In the name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent
So he broke the idols to pieces, (all) except for the biggest of them, so that they might turn back to him. They said: “Who has done this to our gods? He is definitely one of the wrongdoers.”
They said: “We heard a youth speak of them; he is called Abraham.” They said: “Then bring him here in sight of all people, so that they may bear witness.”
They said: “Abraham, was it you who did this to our gods?” He answered: “Nay, it was this one, the biggest of them, who did it. But ask them, if they can speak!”
So they turned to themselves, saying, “Surely, it is you who are doing wrong.”
But then they relapsed into their old position and said, “You know very well that these (idols) cannot speak!”
Said (Abraham): “Do you then worship, instead of God, something that cannot benefit or harm you in any way? Fie upon you and upon all that you worship instead of God! Will you not, then, use your reason?”
They cried: “Burn him, and succor your gods, if you are going to do (anything at all)!” (The Prophets: 21: 58-68)
We mentioned earlier how Abraham questioned his people about the idols they worshipped, pointing out to them that they were in manifest error. They suspected his motives, suggesting that he might be speaking in jest. He emphatically told them that their only Lord was the Lord of the heavens and the earth who created them and all that they contain. He also stated to them that he has a design against their idols which he would carry out when they went away. He did not specify what he would do to them.
True to his word, Abraham broke all the idols and in no time they were a heap of wood and rubble. However, he left the biggest idol “so that they might turn back to him!” They might want to ask that idol how it all happened in his presence and why he did not rise to their defense. They might even reconsider the whole issue and realize the absurdity of their beliefs and begin to think properly.
Abraham’s people came back and saw the utter destruction that happened to their idols except the big one. But they did not question that idol or even ask themselves how could their deities suffer such a fate without defending themselves. Nor did they ask why the big idol did not take it upon himself to defend them. They could not ask such a question, because the myths in which they believed rendered their minds useless and chained their power of thinking. They could not consider the matter objectively. Hence, they did not ask the logical question. They only were furious with the one who brought all this over the heads of their idols. “They said: ‘Who has done this to our gods? He is definitely one of the wrongdoers’.”
At this moment, those of them who had heard Abraham making clear to his father and those with him his objection to idol worship and threatening to carry out his design against them when they had gone away came up with the answer: “We heard a youth speak of them; he is called Abraham.”
It appears that Abraham (peace be upon him) was still a young man when God bestowed on him the gift of knowing what is right. Hence, he objected to the worship of idols and destroyed the idols when the chance presented itself. The question arises, however, whether he had been given his message yet at the time, or was this an inspiration that led him to the truth before receiving his message. This means that his denunciation of idol worship and his call upon his father to follow his path were the result of that inspiration. This was most probably the case.
On the other hand, it is possible that their reference to Abraham as “a youth” was merely meant as a slight. This is supported by their words referring to him in the passive voice, “he is called Abraham.” They implied that he was unknown, and represented no threat. This is another possibility, but we think the first explanation to be more probable. He was only a young man at the time.
“They said: Then bring him here in sight of all people, so that they may bear witness.” They wanted to denounce him in public so that people would know of his deed and its consequences. And when he was brought before them, they said: “Abraham, was it you who did this to our gods?” They continued to describe their idols as gods even when they were broken into pieces and made a heap of rubble.
Abraham derided their thinking, making them subject to his mockery, even though he was facing them on his own. He was looking at the whole thing with an open mind and a clear heart. Hence, he gave them this mocking answer that fits their lowly level of thinking: “He answered: Nay, it was this one, the biggest of them, who did it. But ask them, if they can speak!”
Derision is very clear in this answer. Hence there is no need to describe it as a lie and to try to find some justification for it, as commentators on the Qur’an have done.
The whole thing is much simpler than that. Abraham simply wanted to say to his people, “these figures do not know who broke them into pieces, and whether it was me or this big idol which is as motionless as they were. All of them are inanimate and have no faculty of recognition. You also are deprived of your faculties, which accounts for your inability to distinguish between what is possible and what is impossible. You cannot tell whether it was me who broke the idols or it was this big idol. Hence, “ask them, if they can speak!”
It seems that this sarcastic answer had shaken them and forced them into some thinking and reflection. “So they turned to themselves, saying, Surely, it is you who are doing wrong.” It was a good sign that they should feel the absurdity of their stance and how wrong was their worship of such idols and statues. For once it seemed possible that they would open their eyes and see their untenable position.
But it was all a bright flash followed by utter darkness. Their minds seemed to see the light, but they soon sank back into their lifelessness: “But then they relapsed into their old position and said, ‘You know very well that these (idols) cannot speak’!”
The first reaction was one of coming back to their senses, but the second was a relapse, tumbling over their heads, as the Qur’an describes. Firstly, something stirred within them to call them to think and reflect, but soon after that they were again out of their senses: no clear thought, no logical argument. Had there been any logic, their last statement gives Abraham a forceful argument against them. What more could he argue than the fact that those statues and deities were dumb, unable to speak?
Hence, he confronts them with impatience, which was very uncharacteristic of him. Their absurdity was intolerable even by the most forbearing person: “Said (Abraham): Do you then worship, instead of God, something that cannot benefit or harm you in any way? Fie upon you and upon all that you worship instead of God! Will you not, then, use your reason?” Here we see how his patience was exhausted, as he expresses his amazement at their infinite absurdity.
At this point, they resorted to the tactics of tyranny which always prevail when the tyrants are left speechless, unable to produce any semblance of a coherent argument. They resorted to brute force, rushing to inflict on him painful suffering: “They cried: Burn him, and succor your gods, if you are going to do (anything at all)!”
What deities are these which need the support of their servants, while they can avail themselves nothing? They are powerless, helpless.
So, the unbelievers cried, “burn him!” but a different word was also said at this point to render all their power useless. We will look at this dramatic development next week, God willing.
