Part of Stories of the Prophets (series completed)
· Lesson 7 of 15
Stories of the Prophets | Episode (7) | The story of Abraham, peace be upon him (1)
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Transcript
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Stories of the Prophets.
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Stories of the Prophets.
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Peace be upon them.
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May the prayers of Allah
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and His blessings
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and peace
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be upon the best
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of all creation,
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those of firm resolve,
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whose station
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is exalted.
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The story of
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Ibrahim
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(peace be upon him).
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds,
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and may prayers and peace
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be upon our Prophet Muhammad,
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and upon his family
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and all his Companions.
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To proceed:
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In northern Iraq,
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and in the city of Babylon
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specifically,
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that ancient city,
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the Prophet of Allah, Ibrahim,
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(peace be upon him) grew up.
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His people in that city
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were idolaters, worshipping idols,
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and some of them combined
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this with the worship of stars
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and planets.
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Azar, the father of Ibrahim,
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was a carpenter,
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so he would craft idols for his people.
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Sometimes he would give them
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to his son Ibrahim
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while he was still a young boy,
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to sell them in the market.
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Ibrahim would take them out
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to the market and call out to the people:
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"Who will buy what harms
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and does not benefit? Who will buy what harms
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and does not benefit?"
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Sometimes he would take them
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to the water,
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dip their heads into it,
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and say, "Drink,
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O you gods,"
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in mockery and derision
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of them in this
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ignorant society
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that was far removed from monotheism.
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The Friend of Allah (Khalil Allah),
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Ibrahim (peace be upon him), grew up
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detesting what
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his people were upon.
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He would often seclude himself
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away from them with his small flock,
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tending to them and caring for them.
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He was the only one
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among his people upon the sound natural disposition (fitrah)
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and the pure creed.
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So Allah chose him,
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selected him for prophethood,
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and sent him to his people
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to call them to Allah
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and warn them against what they were in
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of idolatry and polytheism.
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Ibrahim (peace be upon him)
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began his mission among his people.
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And
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the first thing he did
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was to call his father.
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He was gentle with him
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with the utmost gentleness,
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and addressed him with full respect.
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He said to him,
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as he said to his father:
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"O my father, why do you worship
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“When he said unto his father: O my father! Why worshippest thou that which heareth not nor seeth, nor can in aught avail thee?” (19:42)
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what neither hears nor sees,
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nor avails you anything?"
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"O my father,
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indeed, there has come to me
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“O my father! Lo! there hath come unto me of knowledge that which came not unto thee. So follow me, and I will lead thee on a right path.” (19:43)
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of knowledge that which has not come to you, so follow me;
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follow me,
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and I will guide you to a straight
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path."
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"O my father,
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do not worship Satan;
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indeed, Satan
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has ever been, to the Most Merciful,
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disobedient."
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"O my father,
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indeed, I fear
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that there will touch you
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a punishment from the Most Merciful,
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indeed, I fear
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that there will touch you
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a punishment from the Most Merciful,
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and you will become to Satan
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a companion."
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And every time
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Ibrahim debated
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his father
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in private,
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or in a public discussion
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with his people,
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and he refused to listen to him,
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and rejected his call,
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and rebuked him and threatened him
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with expulsion and long abandonment,
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Ibrahim (peace be upon him)
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would do nothing
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but respond to him
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with a gentle manner and kind
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words,
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and promise to seek forgiveness for him
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as long as he was not forbidden from doing so.
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Ibrahim (peace be upon him) moved on
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to call his people,
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and began to debate them,
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hoping they would use
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their intellects
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and return from their error
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and misguidance.
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He said to them as
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every prophet said to his people:
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"Worship Allah and fear Him;
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that is best for you,
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if you should know."
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And he said to them:
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"Indeed, your worship of these idols
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that you fashion
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with your own hands
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is nothing but a clear falsehood,
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an evident error.
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So leave them,
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and worship Allah who created you
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and what you do.
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With Him is your provision,
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and to Him you shall return."
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He (peace be upon him)
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would demonstrate to them the helplessness of their gods,
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saying to them:
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"These gods that you worship,
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do they benefit you
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in anything, or do they harm you?"
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They would have
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no answer.
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They said, "We found
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our fathers doing likewise."
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So he answered them:
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"Have you then considered what
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you have been worshipping,
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you and your ancient forefathers?
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Indeed, they are
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enemies to me,
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except the Lord of the worlds."
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Then he began to debate them
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regarding their worship of the stars,
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the sun, and the moon.
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One day,
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when the sky was clear,
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he said to his people:
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"This is my Lord."
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Then he did not wait long
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before that star set.
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So Ibrahim
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(peace be upon him) said:
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"I do not love a god
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that disappears and leaves me."
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Then he turned to the moon
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and said, "This is my Lord."
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Then he did not wait long
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until the darkness vanished
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and the moon set.
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Then the sun rose,
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and he said, "This too
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is not a suitable god for me."
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Then he turned to the sun
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and said:
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"This is my Lord;
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this is greater than
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what came before it of the moon
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and the star."
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But when sunset came
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and the sun disappeared,
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he said to his people:
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"Indeed, I am free
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from what you associate with Allah."
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Allah the Exalted said:
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"And thus did We show Ibrahim
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the dominion of the heavens
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and the earth,
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that he might be among
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the certain [in faith]."
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So when the night
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When the night grew dark,
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he saw a star.
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He said, "This is
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my Lord."
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But when it set,
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he said, "I do not love
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those that set."
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Then, when he saw
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the moon rising,
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he said, "This is
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my Lord."
