Life-Story of Hazrat Ibrahim
as Related in the Quran
Hazrat Ibrahim was born in a leading family of priests at
Urwa (now included in Iraq). Image-carving was the occupation
of his ancestors who were also the keepers of the biggest
temple in the town. His family was attached to that place of
worship both spiritually and professionally and when faith
gets mixed up with occupation and religious sentiment with
economic self-interest the situation invariably becomes very
complex and delicate. In this atmosphere of gloom and rigidity
there was little to encourage the growth of true love and
devotion to God or move the people to rebel against the
absurdity of polytheistic tenets and idolatrous practices. But
with Hazrat Ibrahim whom God had chosen for Apostleship and
the resuscitation of humanity it was different.
"And We, verily, gave Ibrahim of old his proper course, and
We were Aware of him." (-xxi: 51)
Hazrat Ibrahim launches his crusade against ignorance from
a stage where even most powerful revolutionary movements,
generally, fail to make a headway. It was the stage of family,
of the home in which a man is born and brought up and to which
he is bound in loyalty and affection by innumerable ties. Now,
all those things happen that have bean related so eloquently
in the Qur’aan. These include the breaking of the idols by
him, the consternation of the priests of the temple and their
unbounded anger and revengefulness, the lighting up of a huge
fire for this young and deep-hearted rebel, the cooling down
of the fire and its turning into a source of peace and safety
for him, and, finally, his forceful forceful speech before the
tyrant and straightforward replies to questions put to him in
his Court.
Hazrat Ibrahim's refusal to submit to the moral and
spiritual perversion and depravity of his age evokes such a
fearful response in the people of his town that they all turn
against him. He is excluded from social fellowship and
persecuted by the rulers. But this oppressive and spiteful
treatment makes no impression upon him. He remains supremely
unmoved as if it was just what he was looking forward to.
Cheerfully and without rancour, he migrates from his
birth-place because is not the real wealth, the wealth of
faith, still in his possession, intact and undivided? He
travels alone, without a friend or helper. Everywhere, on the
way he meets the same type of people, the same prevalence of
ignorance, idolatry, corruption and sensuality upon which he
had turned his back. On arrival in Egypt, he is confronted
with a grave situation but succeeds in leaving that country
safely with his wife on whom its ruler had an evil eye.
Ultimately, he reaches Syria where he decides to stay for its
climate is agreeable, Here, again, he takes up the mission of
preaching the Oneness of God and denouncing idolatry with the
same singleness of purpose.
Hazrat Ibrahim takes a liking for Syria. It abounds in
natural scenery, its soil is fertile and its peonle are
prosperous. But, soon, he is bidden to go to another land
which is just the opposite of it in richness and fertility.
But he has no choice in the matter. He has no rights, only
duties. He is but to obey, not to reason why. He has no
preference for any country. The whole world is his home-land
and the entire mankind his family. He is commanded to migrate
from Syria with his wife, Hajir, and infant son.
Hazrat Ibrahim comes to a valley which is devoid of
vegetation and surrounded on all sides by rugged mountains.
Its climate is severe and it is also entirely uninhabited.
There is no one in it who can be a source of solace or
comfort. He is told to leave his helpless wife and child there
and move away solely on the strength of faith in God and in
compliance with his Commend. He is required to do so in such a
state that he is totally resigned to the Divine Will and there
is not a trace of fear or hesitation in his heart, nor a
shadow of doubt regarding the promise of his Lord. On the
contrary, he is to act in defiance of all the dictates of
reason and experience, and yet to remain steadfast, firm and
unflinching, giving the fullest proof of reliance upon God and
disregard of material means and resources when he is assailed
with doubt or fear grips his heart.
