Relate to them the story of Abraham, when he said to his father and his people: “What is that you worship?”
They answered: “We worship idols, and we remain devoted to them.”
Said he: “Do they hear you when you call on them, or benefit you or do you harm?” They said: “But we found our forefathers doing the same.” (The Poets: Al-Shu’ara: 26: 69-74)
The surah has given us an account of Moses and his encounter with Pharaoh and his chiefs and advisors, culminating in their well-known end. It gives hope to the believers suffering persecution in the world, as were the small group of Muslims in Makkah at the time. The story also portrays the destruction of the arrogant tyrants whose attitude was basically similar to that of the idolaters in Makkah.
The surah moves on to give us an account of Abraham and his people. The Prophet (peace be upon him) is ordered to relate this story to the unbelievers. For they claimed to be the custodians of Abraham’s heritage and that they followed his old faith, even though they addressed their worship to multiple deities. They went further and placed idols in the Sacred Mosque built by Abraham as a focus for the followers of the pure faith based on God’s oneness. The Prophet is required to tell them this story of Abraham so that they would know whether their claims are right.
In this surah, historical accounts are not given in their chronological order, because the surah is only concerned with the lessons to be derived from these accounts. In Surah 7, The Heights, the historical line of how power was assumed by different peoples and the succession of God’s messengers since Adam were important points to stress. Hence, the accounts of earlier prophets there followed a strict chronological order, starting with man’s fall from heaven to begin human life on earth.
The episode of Abraham’s story given in this surah concentrates on the message he delivered to his people, the debate he had with them, his denunciation of their alleged deities, addressing all worship to God alone and his reminder of the Day of Judgment. This is followed by a complete scene of the Day of Judgment when idolaters will deny those deities they used to worship, regret their past actions that are certain to land them in a terrible end. It is all shown as if already happening now. The lesson the story gives here is aimed primarily at the idolaters. Hence, the surah speaks at length on the basics of the monotheistic faith, the fallacy of polytheism, and the destiny of the idolaters. All other aspects are only briefly hinted at, while they are detailed in other surahs.
Other episodes of Abraham’s story were given in Surahs 2, 6, 11, 14, 15, 19, 21 and 22. In each, the episode chosen is the one most suitable to the main theme of the surah. In Surah 2, The Cow, we read the episode of his building of the Kaabah, together with his son, Ishmael. He is shown praying to God to make Makkah, the Sacred City, secure, and declaring that Muslims will be the true heirs of the Kaabah and its builder, as they will be the ones who will follow his faith based on God’s oneness. It is not an inheritance based on blood and ancestry. This is given within the context of the Israelites’ disobedience and denials and their expulsion by God who has given Abraham’s heritage and the House he built to Muslims.
In the same surah we have Abraham’s debate with the unbeliever king when Abraham stressed God’s power telling the king that God alone causes life and deals death, and causes the sun to rise in the East. He challenged him to make it rise in the West, thus ending all argument. Abraham is also shown in this surah praying to God to let him see how He brings the dead back to life. God ordered him to slay four birds and to place parts of each on different mountains. God then brought them back to life and they came back to Abraham. All this is given in a context that concentrates on God’s power, the signs He has placed in the universe and His ability to bring the dead back to life.
Surah 6, Cattle, gives us the episode of Abraham searching for his Lord and how he recognized Him and His power after looking carefully at stars, the moon and the sun, and reflecting on other universal scenes. The entire surah concentrates on faith and universal signs pointing to God, the Creator, who has no partner whatsoever.
In Surah 11, Houd, Abraham is given the happy news of the birth of his son, Isaac, but this is given as the surah relates Lot’s story and how the angels sent to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah visited Abraham on their way. The episode shows the care God takes of His chosen servants and how He deals with arrogant transgressors.
Surah 14, named Abraham, shows him praying by the Sacred Mosque, the Kaabah, for his offspring whom he placed in that barren valley. He praises and thanks God for giving him his sons, Ishamael and Isaac, in his old age, and prays to Him to make him and his descendants people who attend regularly to prayers, answer His supplication, forgive him, his parents and the believers on the Day of Reckoning. The whole context of the surah in which this episode occurs is to show all followers of God’s messengers as one community, believing in one message of God’s oneness. Those who deny God’s messengers are also shown to belong to one camp. The divine message is portrayed as a big tree providing shade in an arid climate of disbelief.
Surah 15, Al-Hijr, relates the same episode given in Surah 11, with more details, within the context of bestowing mercy on believers and inflicting punishment on unbelievers. The episode given in Surah 19, named Mary, concentrates on his gentle approach to his father, the latter’s stiff reply, Abraham’s moving away from his people, and how he was blessed with Ishmael and Isaac. All this comes in a surah that portrays God’s care for His chosen servants, generating a clearly felt ambience of love and compassion.
In Surah 21, The Prophets, we are shown how Abraham called on his father and his people to believe in God, and how he denounced their idols and physically destroyed them. We are shown how he was thrown in the fire and how, by God’s command, it turned cool and comforting for him, and then how he and his nephew, Prophet Lot, were saved and taken to the land God has blessed for mankind. Again this comes within the context of showing the unity of the nation that followed God’s messengers and how God takes care of this community as it addresses all its worship to God alone.
Surah 22, The Pilgrimage, contains a reference to God’s order that Abraham should cleanse and purify the Kaabah for those who worship there.
We will look at the account given in this surah next week, God willing.