Stories of the Prophets
Stories of the Prophets—
Peace be upon them.
Blessings of Allah
followed by
peace
be upon the best of all creation,
altogether.
They were resolute messengers,
exalted in rank
and full of light.
The Story of Abraham (Ibn Turan),
peace be upon him.
In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.
In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of all the worlds,
and peace and blessings
be upon our Prophet Muhammad,
and upon his family and Companions
all together.
To proceed:
In Mecca, the sacred land,
alongside the Jurhum tribe—
an Arab tribe—
Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, lived
with her son Ishmael.
Meanwhile in Palestine,
the blessed land,
Abraham,
peace be upon him, was living
far away from his only son,
whom he had long awaited.
He was blessed with him in his old age,
after long patience and supplication,
a long time coming.
So he loved him with an immense love,
yet he
was compelled to leave him in Mecca,
far away from him,
in compliance with the command of Allah Almighty.
But he used to visit him
from time to time.
Ishmael, peace be upon him,
grew up little by little,
and when he reached
the age of striving alongside him—
that age
when a child is dearest
to his father,
as he walks with him, goes out,
and comes back,
an age when the hardship of raising him has passed
and his benefit has arrived—
and just as
his love had firmly taken root in his father's heart,
Allah, Glorified and Exalted, willed
to test the heart of His intimate friend,
Abraham, peace be upon him,
so that his heart might be purified exclusively
for the love and intimacy of his Lord,
transcending the love of
anything besides Him.
Abraham, peace be upon him, saw
in a dream
that he was sacrificing his son Ishmael.
And the dreams of the prophets are
divine truth.
So what, one wonders, was
Abraham's stance?
He submitted,
Abraham obeyed the command of his Lord
and surrendered to His will.
He came to his son,
the apple of his eye,
and said,
"O my dear son,
“And when (his son) was old enough to walk with him, (Abraham) 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.” (37:102)
I have seen in a dream that I am to sacrifice you,
so see what you think."
He presented the matter to him gently
so that it would be comforting to his heart
and easier for him to bear,
rather than taking him by force
and slaughtering him against his will.
And the reply came from
the dutiful and gentle son,
both having surrendered to the command of Allah,
the Most High, the Supreme:
"O my father, do what
you are commanded;
for we have no choice but to obey Him.
No escape.
You will find me, if Allah wills,
to be of the patient."
Ah, if only I knew—
should we marvel at a father
who is about to slaughter his son,
or marvel at a son who willingly agrees,
aiding his father
in seeking the pleasure of his Creator?
Truly,
“And when a token cometh unto them, they say: We will not believe till we are given that which Allah's messengers are given. Allah knoweth best with whom to place His message. Humiliation from Allah and heavy punishment will smite the guilty for their scheming.” (6:124)
it was his divine mission.
The father went out with his son,
the very piece of his heart.
He went out, knife in hand,
to slaughter his son as an offering
to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.
At those critical moments,
Satan appeared to them
on the road,
in the guise of a well-wishing man,
and spoke to them both
to turn them away from the command of
their Lord.
He tried to appeal to the heart
of Abraham out of compassion for his son,
but Abraham, peace be upon him, pelted him
with seven pebbles,
and Satan turned back in flight.
Then Abraham
and Ishmael, peace be upon them both,
continued on their way.
Satan appeared to them
once again,
trying to dissuade the son from obedience,
so Abraham,
peace be upon him, pelted him again
with seven pebbles,
and he sank into the ground.
Then he appeared to them a third time,
trying
to influence them by playing on the plight of
Ishmael's mother—
how would the poor woman fare
when she learned of her son's death?
So Abraham,
the intimate friend of Allah, pelted him again with seven pebbles,
and he sank into the ground,
never to return.
When they reached the place
they intended,
fully surrendered to the command of Allah, Glorified and Exalted,
and resolved
to carry out what they had been commanded,
at that moment,
Abraham laid his son,
Ishmael, prostrate on his face,
placing his forehead
on the ground.