After Hazrat Ibrahim has departed all those things happen,
in the natural course, that were dreaded. The child becomes
restless with thirst, and so does the mother. But where was
water to be found in that dry, unoccupied land? There was not
a drop of it in the whole valley. Overcome with anxiety and
with the intensity of mother's love, Hazrat Hajir begins to
run frantically between the two hills (of Safa and Marwa) in
search of water and in the hope of meeting a caravan that may
be passing that way. When she approaches the other hill she is
suddenly seized with fear about the safety of her child? Is it
alive or has something happened to it? She hurries back to the
child and assures herself that it was well. Then she again
runs towards that hill, hoping against hope that she will come
upon a traveller or find a source of water up there. She is
worried and apprehensive. At the same time, she is calm and
serene. She is a Prophet’s wife and a Prophet’s mother but she
does not believe in the futility of effort. She does not
regard anything and the seeking of material means to be
contrary to the spirit of faith and reliance on God. She is
disturbed but not dejected. She has the utmost trust in God
but there is no room in it for inaction. The world has never
seen such a spectacle before. The Providence, at last, is
stirred and a spring bursts forth as if from nowhere. This is
the blessed, overflowing fountain of Zam Zam which neither
dries up nor dwindles. It is sufficient for the whole of
mankind and for all generations to come. The world has been
drinking at it and will continue to do so till the end of
time. There is propitiousness in it as well as health and a
reward.
The Almighty has made the spontaneous act of a pious,
believing lady a deliberate observance and prescribed it as a
religious duty for everyone including kings and potentates,
thinkers and scholars. Unless they perform the Sa’ee between
the hills of Safa and Marwa their Hajj will remain
incomplete. The two points are, in fact, the destination of
all devout souls and Sa’ee offers the aptest illustration of
the viewpoint of a believer which combines both reason and
emotion and faith and feeling. A believer makes a full use of
his intellectual powers in his worldly needs but, sometimes,
also gives a free rein to the emotional urges whose roots are
deeper and stronger than those of thought. He lives in a world
which is full of temptations. But like the pilgrim doing the
Sa'ee between Safa and Marwa he passes quickly through it
without being distracted. His heart is set on his destination.
To him life is like the few turns he takes between the two
hills in obedience to the Command of his Lord and in emulation
of the example set by the pious precursors. His faith does not
come in the way of critical study and investigation and his
Sa’ee (exertion) offers no hindrance to trustfulness and
reliance on God. It is an event whose worth and significance
can be summed up in just two words: love and obedience.
The child (Ismail) grows up and attains the age when a
father is drawn most lovingly to his offspring. He goes out
with his father, runs with him and keeps him company in many
ways. The loving and affectionate father is very fond of his
son. And, herein lie the seeds of crisis for his heart is a
pure and noble heart which is reserved exclusively for the
love of the Divine One. It is not anybody's heart but of the
Friend of Allah. Love can put up with anything but a
co-sharer. It cannot suffer a rival. When such is the case
with human love what would Divine love be like? This is the
position when inspiration comes to Hazrat Ibrahim that he
should offer the sacrifice of his son. The dreams of the
Prophets are in the nature of Divine revelations. Hence, when
the suggestion is conveyed to him again and again, he knows in
his heart that it is the Will of God which shall be done. He
asks his son for without his consent the deed cannot be
performed. The son remains steadfast. He gives a glittering
proof of self-surrender. It could, of course, not be otherwise
for was he himself not a Prophet, and the son and grandson of
a Prophet?
"(Ibrahim) said: O my dear son, I have seen in a dream that
I must sacrifice thee. So look, what thinkest thou ? He said:
O my father! Do that which thou art commanded. Allah willing,
thou shalt find me of the steadfast." (-xxxvii: 102)
There, now, takes place a miraculous event that cannot be
explained by any known natural law. Hazrat Ibrahim comes out
with his beloved son. He is going to sacrifice the son at the
Command of God, and the son, too, is accompanying him
willingly. The goal before them is the same. It is compliance
with the Command of Allah and total resignation to His Will.
In the way they are met by the Devil who is always eager to
deceive man and to deprive him of goodness and rectitude. He
tries to dissuade them from carrying out their intention by
presenting before them the alternative of the defiance of God
in a most alluring manner and by playing upon their natural
weakness for life. But they do not listen to him and get ready
for the supreme act of submission. The moment, finally, comes
which is enough to afflict with agony not only men but even
the Jinns and angels.
