Hazrat Ibrahim

Hazrat Ibrahim

Ibrahim (Arabic: إِبْـرَاهِـيْـم‎, translit. ʾIbrāhīm, pronounced [ʔɪbraːˈhiːm]), known as Abraham in the Hebrew Bible, is recognized as a prophet and messenger in Islam  of God. Abraham plays a prominent role as an example of faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.   The Quran extols Abraham as a model, an exemplar, obedient and not an idolator. In this sense, Abraham has been described as representing "primordial man in universal surrender to the Divine Reality before its fragmentation into religions separated from each other by differences in form".  The Islamic holy day Eid al-Adha is celebrated in memory of the sacrifice of Abraham, and each able bodied Muslim is supposed to perform the pilgrimage to pay homage at the Ka‘bah (Arabic: كَـعـبَـة‎) in the Hijazicity of Mecca, which was built by Abraham and his son Ishmael as the first house of worship on earth. 

In Muslim belief, Abraham fulfilled all the commandments and trials wherein God nurtured him throughout his lifetime. As a result of his unwavering faith in God, Abraham was promised by God to be a leader to all the nations of the world.

Muslims believe that the prophet Abraham became the leader of the righteous in his time, and that it was through him that Adnanite-Arabs, Romans and Israelites came. Abraham, in the belief of Islam, was instrumental in cleansing the world of idolatry at the time. Paganism was cleared out by Abraham in both the Arabian peninsula and Canaan. He spiritually purified both places as well as physically sanctifying the houses of worship. Abraham and Ismā‘īl (Arabic: إِسـمَـاعِـيـل‎, Ishmael) further established the rites of pilgrimage, or Ḥajj (Arabic: حَـجّ‎), which are still followed by Muslims today. Muslims maintain that Abraham further asked God to bless both the lines of his progeny, of Ismail and Isḥāq(Arabic: إِسـحَـاق‎, Isaac), and to keep all of his descendants in the protection of God.

Sacrifice

In the mainstream narrative, it is assumed that Abraham's dream of sacrificing his son was a command by God. The verse in reference (i.e. 37:104-105) is in Surah As-Saffat and the quoted ayahs are translated by known Islamic scholar Abul A'la Maududi as "We cried out O' Ibraheem you have indeed fulfilled your dream. Thus do we award the good do-ers.  

One night Ibrahim had a bad dream.He dreamt Allah told him to sacrifice Ismail. Ibrahim thought it was Shaytan playing nasty tricks on him.The next night Ibrahim had the same horrid dream. Ibrahim knew that Allah would only ask him to do such a thing if he had good reason.Even though he loved his son dearly, he was prepared to do this difficult thing for Allah.Ibraim told Ismail they had to go to Mount Arafat. He took a knife and a rope with him.On the way they passed a place called Mina. The devil, Shaytan, came to Ibrahim and tried to talk him out of sacrificing his son. Ibrahim turned his back on him and would not listen.When they reached Mount Arafat, Ibrahim told Ismail what Allah wanted him to do. Ismail listened and accepted what was to happen. He was an exceptional child. He too was a great prophet.Ismail told his father to tie his hands and legs and blindfold himself so he would not struggle and make his father even more upset than he was going to be and Ibrahim was blindfolded so he would not see his son suffer. Ibrahim did as Ismail had said. He then took the knife and did what Allah had told him to do. When he took the blindfold from his eyes he looked down, not at his son but at a dead ram.Ismail was at his side. Ibrahim was afraid. He thought he had disobeyed but then he heard a voice telling him not to worry. Allah looks after his followers. Ibrahim and Ismail had passed a difficult test.Each year, during the month of Dhul Hijjah, many Muslims, from all over the world, travel to Makkah. They want to remember what Ibrahim and Ismail did.In the month of Dhul Hijjah 

these pilgrims go to Makkah, Mina and Arafat. They visit places where Ibrahim and Ismail lived and preached.They give a sacrifice just as Allah commanded Ibrahim to do. The pilgrims sacrifice animals in memory of the deed.We must obey Allah's commands as Ibrahim and Ismail did. We obey by doing the things we 
know are right, praying, obeying our parents and always telling the truth.

Family Tree

The below chart illustrates the lineage of the Prophets from Adam (AS) to Prophet Muhammad (SA) ‘rahmat al il alamin.

This chart is not created on my own, it is the same chart which is available on the internet on several websites. I am posting it on Majestic Islam, because I believe this is an interesting illustration to share with everyone.

The Childhood of Ibrahim

Prophet Ibrahim  was born in a family of idolaters but from early childhood, he  was endowed with spiritual understanding. Allah enlightened his heart and mind and gave him wisdom:

"We bestowed aforetime on Ibrahim his rectitude of conduct, and well were We acquainted with him. (as to his belief in the Oneness of Allah)" [Surah Al Anbiya

Youth

Ibrahim was born in a house of idolaters in the ancient city of Ur of the Chaldees, likely the place called 'Ur' in present-day Iraq, in which case, the idolaters would have been practitioners of the hypothesized Ancient Mesopotamian religion.  His father Azar was a well-known idol-sculptor that his people worshiped. As a young child, Ibrahim used to watch his father sculpting these idols from stones or wood. When his father was done with them, Ibrahim would ask his father why they could not move or respond to any request and then would mock them; therefore, his father always ground him for not following his ancestors's rituals and mocking their idols 

Despite his opposition to idolatry, his father Azar would still send Ibrahim to sell his idols in the marketplace. Once there, Ibraham would call out to passersby, "Who will buy my idols? They will not help you and they cannot hurt you! Who will buy my idols?" Then Ibrahim would mock the idols. He would take them to the river, push their faces into the water and command them, "Drink! Drink!" Once again, Ibrahim asked his father, "How can you worship what does not see or hear or do you any good?" Azar replied, "Dare you deny the gods of our people? Get out of my sight!" Ibrahim replied, "May God forgive you. No more will I live with you and your idols." After this, Ibrahim left his father's home for good.

During one of the many festivals that would take place in the city, the people would gather in their temple and place offerings of food before their idols. Ur's most prominent temple is the Great Ziggurat, which can be seen today.  Ibrahim would ask them, "What are you worshiping? Do these idols hear when you call them? Can they help you or hurt you?" The people would reply, "It is the way of our forefathers." Ibrahim declared "I am sick of your gods! Truly I am their enemy. After several years, Ibrahim became a young man. He still could not believe that his people were worshipping the statues. He laughed whenever he saw them entering the temple, lowering their heads, silently offering the statues the best of their food, crying and asking forgiveness from them. He started feeling angry towards his people, who could not realize that these are only stones that could neither benefit nor harm them...

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