He intended to sacrifice him from behind his neck,
so that his eyes would not meet
the eyes of his son
and cause his resolve to falter.
Thus the execution began:
Abraham, peace be upon him, invoked the name of Allah
and magnified Him,
while the boy recited the testimony of faith
facing death with patient endurance.
Abraham passed the knife
over the neck of his son,
but it would not cut.
He tried again and again,
yet the decree of Allah is supreme:
fire does not burn
nor does the knife
cut unless He wills.
For Allah is predominant over His affair.
At that moment,
the intimate friend was called from the heavens:
"O Abraham,
you have indeed fulfilled the vision!
You confirmed it in your heart,
and you confirmed it
through your action.
The purpose of your test has been fulfilled through your readiness
and swift response to
the command of your Lord,
offering your child as a sacrifice;
indeed, you both passed the trial."
And Allah provided
for Abraham, peace be upon him,
in place of his son,
a ram to slaughter instead of his son.
So Abraham, peace be upon him,
sacrificed it,
and the ritual sacrifice thereafter became
a Sunnah for the Muslims.
Ibn al-Qayyim,
may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"When he offered his son for Allah's sake,
and the son offered
himself for Allah's sake,
Allah multiplied his offspring,
blessed it,
and increased it until it filled the earth,
placing prophethood and the Scripture
exclusively within his lineage,
and bringing forth from among them
Muhammad,
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Allah the Almighty said:
"My Lord, grant me
[a child] from among the righteous."
So We gave him good tidings of a boy
who was forbearing.
And when
he reached with him the age of exertion,
he said, "O my son,
O my son,
“And when (his son) was old enough to walk with him, (Abraham) 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.” (37:102)
he said, "O my son,
indeed I have seen
in a dream
that I must sacrifice you,
so see what you think."
He said, "O my father,
do as you are commanded;
you will find me,
if wills
Allah,
among the patient."
And when
they had both submitted and he put him down
upon his forehead,
We called out to him,
"O
Abraham,
You have fulfilled
the vision."
Indeed, We thus
reward the doers of good.
Indeed,
this was
the trial,
clear and manifest.
And We ransomed him
with a great sacrifice.
Then he departed,
Abraham (peace be upon him),
to the land of Palestine.
And he stayed there as long as willed
Allah, then he came
after that to Mecca
to visit his son.
He found him sharpening an arrow
under a tree near
the water of Zamzam.
When Ishmael saw him,
he stood up to greet him,
and he did as a father does
with his son, and a son with his father.
Then said
Abraham (peace be upon him)
to his son,
"O Ishmael,
indeed Allah has commanded me with a matter."
Ishmael replied,
"Then do what your Lord has commanded you."
He asked,
"And will you assist me?"
He answered, "Yes, I will assist you."
He said,
"Indeed, Allah has commanded me to build for Him
a House right here,"
pointing to a raised mound of soil
elevated above its surroundings
of the ground.
So Ishmael responded to his father,
and he began to work,
raising the foundations
of the House.
Ishmael began bringing
the stones,
while Abraham was building,
until when the structure grew high,
Ishmael brought this
stone and placed it
for him, so he stood upon it—
Abraham—while he was building.
So it is now
the Station of Abraham (Maqam Ibrahim).
And both of them continued building the House,
supplicating,
"Our Lord, accept from us;
indeed, You are the Hearing,
the Knowing."
And the footprints of
Abraham (peace be upon him) were imprinted
upon the stone on which he used to stand
while building the House.
Thus, Allah immortalized this
stone,
commanding us to take it as a place of prayer,
praying behind it
after circumambulating the House.
Then Allah the Almighty commanded
Abraham (peace be upon him)
to proclaim among the people
to journey to this Sacred
House and to perform
the rites therein.
Abraham said,
"How far can my voice reach?"
So Allah the Almighty said,
"Your duty is to call,
and Ours is to convey."