Hazrat Ibrahim lays his son on the ground, places the knife
on his throat and proceeds to cut it. But the Will of God
intervenes because what was intended was not the slaying of
Hazrat Ismail but of the love that had come in the way of the
love of Allah and begun to compete with it. That love had been
killed with the placing of the knife on Hazrat Ismail's
throat. Hazrat Ismail was born to live and to prosper and to
raise up a lineage which was also to include the Last of the
Prophets. How could he be put to death before the fulfillment
of his mission? God, therefore, sent down a ram, as a ransom
for him, from the Heaven so that it may be slaughtered in his
place and made it a religious ceremony to be observed by all
the followers of Hazrat Ibrahim and their descendants. During
the 'sacrificial days' of the Hajj they revive the memory of
the 'sublime sacrifice' and make an offering of their wealth
to God bv spending it in His way.
“Then, when they both had surrendered to Allah, and he (Hazrat
Ibrahim) had flung him (Hazrat Ismail) down on his face, We
called unto him; O Ibrahim! Thou hast already fulfilled the
vision. Lo! Thus do We reward the good. Lo! That verily was a
clear test. Then We ransomed him with a tremendous victim. And
We left for him among the later folk (The Salutation): Peace
be unto Ibrahim. (-xxxvii : 103-109)
The incident which took place between Hazrat Ibrahim and
the Satan has also been immortalised by God and it has been
decreed by Him that pebbles should be thrown where the Satan
stood in Hazrat Ibrahim's way and tried to dissuade him from
carrying out the Divine Command. He has raised it to a ritual
which has to be performed during the most auspicious days of
the Hajj pilgrimage. The object is to produce a feeling of
revulsion against the Satan and to make it serve as an
expression of defiance and resistance against him. The pilgrim
draws a good deal of joy and inspiration from it provided that
he is sound of faith and his understanding is correct and
there is present in him a genuine desire to submit to the
Divine Will. In re-enacting this part of the episode he feels
that he is engaged in a solemn struggle against the forces of
evil in which the defeat of the Satan is certain.
Years roll by on this event, the child has grown into a
young man and the mantle of Apostleship has fallen upon him.
The call of Hazrat Ibrahim has, also, borne fruit and spread
widely. It was now in need of a strong base which could lend
support to the Divine faith and sustain it. There were
innumerable temples and plates in the world where the Devil
and the sensual appetites were freely worshipped. But, on
God's good earth there was, till then, not a place dedicated
solely to His worship. Thus, now that the faith had taken root
and the foundations of were Ummat-i-Muslima were securely laid
Hazrat Ibrahim was commanded to build the House of God which
was to be the refuge of all mankind. Father and son together
construct the sacred edifice which, though very simple and
ordinary to lack at, is full of grandeur and solidity from the
point of view of its object. They both carry stones and raise
its walls.
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“And (the time also is worth remmbering) when Ibrahim and
Ismail were raising the foundations of the House, (Ibrahim)
prayed: Our Lord! Accept from us this Duty; Lo! Thou, only
Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower. Our Lord! And make us
submissive unto Thee, and if our seed a nation submissive unto
Thee, and show us our ways of worship, and relent toward us.
Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Relenting, the Merciful.” (-ii:
127-8)
The House was raised on the foundation of matchless faith
and single-minded devotion. The Almighty God bestowed His
choicest acceptance upon it and endued it with permanence. He
endowed it with inner as well as outward elegance, made it
Qibla-gah of the world and caused for it a unique and undying
attraction in the hearts. It draws people from all parts of
the world like a magnet. They flock to it with rare enthusiasm
and reverence and make an offering of their heart and soult to
it. It is free from external adornment and artificial
decorations and it is situated at a place which is removed
from the broad stream of life and the din and clang of
civilization. Yet there is something about it which is
overwhelming, irresistible.
When the house was ready, a voice came from the great
beyond. It spoke:
“And proclaim unto mankind the pilgrimage. They will come
unto Thee on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from
every deep ravine. That they may witness things that are of
benefit to them, and mention the name of Allah on appointed
days over the beast of cattle that He hath bestowed upon them.
