The Tradition of Prophet Ibraheem in Islam

(Peace and Blessings be upon him)

by Abu Hamzah bin Yusuf Alamo

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Peace be unto you. All praise and gratitude is due to Allah, whom I seek help, guidance, and forgiveness from. I seek refuge in Allah from any wrongdoing my heart conceals and I seek refuge in Allah from the consequences of my misdeeds. Please understand that I believe that the best of speech is the speech of Allah, and that I also believe that the best guided amongst mankind is Prophet Muhammad the son of Abdullah (Peace and Blessings be upon him). Whomever Allah guides, none can lead astray and whomever Allah leads astray, none can guide. Please understand that I testify that there is nothing worthy of worship, and that there is no deity in reality, except for Allah who has no partners or rivals in His authority. Please understand that I also testify that Prophet Muhammad the son of Abdullah (Peace and Blessings be upon him) is Allah's chosen Messenger and the seal of the Prophets (Peace and Blessings be upon them). Praise be to Allah, it is by the Grace of Allah that I am speaking today about the Prophet Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him). Among non-Muslims throughout the world are two groups in particular that have their own distinct beliefs and traditions concerning Prophet Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him). While I have observed that neither group agrees with the other in terms of liturgy (and in some cases, textual authenticity), I believe that all Muslims respect and acknowledge that each of the two above mentioned traditions textually predate the Noble Qur'an. While I can understand why these two parties retain the opinion of having a more authentic claim (than Muslims do) in regard to the tradition of Prophet Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him), I do not believe that the Noble Qur'an extracts it's teachings from any non-Muslim source whether it be textual or otherwise. As a Muslim, I believe that the Noble Qur'an draws all of it's teachings and unique narrative directly from the Divine. Allah willing, the intention of this article is not to explicate this belief, nor is it to argue with anyone over divergent ideas about events non-Muslims believe to have occurred within the life of Prophet Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him). Praise be to Allah, the Noble Qur'an has taught me not to dispute with non-Muslims except by the means which are best utilizing wisdom, proper manners, and good speech. To achieve that end, the purpose of this humble composition is to honorably relate to non-Muslims the legacy and tradition that Prophet Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) has left humanity according to the Noble Qur’an and the Authentic Sunnah. According to the Noble Qur'an, the people of Prophet Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) were not pursuing the straight path of Monotheism. They worshiped the stars, the moon, the sun, and idols manufactured from stone or wood. Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) stood out from the rest of his people in the sight of Allah because of the intelligence and moral conduct that was preordained upon him before he was born. (*The proof of this is from the speech of Allah:

[Surah Al-Anbiya:51] -

We bestowed aforetime on Abraham his rectitude of conduct, and well were We acquainted with him.) It is for this reason (by the will of Allah) that Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) was appointed a Prophet and a Messenger. The first action taken by Allah toward guiding Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) to the enlightenment of monotheistic belief and understanding was through the revelation of His signs. Allah did this by showing Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) the dominion of the heavens and the earth. This was done in order to strengthen the faith of Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) through the conviction of his heart. Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) witnessed examples of the stars and the moon. When he saw that the stars and the moon set, he realized that they could not be his Lord. It was after seeing the stars and the moon set that Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) supplicated and asked his Lord to guide him towards the correct belief and understanding. Allah answered his supplication and showed Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) the sun because it is the greatest of those physical signs which (Allah willing) can be seen by human beings. After witnessing the sun set, Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) declared to his father and people that he would no longer associate with their beliefs. There are four important lessons to be learned from this particular event in the life of Prophet Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) that should (Allah willing) be mentioned here. The first lesson to be learned from this particular event in the life of Prophet Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) is that faith is comprised of three stages: [1] Assurance of the heart, [2] Affirmation of the tongue, and [3] Action of the limbs. This lesson is confirmed within the Noble Qur'an and the Authentic Sunnah: [Surah Al-Asr] 1 - By the Time. 2 - Verily! Man is in loss, 3 - Except those who believe, perform righteous deeds, and recommend one another to truth and patience. [Imam Muslim on the authority of Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him)] The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever amongst you sees something objectionable, let him change it with his hand, if he is not able, then with his tongue, and if he is not even able to do so, then with his heart, and the latter is the weakest form of faith." Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) acquired all three stages of faith throughout his journey in life. He acquired the initial stage of faith (Assurance of the heart) when signs revealed by Allah occurred on two occasions after a supplication and request by Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) so that his faith would increase. The next stage of faith (Affirmation of the tongue) was acquired after the signs became clear and manifest to him. It was in this stage of faith (Affirmation of the tongue) that Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) began calling others to the worship of Allah, the One Lord. The last stage of faith (Action of the limbs) was acquired after Ibraheem's father and people rejected his calling them to the worship of Allah. It was in this stage that he broke the idols (false deities) of his people. It is interesting to note that the three stages of faith acquired by Prophet Ibraheem are similar (if not parallel) to the three stages of faith acquired by Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon them). For instance: [1] Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) received his first sign from Allah in the form of Jibreel (Peace and Blessings be upon him) at the cave of Mt. Hira. He later received even greater signs (to increase his faith) when he was shown the dominion of the heavens and the earth after his night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem as well as during his ascension through the seven heavens, [2] Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) accepted the task of Prophethood and began calling his uncle, Abu Talib (his adopted father), and the rest of his people (the Arabs) to the worship of Allah, and [3] Muhammad's people did not (initially) accept his call to the worship of Allah. He (Peace and Blessings be upon him) was persecuted (though not by Abu Talib), and years later, he destroyed all the idols (false deities) of his people following the conquest of Mecca. The second lesson to be learned from this particular event in the life of Prophet Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) is that Allah reveals His signs to whomsoever He wills. These signs are of three kinds: [1] Signs that are (Allah willing) tangible or can be seen by ordinary people in such things as the night fading into the day (or vice versa), the stars, the moon, the sun, oceans, clouds, rain, mountains, trees, fire, living organisms, etc., [2] Signs that are inherent in some people such as acute intuition or cognizance. These signs can be (Allah willing) found even today in people such as child prodigies, medical doctors, famous sports athletes, search and rescue workers, law enforcement officers, or advanced military personnel, and [3] Signs that are given to Prophets and Messengers (including the unnamed Prophets and Messengers mentioned in the Noble Qur'an) such as the Suhuf of Ibraheem, the Taurat of Musa, the Zaboor of Da'wud, the Injeel of 'Isa, and the Qur'an of Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon them). These signs can (Allah willing) also include those of the unseen (such as Angels and Jinn), as well as phenomenon such as the physical resurrection of the dead, the parting of the red sea, and the splitting of the moon. The third lesson to be learned from this particular event in the life of Prophet Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) is that in this world Allah hears and answers the sincere supplication of whomsoever He wills. He grants mercy in this world to whomsoever He wills. It is also in this world that He guides whomsoever He wills, even the non-Muslim. The fourth lesson to be learned from this particular event in the life of Prophet Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) is that anything created is subject to change. For example, things like rotation, the night fading into the day (or vice versa), fatigue, sleep, hunger, sex, injury, consumption, digestion, defecation, pregnancy, giving birth, being born, bleeding, dying, death, decomposition, heat and cold, freezing and melting, even faith (as in the case of Prophet Ibraheem [Peace and Blessings be upon him]); these are all manifestations of change. Praise be to Allah, the Noble Qur'an teaches that everything that is created manifests change in one of the above mentioned ways or more. If it manifests change then it is subject to it, and anything subject to change is deficient because all of it's qualities and attributes are controlled, regulated, incomplete, and impermanent. This is why Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) could not accept the stars, the moon, the sun, or anything other than Allah as being his Lord; because it does not befit the Lord to be subject to anything nor does it befit Him to have any defiencies. Allah possesses the qualities and attributes of being the Creator, and everything else possesses the qualities and attributes of being the creation. Glory be to Allah, Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) understood this and it was for this reason that he encouraged his father and people to disbelieve in their false deities (idols) and reserve worship only for Allah. Yet, the response from his father and people was one of hate and ridicule. There was so much shock and contempt from them that his father insisted Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) discontinue from calling their people to the worship of Allah, even threatening to stone him should he refuse to do so. It got to the point that when the people found their idols vandalized, they arrested Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) and organized to have him publicly burned alive. Although Allah saved him from that awful demise, it is the commitment of Ibraheem (Peace and Blessings be upon him) to his Lord that made him the behavioral template not only for the Prophets who succeeded him (Peace and Blessings be upon them), but also for the convert Muslims who would endure trials similar (if not parallel) to his own.