azar replied, "Dare you deny the gods of our people? Get out of my sight!" Ibrahim replied, "May God forgive you. No more will I live with you and your idols." After this, Ibrahim left his father's home for good.
During one of the many festivals that would take place in the city, the people would gather in their temple and place offerings of food before their idols. Ur's most prominent temple is the Great Ziggurat, which can be seen today.[18] Ibrahim would ask them, "What are you worshiping? Do these idols hear when you call them? Can they help you or hurt you?" The people would reply, "It is the way of our forefathers." Ibrahim declared "I am sick of your gods! Truly I am their enemy."[19] After several years, 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.[20]
Searching for the truth[edit]

One night, Ibrahim went up to the mountain, leaned against a rock, and looked up to the sky. He saw a shining star and said to himself, "Could this be my Lord?" But when it set he said: "I don't like those that set." The star had disappeared so it could not be God. God is always present. Then he saw the moon rising in splendor and said, "Could this be my Lord?" but the moon also set. At daybreak, he saw the sun rising and said, "Could this be my Lord? This is the biggest and brightest!" But when the sun also set he said, "O my people! I am free from all that you join as partners with Allah! I have turned my face towards Allah who created the heavens and the earth and never shall I associate partners with Allah. Our Lord is the creator of the heavens and the earth and everything in between. He has the power to make the stars rise and set." After this declaration, Ibrahim then heard Allah calling him, "O Ibrahim!" Ibrahim trembled and said, "Here I am O my Lord!" Allah replied, "Submit to Me! Be a Muslim!" Ibrahim fell to the ground, crying. He said: "I submit to the Lord of the universe!" Ibrahim kept prostrating himself until nightfall. He then got up and went back to his home, in peace and full of conviction that Allah has guided him to the truth.[21]
A new life started for Ibrahim. His mission now was to call his people to monotheism. He started with his father, the closest person to him and whom he loved greatly. 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 to death! Get away from me before I punish you!" Ibrahim replied: "Peace be on you! I will ask forgiveness of my Lord for you."
The great fire[edit]
The decision to have Ibrahim burned at the stake was affirmed by the temple priests and the king of Babylon, Nimrod. The news spread like 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 flames were so high up in the sky that even the birds could not fly over it for fear of being burnt themselves. Ibrahim's hands and feet were chained, and he was put in a catapult, ready to be thrown in. During this time, Angel Jibril came to him and said: "O Ibrahim! Is there anything you wish for?" Ibrahim could have asked to be saved from the fire or to be taken away, but Ibrahim replied, "Allah is sufficient for me, He is the best disposer of my affairs." The catapult was released and Ibrahim was thrown into the fire. Allah then gave an order to the fire, "O fire! Be coolness and safety for Ibrahim." A miracle occurred, 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 exclaimed: "Amazing! Ibrahim's God has saved him from the fire!"
Confrontation with Nimrod[edit]
The Quran discusses a very short conversation between an unrighteous ruler and Abraham.[22] Although the king in the Quran is unnamed and this fact has been recognized as being least important in the narrative, outside of the Quran, namely in some of the Tafsir[23] this king has been suggested to be Nimrod.[24]
This Tafsir by Ibn Kathir, a 14th-century scholar, has many embellishments in the narrative like Nimrod claiming divinity for himself. The Tafsir describes Nimrod's quarrel with Ibrahim, how he (Nimrod) became extremely angry and in his 'utter disbelief and arrant rebellion' became a tyrant.[25]
According to Romano-Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, Nimrod was a man who set his will against that of God. Nimrod proclaimed him as a living god and was worshipped as such by his subjects. Nimrod's consort Semiramis was also worshipped as a goddess at his side. (See also Ninus.) Before Abraham was born, a portent in the stars tells Nimrod and his astrologers of the impending birth of Abraham, who would put an end to idolatry. Nimrod therefore orders the killing of all newborn babies. However, Abraham's mother escapes into the fields and gives birth secretly.

Flavius Josephus mentions that Abraham confronts Nimrod and tells him face-to-face to cease his idolatry, whereupon Nimrod orders him burned at the stake. Nimrod has his subjects gather enough wood so as to burn Abraham in the biggest fire the world had ever seen. Yet when the fire is lit and Abraham is thrown into it, Abraham walks out unscathed. In Islam, it is debated whether the decision to have Ibrahim burned at the stake came from Nimrod and the temple priests or whether the people themselves became vigilantes and hatched the plan to have him burned at the stake.