So Abraham (peace be upon him) stood
upon Mount Abu Qubays,
placed his two fingers
in his ears,
and turned his face to the right,
to the left, to the east,
and to the west, shouting:
"O people!
Indeed, your Lord
has built a House for you,
and has prescribed upon you
the pilgrimage to this House,
so respond to your Lord!"
And he was answered by
everyone destined to perform pilgrimage,
from the loins of the fathers
and the wombs of the mothers:
"Labbayk Allahumma
labbayk" (Here I am, O Allah, at Your service, here I am).
And Abraham (peace be upon him) prayed
for blessing upon the people of Mecca,
and Allah answered
his supplication,
so Mecca became a blessed land,
its provision coming to it from everywhere;
“Allah coineth a similitude: a township that dwelt secure and well content, its provision coming to it in abundance from every side, but it disbelieved in Allah's favours, so Allah made it experience the garb of dearth and fear because of what they used to do.” (16:112)
and he prayed, "And make it also
a land of security,"
so that whoever enters it fears neither for himself
nor for his wealth.
Then Abraham returned,
peace be upon him,
to the land of Palestine
after completing the mission
and calling the nation.
And one day,
the angels came to Abraham
(peace be upon him) in
the form of guests.
They entered upon him while he did not know them,
and he (peace be upon him) was
noble and hospitable.
So he went swiftly and stealthily
and slaughtered for them a calf,
fat and well-fed,
then roasted it over the fire,
then presented it to his guests
for them to eat from it.
But these
guests were not
like other guests;
for when he placed
the food before them,
they did not stretch their hands toward it
and did not eat from it.
So Abraham (peace be upon him) grew fearful
of them,
because it was customary
that a guest
who does not eat the food
presented to him
must harbor ill intent
toward his host, or harbor
resentment against him.
When the angels perceived from
Abraham (peace be upon him)
his fear, they reassured him
and informed him that they were
angels
sent by Allah the Almighty
to bring upon the people of Lot
punishment and destruction.
They also gave him good tidings
of Sarah giving birth
to their son,
Isaac (peace be upon him),
and after Isaac,
Jacob (peace be upon him).
Allah the Almighty said:
"And certainly there came
Our messengers
to Abraham with good tidings;
they said, 'Peace.'
He said, 'Peace,'
and did not delay in
bringing
a roasted calf.
But when
he saw their hands
not reaching toward it,
he felt distrust toward them
and conceived
a fear of them.
They said, "Fear not,
for we have been sent
to the people of Lot."
And his wife
was standing by,
standing by,
and she laughed.
So We gave her good tidings
of Isaac,
and We gave her good tidings
of Isaac,
and after
Isaac, Jacob.
She said, "Woe unto me!
Shall I bear a child when I am
an old woman,
and this husband of mine
is an old man?
Indeed, this is a strange thing!"
They said,
"Do you wonder at
the decree of Allah?
May the mercy of Allah
and His blessings be upon you,
O people of the house!
Indeed, He is Praiseworthy,
Glorious."
Abraham, peace be upon him, lived
Abraham, peace be upon him,
after that in Palestine
for as long as Allah had decreed for him
to live,
until he lived to see his grandson Jacob,
peace be upon him.
It has been authentically established that Abraham,
peace be upon him, was circumcised
when he was eighty
years old. And we were informed by
the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
that he was the most resembling
of people to his forefather Abraham,
peace be upon him.
And Abraham, peace and blessings be upon him, had been favored by
peace be upon him,
Allah Almighty, Who honored him,
chose him, and perfected
His favor upon him:
that he was a truthful prophet;
He described him as righteous,
forbearing,
compassionate,
and sound
of heart;
and that He had granted him right judgment;
and that Abraham, peace be upon him,
fulfilled all his duties;
and that He, Glorified and Exalted is He,
exalted his
status,
and took him from among
all creation as an intimate friend.
