Ibrahim a.s. was a direct descendent and the 11th
generation of Prophet Nuh a.s. kufr and
Shirk were prevalent and widespread. People
worshipped idols made from stone and wood.
Others worshipped the planets, the stars, the sun and the moon. There were also those who worshipped kings
and rulers. Ibrahim a.s. was born into
that environment.
Ibrahim a.s. was gifted with an awareness of spiritual matters
from a very early age. Ibrahim’s a.s. father
was making statues of gods. Wisely he
did not insult his father. Ibrahim a.s. respectfully
asked his father why he worshipped lifeless idols. When he argued and debated with his father
and the people, they could not defend their misguided religious practices and
beliefs except to say that it was the tradition.
At the young age of 16, he decided to get rid of the origin of
evil, which were those idols. Ibrahim a.s.
had to wait for a long time when nobody was at the temple. The opportunity came on a festive day when
all the people went out of the city to rejoice.
Ibrahim a.s. stayed, not wanting to go.
He said he had looked at the stars the night before and was taken
ill. This was told by Ibrahim a.s. as an
excuse to get the chance to break the idols.
Ibrahim a.s. waited until the city was empty and stealthily went
to the temple. Ibrahim a.s. then started
smashing the idols with a qaddoom. He destroyed
all except one, on whose neck he hung the qaddoom. When the people returned, they were shocked
to see their gods smashed to pieces. Ibrahim’s
a.s. name was the first that came to mind.
Furious with him, they demanded that Ibrahim a.s. be arrested and
trialed.
At the trial, Ibrahim a.s. was asked if he was the one
responsible for breaking their idols. He
told them to ask the biggest idol which was still intact with the cutting tool
hanging around his neck. They replied
that Ibrahim a.s. know very well the big idol could not speak or move. This gave Ibrahim a.s. the chance to prove
their foolishness in worshipping these lifeless objects. They of course realized the senselessness of
their beliefs. However, their arrogance would
not allow them to admit their foolishness.
Anger was burning in their hearts. They decided to punish Ibrahim a.s. by
throwing him into the biggest fire they could build. All the citizens were ordered to gather woods. They dug a deep pit, filled it with firewood
and ignited it. They brought a catapult
to cast Ibrahim a.s. into the fire.
The catapult was shot and Ibrahim a.s. fell into the fire. Allah s.w.t. had intervened and cooled the
fire. The fire only burned the bonds
that tied his hands and legs. He sat in
the centre of the fire as if he was sitting in a garden. The people sat watching the fire from a safe
distance. The fire kept burning for a
long time. When it finally burned out,
they were amazed to find Ibrahim a.s. emerging from the pit unscathed by the
fire. Despite this miraculous event, no
one believed in Ibrahim a.s. and his message except Lut a.s.
STORIES OF THE PROPHETS IN AL-QURAN
(Lessons that we can extract, lessons that we can apply)
(Teaser extraction from the book)
To be continued…
(Enjoy and read the full version
from the book
or listen to the narrated stories
through iPhone)
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