According to Muslim commentators, after Ibrahim survived the great fire, notoriety in society grew bigger after this event. Nimrod, who was the King of Babylon felt that his throne was in danger, and that he was losing power because upon witnessing Ibrahim coming out of the fire unharmed, a large part of society started believing in Allah and Ibrahim being a prophet of Allah. Up until this point, Nimrod was pretending that he himself was a god. Nimrod wanted to debate with him and show his people that he, the king is indeed the god and that Ibrahim was a liar. Nimrod asked Ibrahim, "What can your God do that I cannot?" Ibrahim replied, "My Lord is He who gives life and death." Nimrod then shouted, "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." Ibrahim replied, "Well, my lord Allah makes the sun rise from the East. Can you make it rise from the West?" Nimrod was confounded. He was beaten at his own game, on his own territory and in front of his own people. Prophet Ibrahim left him there speechless and went back to his mission of calling people to worship Allah.[26][27]
This event has been noted as particularly important because, in the Muslim perspective, it almost foreshadowed the prophetic careers of future prophets, most significantly the career of Moses. Abraham's quarrel with the king has been interpreted by some to be a precursor to Moses's preaching to Pharaoh. Just as the ruler who argued against Abraham claimed divinity for himself, so did the Pharaoh of the Exodus, who refused to hear the call of Moses and perished in the Red Sea. In this particular incident, scholars have further commented on Abraham's wisdom in employing "rational, wise and target-oriented" speech, as opposed to pointless arguments.[28]
Abraham, in the eyes of many Muslims, also symbolized the highest moral values essential to any person. The Qur'an details the account of the angels coming to Abraham to tell him of the birth of Isaac. It says that, as soon as Abraham saw the messengers, he "hastened to entertain them with a roasted calf."[29] This action has been interpreted by all the scholars as exemplary; many scholars have commentated upon this one action, saying that it symbolizes Abraham's exceedingly high moral level and thus is a model for how men should act in a similar situation. This incident has only further heightened the "compassionate" character of Abraham in Muslim theology.[30]
Sacrifice[edit]

Ibrahim's Sacrifice. Timurid Anthology, 1410-11.
In the mainstream narrative, it is assumed that Abraham's dream of sacrificing his son was a command by God. The verse in reference (i.e. 37:104-105) is in Surah As-Saffat and the quoted ayahs are translated by known Islamic scholar Abul A'la Maududi as "We cried out O' Ibraheem you have indeed fulfilled your dream. Thus do we award the good do-ers." It is assumed that Abraham dreamt that God ordered him to sacrifice his son Ishmael, he agreed to follow God's command and perform the sacrifice, however, God intervened and informed him that his sacrifice had been accepted. Unlike the Bible, there is no mention in the Qur'an of an animal (ram) replacing the boy, rather he is replaced with a 'great sacrifice' (Zibhin azeem).[31] Since the sacrifice of a ram cannot be greater than that of Abraham's son (and a prophet in Islam at that), this replacement seems to point to either the religious institutionalization of sacrifice itself, or to the future self-sacrifices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his companions (who were destined to emerge from the progeny of Ishmael) in the cause of their faith. From that day onwards, every Eid al-Adha once a year Muslims around the world slaughter an animal to commemorate Abraham's sacrifice and to remind themselves of self-abnegation in the way of Allah. This is called Qurbani ("sacrifice").[32]
Tabari's account[edit
The classical Quranic exegete and historian Tabari offered two versions, whom Abraham was ordered to sacrifice. According to the first strand, Abraham wished for a righteous son, whereupon an angel appeared to him informing him, that he will get a righteous son, but when he was born and reached puberty, he must be sacrificed for God. Later, the angel appeared to Sarah to inform her about the upcoming child. When Isaac was grown, someone appeared to Abraham, invites him to keep his vow.[33]
When Isaac was grown, someone appeared to Abraham in a dream and said to him: "Keep your vow which you made! God bestowed upon you a boy by Sarah so that you may sacrifice him" So he said to Isaac: "Let us go offer a sacrifice to God!" So he tool a knife and some rope and went with him until they reached a place in the mountains. The boy said to him: "Oh father! Where is your sacrifice?" He replied: "Oh my son, I saw in a dream, that I will slaughter you. So pay attention to what you see". He said "Oh my father, do what you have been commanded; you will find me, if God wills, one of the patient". Isaac then said to him: "Make tight my bonds, so that I will not struggle to pull back your clothes so that none of my blood will be shed on them for Sarah will see it and be grieved. Hurry! Pass the knife over my throat so that death will be easy for me. When you come to Sarah, greet her'. Abraham began to approach him and, while crying, tied him up. Isaac too was crying such that the tears gathered by cheek of Isaac. He then drew the knife along his throat but the knife did not cut, for God had placed a sheet of copper on the throat of Isaac. When he saw that, he turned him on his forehead and nicked him on the back of the head just as God has said in Quran 37:103: When they had both submitted and he flung on his forehead, that is they had submitted the affair to God. A voice called out: 'Abraham, you have fulfilled the vision!" He turned around and behold, there was a ram. He took it and released his son and he bent over his son saying: "Oh my son, today you have been given to me". That comes in God's saying in Quran 37:107: We ransomed him with a great sacrifice.