The Jews and the Christians disputed concerning Abraham, peace be upon him,
concerning Abraham, peace be upon him,
each group
claiming affiliation to him,
and that he, peace be upon him,
was one of them.
So Allah Exalted absolved him
of that, saying:
"Abraham was not
a Jew, nor
a Christian,
nor a Christian,
but
he was an upright
Muslim,
but
he was an upright
Muslim,
and he was not of the polytheists."
And Allah Almighty informed us
that the closest of people
to Abraham, peace be upon him,
are those who followed him,
and our Prophet Muhammad,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and the believers of his Ummah;
these are they.
The Almighty said:
"Indeed, the closest of people
to Abraham
are those who followed him,
and this Prophet,
and this Prophet,
and those who
believe.
And Allah is the Ally
of the believers."
Allah Almighty has mentioned
Abraham, peace be upon him,
sixty-nine times in the Qur'an.
Among the most important lessons
and morals derived
from his story, peace be upon him, are:
First:
We are commanded
to follow Abraham, peace be upon him;
for Allah Almighty said:
"There has already been for you
an excellent pattern
in Abraham and those
with him."
Therefore, we must delve deeply
into studying his biography, peace be upon him,
so that we may follow him properly.
Second:
The best of exhortations
are those with which Abraham, peace be upon him, enjoined
his sons,
when he said to them:
“The same did Abraham enjoin upon his sons, and also Jacob, (saying): O my sons! Lo! Allah hath chosen for you the (true) religion; therefore die not save as men who have surrendered (unto Him).” (2:132)
"So remain steadfast upon it,
and do not die except
while you are Muslims."
Third:
Generous hospitality,
as demonstrated by him in the incident
of the angel guests,
which contains many manners
for whoever reflects upon them,
such as greeting with peace and honoring guests.
Fourth:
Allah Almighty's generosity
toward His allies,
as He protected them during trials
and granted them, as a reward for
their patience, the offspring they longed for.
Fifth:
The prescribed nature of migration for the sake of Allah;
if a person is persecuted
in his religion in a land,
he must migrate
from that land,
just as the Prophet of Allah, Abraham,
peace be upon him, did.
Sixth:
Absolute trust in the victory of Allah Almighty,
even if it takes a long time.
For Abraham, peace be upon him,
said as he was being thrown into the fire:
"Sufficient for me is Allah, and He is the best
Disposer of affairs."
And so victory came from Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
Seventh:
Whoever fears Allah,
He will make for him a way out;
for Allah saved Sarah
from that tyrannical,
oppressive king,
and Allah protected Hagar
in that barren valley
wherein there was
neither vegetation nor water.
Eighth:
Trials and tribulations
are sent by Allah, Glorified and Exalted, upon His creation;
a person is tested in accordance with
the strength of his faith.
Therefore, the people afflicted with the severely
tested are the prophets,
then the next best, then the next best.
And when Allah loves a servant,
He tests him
to elevate his rank
with Him.
Ninth:
The noble standing of Abraham with Allah Almighty.
For Abraham,
peace be upon him, prayed
that Allah would not disgrace him on the Day they are resurrected,
and Allah answered
his supplication.
It was narrated in the tradition:
Abraham will meet his father
Azar on the Day of Resurrection,
and Azar's face will be covered with darkness
and dust.
Abraham will say to him,
"Did I not tell you
not to disobey me?"
His father will reply,
"Today I will not disobey you."
Abraham will then say,
"O Lord!
You promised me that You would not disgrace me
on the Day they are resurrected,
and what disgrace is greater
than my father being far removed from mercy?"
Allah Almighty will say,
"I have forbidden Paradise to the disbelievers."
Then He will say,
"O Abraham!"
"What is under your feet?"
So he will look,
and behold, there will be a slaughtered animal covered in filth,
which will then be taken by its legs
and cast into the Fire.
To be continued,
Allah willing.
And Allah knows best.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
And may peace and blessings
be upon our Prophet Muhammad,
and upon his family and companions
all together.
You were listening to Stories
of the Prophets.