In the name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent

They cried: “Burn him, and succor your gods, if you are going to do (anything at all)!”

But We said: “Fire, be cool to Abraham, and a source of inner peace (for him).” They sought to lay a snare for him, but We caused them to be the absolute losers. We delivered him and Lot, (bringing them) to the land which We have blessed for all mankind.

And We gave him Isaac and, as an additional gift, Jacob, and caused all of them to be righteous men, and We made them leaders to give guidance at Our behest. We inspired them to do good works, and to be constant in prayer, and to give regular charity. It is Us alone that they worshiped.

(The Prophets: 21: 68-73)

We discussed last week the encounter between Abraham and his people when they returned home to find that their idols were left like a heap of wood and rubble, except for the biggest one, which he left intact so that they could turn back to him for information. But when they realized that it was Abraham who destroyed their idols, their anger overshadowed the momentary flash of logic in their minds and they were intent on punishing him most severely. Hence, “they cried: Burn him, and succor your gods, if you are going to do (anything at all)!” They were totally oblivious to the absurdity of their situation, as they raised the cry to rally to the support of their gods. What type of gods are these that need to be supported by their servants because they cannot defend themselves!

But as they said, “Burn him”, another word was said to render everything they said meaningless, and to reduce all their schemes to nothing. It was the supreme word that can never be countered: “But We said: Fire, be cool to Abraham, and a source of inner peace (for him).” And thus the fire was cool and a source of inner peace for Abraham to enjoy and relax.

How is that possible?

But why do we ask only about this when it is only the word, “be”, that needs to be said for worlds and universes to come into existence and for universal rules to come into operation: “When He wills a thing to be, He only says to it, ‘Be’ — and it is.” (36: 82) We need not ask how the fire did not burn Abraham when it is a well known phenomenon that fire burns living tissues and living beings. The one who said to the fire in the first place, “burn things”, is the one who said to it in this instance, “be cool and a source of inner peace.” It is the same word that initiates its object at the moment it is said, whatever this object may be, whether familiar to us or not.

Those who compare God’s actions to those of human beings are the ones who ask how could this happen. On the other hand, those of us who understand that the two are widely different in their nature and their means neither ask such questions, nor do they try to find an explanation, whether scientific or not. The question is not one for analyses and explanation by human standards. Any method that tries to give such miracles an explanation other than referring them to God’s absolute power suffers a basic defect. God’s actions cannot be subjected to human standard or explained within the confines of man’s limited knowledge.

All we need to do is to believe that this actually took place, because the One who did it is able to make it happen. What He did to the fire to make it cool so that it could give Abraham inner peace, and what He did to Abraham so that the fire would not burn him are points the Qur’an does not explain because our minds, with their limited scope, fall short of understanding them. On the other hand, we have no source of evidence other than the Qur’anic text.

Transforming the fire so as it would give Abraham coolness and inner peace is only one example that is echoed in a wide variety of ways and instances. However, they may not shake our hearts like this stark example. Numerous are the difficulties and hard circumstances that beset individuals and communities which, if allowed to run their courses, would cause their total ruin. But then it is only a small touch and they bring life instead of death, happiness instead of misery, and endless goodness instead of unmitigated evil.

The command that made the fire cool, bringing peace to Abraham is frequently repeated in the life of individuals, groups and communities, as well as in the life of ideas and beliefs. This command is only a manifestation of the word which renders any scheme, effort or design futile, because it is the final say by the highest power.

“They sought to lay a snare for him, but We caused them to be the absolute losers.” It is reported that the king who was Abraham’s contemporary was the Nimrod, the Aramaic king of Iraq. He and his supporters were destroyed by some punishment inflicted by God. The reports we have differ as to the details of this punishment. We have no way of verifying these reports. However, all that we need to know is that God saved Abraham from the torture prepared for him while his opponents who schemed against him were the ones to suffer utter loss. They are described in the Qur’an as the “absolute losers”.

“We delivered him and Lot, (bringing them) to the land which We have blessed for all mankind.” That is the land of Palestine to which he and his nephew, Lot, emigrated. It was the land to receive revelations from on high for a very long time and the area where prophets and messengers of Abraham’s descent were given their messages.

It incorporates the holy land where the second house of worship was built. It is a fertile land with rich crops. All these blessings are added to that of generations of prophets living there.

“And We gave him Isaac and, as an additional gift, Jacob, and caused all of them to be righteous men, and We made them leaders to give guidance at Our behest. We inspired them to do good works, and to be constant in prayer, and to give regular charity. It is Us alone that they worshiped.”

Abraham left his home country where he had family and people. So God compensated him with the blessed land as a better country to live in. He also gave him his son Isaac and grandson Jacob to be a better family than the one he had earlier. He gave him also a community better than his old one and raised from his offspring leaders to give guidance to mankind. He inspired them to do all sorts of good works, to attend to their prayers and to give regular charity, or zakah.

They were obedient worshipers of God. All this was his blessed compensation that God gave him for his perseverance when he was tested. It was a goodly compensation to fit his patient endurance of adversity.

We will look next week at the accounts given in the Surah of other prophets, God willing.