The second strand, provided by Tabari, states that Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Ishmael and Iblis appeared in form of a man to prevent the sacrifice.
Iblis, who had taken on the form of a man, said: "Where are you going, O Shaikh?" He replied: " I am going to these mountains because I must do something there'. Iblis said: "By God, I have seen that Shaytan has come to you in a dream and ordered you to slaughter this little son of yours. And you intend to do that slaughtering!" Thereupon Abraham recognised him and said: "Get away from me, enemy of God! By God, I will most certainly continue to do what my Lord has commanded". Iblis, the enemy of God, gave up on Abraham but then he encountered Ishmael, who was behind Abraham carrying the wood and the large knife. He said to him: "O young man, do you realise where your father is taking you?" He said: "To gather wood for our family from the mountains". He relied: "By God, his actual intention is to sacrifice you!" He said: "Why?!" Iblis replied: "He claims that his Lord has ordered him to do so!" Ishmael replied: "He must do what his Lord commands, absolutely!" When the young man had rebuffed him, Iblis went to Hagar, the mother of Ishmael who was still at home. Iblis said to her: "Oh mother of Ishmael! Do you realise where Abraham is going with Ishmael?" She replied: "They have gone to gather wood for us in the mountains". He said: "He has actually gone in order to sacrifice him!" She replied: "It cannot be! He is too kind and too loving towards him to do that!" Iblis said: "He claims that God has ordered him to do that!" Hagar said: "If his Lord has ordered him to do that then he must submit to the command of God!" So the enemy of God returned exasperated at not being able to influence the family of Abraham as he wished.
Modern interpretation[edit]
However, the words of the Quran never explicitly state that Abraham's dream was a Divine command. The Quran only states that Abraham had a dream, which he interpreted as a command from God, and Abraham was eventually stopped by God Himself from "sacrificing" his son. This is in stark contrast to the Jewish/Christian narratives, and also some non-mainstream Sunni/Shia narratives which assume the biblical narrative is true. According to these views, the problem with this interpretation is that it yields a logical contradiction, as it is clearly stated that no life can be taken without a just cause, and there was no just cause for Abraham to take the life of his son.
There are non-mainstream expositions of the Quran which harmonize the incident of Abraham's sacrifice and make the narrative of these verses consistent with the Quran's own laws, such as the one by Ghulam Ahmed Pervez, who translates the key verses as follows:
'We immediately removed this thought from Abraham’s mind and called out to him, O Abraham. You considered your dream as Allah's command and laid your son for the purpose of slaughtering him! This was not Our command, but merely a dream of yours. Therefore, We have saved you and your son from this. We have done so because We keep those who lead their lives according to Divine guidance safe from such mishaps.' (37: 104-105).[34] As for the term "sacrifice", the meaning of this term as it relates to Ishmael in the following verses is explained as: "As far as the son is concerned, We saved him for a far greater and tremendous sacrifice. (This great sacrifice refers to the fact that instead of keeping his leadership confined to Syria, We wanted him to become the custodian of Our House the Ka'bah, which was located in the far off barren land of Arabia and which had to become the center and gathering place of all those the world over, who believed in the unity of God (internal reference 14:37))."FASTITLINKS.COM