Then eat thereof and feed therewith the poor and the
destitute. Then eat thereof and feed therewith the poor and
the destitute. Then let them make and end of their unkemptness
and pay their vows and go around the ancient House."
(-xxii:27-29)
At the time of Hazrat Ibrahim the world was a slave to the
operation of the law of cause and effect and people had begun
to place an excessive reliance on material aids and resources.
It was imagined that causes were absolute and independent in
themselves, and a new kind of fetishism had come up side by
side with traditional idolatry. The life of Hazrat Ibrahim was
a revolt against these very ‘image carvers’ and ‘idol
worshippers’. It was a call to pure Monotheism, to unqualified
belief in the Power of God with all its immensity and
boundlessness. It was a declaration of truth that He alone was
the Creator of all things, the Prime mover, the causer of
causes, the real Lord and Master, who, when He pleased,
separated the causes from their origins and altered the
properties of things. He took away from a thing what was
peculiar to it and brought forth from it an effect that was
supposed to be dissimilar. He made us of whatever He liked and
in whatever way He pleased.
"The people had prepared a fire for Hazrat Ibrahim and they
cried, ‘Burn him and stand by your Gods, if ye will be doing
anything." (-xxi:68)
But Hazrat Ibrahim knew that the fire was subservient to
the Will of Allah. To burn was not an absolute characteristic
of it which could not be taken away but only a relative
attribute that had been placed in it by God as a trust. Its
control and operation lay wholly in His hands who could
transform it into a flower-bed in the twinkling of an eye.
With this faith and conviction Hazrat Ibrahim jumped into the
fire and it turned out to be exactly as he had expected.
"We said: O fire, be coolness and peace for Ibrahim. And
they wished to set a snare for him, but We made them the
greater losers.” (-xxi69-79)
Life was commonly believed to be dependent upon water,
field and orchards. People used to be on the look out for
regions to make their home that were suitable for themselves
as well as for their gods, where there was an abundant supply
of water, the soil was rich and facilities for trade and
industry were easily obtainable. But Hazrat Ibrahim acted
differently. In utter disregard of the biddings of intellect
and experience, he chose for his small family of a wife and
son a dry and barren valley where not a blade of grass grew
and which was also completely cut off from the outside world
and separated from the areas of prosperity. On arriving there
he prayed to Allah to enlarge the provision of his posterity,
to incline the hearts of men towards them and to provide them
with all kinds of fruit without any apparent means.
“Our Lord! Lo! I have settled some of my posterity in an
uncultivable valley near upto Thy Holy House, Our Lord! that
they may establish proper worship; so incline some hearts of
men that they may yarn toward them, and provide Thou them with
fruits in order that they may be thankful.” (xiv : 37)
The prayer was granted by Allah, and in what a magnificent
manner! Both peace and sustenance were assured to his
succeeding generations and the valley of Mecca was made the
home of fruits and His other bounties.
“Have We not established for them a sure sanctuary,
Whereunto the produce of all kind is brought (in trade), a
provision from Our Presence? But most of them know not.”
(-xxviii: 57)
“So let them worship the Lord of this House (of Ka’bah) Who
hath fed them against hunger.” (-cvi : 34)
Hazrat Ibrahim had abandoned his family at a place where
not a drop of water was to be found but Allah caused a spring
to gush forth from the parched, stony land. Water began to
gush, from the sand, all by itself, and, even to this day, it
has been going on like that, without an interruption. People
drink it and take it home in barrels. He had left his wife and
son in a desolate and uninhabited valley but soon it began to
hum with people drawn from every nook and corner of the world.
Hazrat Ibrahim’s life was a challenge to the
exaggerated materialism
and blind submission
to the law of cause
and effect of his age, and an affirmation
of faith in the 0mnipotence
and Allpowerfulness
of God
- and it
is the unchanging
Practice of
the Lord
that He makes
means and resources
subordinate
to faith and produce
results
from them as
are
outside the range of human
understanding.