There have been many figures in Islam who have shaped the religion’s history through their sacrifice and hard work. An example of this is Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) A.S., one of the most influential people in the history of Islam, who is widely known as the father of prophets. Allah SWT says in the Quran:
“Lo! Abraham was a people obedient to Allah, by nature upright, and he was not of the idolaters.”
Known as Ibrahim AS in Islam and Abraham in Judaism and Christianity, he is a prophet whose story has carried over millennia. From standing against his father and neighborhood to being tossed into a fire by the people, Prophet Ibrahim AS is one of the greatest men in history. His story of unwavering commitment emphasizes the complete submission to Allah SWT. This blog will explore the life of Ibrahim AS, the trials he faced, and how his complete trust in Allah became his victory every time.
Childhood & Spiritual Awareness
Ibrahim AS was born in the city of Ur of the Chaldea, also known as Babylon, and currently located in Iraq. The people of his house were idol worshippers, with his father being a well-known idol sculptor. As a young child, Ibrahim AS often saw his father creating idols out of stone and wood. One day, he was playing with the statues and sitting on their backs when his father saw him. He got angry and forbade him from playing with the statue.
As time went on, Prophet Ibrahim AS began to notice the statues’ stillness and how they neither spoke nor did anything else, except remain in the place a human had placed them. He saw his people worshipping them, crying and begging to them, but because Allah SWT had given him guidance from a young age, he denounced the worship of idols. Allah states in the Quran:
“And We verily gave Abraham of old his proper course, and We were Aware of him.”
Calling To Islam
One day, Ibrahim AS and his father came to the temple. There was a feast in front of the statues, and a priest was talking about the greatness of the idols. Everyone was listening. Up until Ibrahim AS questioned, “O priest, he (the idol) will never hear you. Do you believe that it heard you?” Hearing this, the priest started to show his anger and anxiety while his father tried to calm things down by saying Ibrahim AS was sick and didn’t know what he was talking about.
Later that day, Ibrahim AS went out of his house and made his way to a cave. He looked at the clear sky, his heart filled with pain, and gazed at the celestial bodies the people worshipped. He returned and tried to reason with his father and the people. He tried to bring them the truth, but they wouldn’t listen. The ones who opposed him the most were his father and uncle. He tried to call his father towards the right path, but his father replied:
“He said, ‘Rejectest thou my gods, O Abraham? If thou ceasest not, I shall surely stone thee. Depart from me a long while!”
Even after hearing this, Prophet Ibrahim AS adopted a tone of respect with his father and simply replied:
“He said, ‘Peace be unto thee! I shall ask forgiveness of my Lord for thee. Lo! He was ever gracious unto me.”
Ibrahim AS Breaks The Idols
When the people didn’t listen to him, he decided to take a different approach. One day, when there was a great celebration on the other bank of the river, Ibrahim AS picked up a sharp axe and walked towards the temple. He looked at the statues and the food that was laid out in front of them and asked:
“Then he turned to their gods and said, ‘Will ye not eat?’ “What aileth you that ye speak not?”
[Surah As-Saaffat, Verse 91-92]
Then he raised his hand and struck all the idols, smashing them to pieces, except the biggest one. He hung the axe on the biggest idol’s shoulder and left the temple.
The Idolaters & The Fire
When the people returned from the celebration, they were shocked to see their gods lying scattered on the ground. After some thinking, they realized that the one behind all of this was Ibrahim AS. After the people realized this, they questioned Ibrahim AS:
They said, “Is it thou who hast done this to our gods, O Abraham?” He said, “But this, their chief, has done it.” So question them if they can speak. Then they gathered apart and said, “Lo! Ye yourselves are the wrongdoers.” And they were utterly confounded, and they said, “Well, thou knowest that these speak not.” He said, “Worship ye then instead of Allah that which cannot profit you at all, nor harm you?” Fie on you and all that you worship instead of Allah! Have ye then no sense?
[Surah Al-Anbiya, Verse 62-67]
Ibrahim AS managed to bring the logic to the people. But their arrogance wouldn’t allow them to admit their mistakes. They used their authority to punish Ibrahim AS. They planned to throw Ibrahim AS into the biggest fire they could build so that he would burn alive. They dug a deep pit, filled it with firewood, and lit it up.
The fire was so intense that the people stood back because of the heat. Ibrahim AS was bound by ropes and catapulted into the fire. But as he touched the fire, a miracle happened. It was like he was in a cool garden. The flames touched his skin, but they didn’t harm him. Allah SWT states in the Quran:
“We said, ‘O fire, be coolness and peace for Abraham.'”
The fire only burned the ropes that bound him. He remained calm while the flames burned with such intensity that the people thought they would never be extinguished. When it did burn out, they were shocked to find Ibrahim AS coming out of it, completely healthy and alive. This miracle shamed the evildoers, and after this event, many people believed in Ibrahim AS about the message of worshipping Allah. However, they kept it secret out of fear of harm at the hands of others.
Ibrahim AS Confronts Namrud
Namrud was an unrighteous ruler who claimed to be God. He became extremely arrogant because of the wealth and power Allah SWT had blessed him with. After seeing Ibrahim AS emerge from the fire unharmed, he feared that his status and throne were in danger. Therefore, to prove to his people that he was what he claimed to be, he summoned Prophet Ibrahim AS to his palace. A conversation happened between both of them, at the end of which Namrud said that he gives life and causes death, to which Ibrahim AS replied:
Abraham said, “Lo!” Allah causes the sun to rise in the East, so do thou cause it to come up from the West. Thus was the disbeliever abashed.
This made the king speechless, and the truth about Ibrahim AS spread throughout the land.
Ibrahim AS and his Migration
Ibrahim AS continued calling people to Allah and tried every means possible to guide them to the right path. However, the people didn’t listen to him except for one man and a woman. The woman’s name was Sarah, who later became his wife, and the man’s name was Lut, who later became a prophet. When Ibrahim AS realized the people wouldn’t listen to him, he decided to migrate.
He travelled with both Sarah and Lut AS to a city called Ur, then to a place called Haran, and then to Palestine. He also preached there before migrating to Egypt. Throughout his prophethood up until his death, he constantly called people to Allah, showed them the right path, and helped the poor, but he knew that his days on earth were limited.
Ibrahim AS Asks About Resurrection
One day, he asked Allah how people would be resurrected on Qiyamah. Verse 260 of Surah Baqarah talks about the conversation between them:
And when Abraham said (unto his Lord), “My Lord, show me how Thou givest life to the dead,” He said: Dost thou not believe?” Abraham said, “Yea, but (I ask) in order that my heart may be at ease. (His Lord) said, “Take four of the birds and cause them to incline unto thee, then place a part of them on each hill, then call them; they will come to thee in haste, and know that Allah is Mighty and Wise.”
The tafsir of this verse states that the word ‘incline’ means to cut them to pieces.
Resting Place Of Ibrahim AS
Several sources state that Ibrahim AS died of natural causes after living for more than 150 years. It is reported that the burial place of Ibrahim AS is in a village named Hebron, Al Khaleel, Palestine, along with his son Ishaq AS, his grandson Yaqoob AS, and Yusuf AS.