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But when it set,
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he said, "If my Lord does not guide me,
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I shall surely be
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among the people
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who are astray."
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Then, when
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he saw the sun
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rising,
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he said, "This is my Lord;
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this is greater."
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But when it set,
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he said, "O my people,
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I am innocent
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of that which
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you associate with Allah."
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"Indeed, I
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have turned my face toward Him who
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originated the heavens
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and the earth, inclining toward truth,
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and I am not
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of the polytheists."
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The stance of
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Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
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regarding these celestial bodies
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was a stance of debate, not a stance of
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observation.
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Ibrahim never doubted Allah,
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the Exalted and Majestic,
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nor did he ever think
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that the stars, the sun, or the moon
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could be lords.
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Rather, he did that
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for the sake of establishing the argument
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against them.
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This was part of the instruction Allah, the Exalted, gave him,
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as Allah, the Exalted, said
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after that debate:
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"And that is Our argument
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which We gave to Ibrahim
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against his people."
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After these debates
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and dialogues that proved to be of no
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avail with his people,
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Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
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wanted to demonstrate to them the folly
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of their minds,
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and that these idols could not ward off
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any harm from themselves,
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let alone ward it off
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from others.
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So, he waited for a festival day of theirs
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when they would go out to celebrate
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outside the city.
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He told them he would go out with them
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to participate in their festival,
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but then excused himself on account of illness.
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When they had left,
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he hurried to their idols,
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and found food
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prepared before them.
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He said to them,
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"Will you not eat?
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Answer, what is the matter with you that you do not speak?"
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Then he began
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striking the idols with an axe,
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breaking them into
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small
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pieces,
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leaving the largest one and hanging the axe upon it.
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Then he departed.
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When the people of Ibrahim returned,
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they found their gods
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smashed.
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They said, "Who has done this
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to our gods?"
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Then they remembered what had been threatened by
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Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
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regarding his plotting against their idols.
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They said, "We heard
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a young man mentioning them with ill intent,
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who is called Ibrahim."
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The elders
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and the notables of the people said,
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"Bring him before the eyes of the people,
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so that they may bear witness."
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When he came,
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Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
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they asked him in front of everyone,
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"Did you do this
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to our gods, O Ibrahim?"
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This was
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a very suitable moment
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for Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
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to manifest his call
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before everyone.
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He said to them,
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“He said: But this, their chief hath done it. So question them, if they can speak.” (21:63)
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"He became jealous of those idols
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that they were worshipped alongside him,
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so he smashed them."
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"So ask those broken idols,
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so they may tell you
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who did this to them,
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or ask their leader,
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perhaps he will tell you."
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Here, a moment of
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reflection came over them,
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turning inward,
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and they stood in contemplation.
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They accused themselves of wrongdoing
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for worshipping these idols
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that could not
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defend
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themselves.
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But this pause did not last long,
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as they quickly relapsed
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and said,
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“And they were utterly confounded, and they said: Well thou knowest that these speak not.” (21:65)
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"They do not speak."
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Here, Ibrahim,
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peace be upon him, spoke out before everyone
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and said to them,
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rebuking them,
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"Do you worship these idols instead of Allah,
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while they do not speak,
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nor do they benefit themselves,
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nor others,
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nor do they cause harm?
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Fie upon you!
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Do you not have minds
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with which to reason?"
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It was confirmed to those fools
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that the perpetrator was Ibrahim,
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peace be upon him.
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So they began to consult on the method
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by which they would take revenge
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for their gods,
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deciding to kill him in the most terrible way.
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They said,
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"Burn Ibrahim,
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and take revenge for your gods,
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and avenge them."
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Those transgressors began
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to arrange for the burning of
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the Prophet of Allah, Ibrahim, peace be upon him.
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They ignited a fire,
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a great one,
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taking a month to fuel it
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and tend to it.
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It is even mentioned that a woman
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would vow that if she were cured
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of her illness,
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or if her newborn were healed,
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she would gather firewood
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to contribute to the kindling of
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that fire.
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And the gecko in that place
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was blowing into that fire
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to participate in fueling it.
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They kindled a great fire,
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to the extent that they
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could not even approach
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it due to its intense heat.
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Even birds,
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if they passed by it,
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would fall down dead.
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On the appointed day,
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they stripped Ibrahim,
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peace be upon him,
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of his clothes,
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then placed him in a catapult,
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and threw him into the fire
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from a distance.
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The Friend of Allah, Ibrahim,
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peace be upon him, said,
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"Sufficient for me is Allah, and He is the best Disposer of affairs."
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So Allah, the Exalted, revealed
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to that fire,
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"Be coolness
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for My servant and My friend,
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Ibrahim, so do not
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burn his body,
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and be safety
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for him, so he does not perish
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from the cold, and be
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safety, so do not break
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any of his bones."
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And thus, Allah, the Exalted, saved
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Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
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from their plotting.
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And he stood up and walked out from the midst of the fire
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before their very eyes.
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And thus does He save
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the God-fearing.
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Allah the Exalted said:
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"And We had certainly given
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Ibrahim his guidance
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before,
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and We were of him
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well-knowing."
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When he said to his father
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and his people, "What are these
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statues to which
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you
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are devoted?"
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They said, "We found
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our forefathers
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worshipping them."
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He said, "You have certainly been,
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you
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and your forefathers,
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in manifest
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error."
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They said, "Have you come to us
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with the truth, or are you
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one of those who play?"
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He said, "Rather,
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your Lord is the Lord of the heavens
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and the earth, who
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originated them,
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who originated them,
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originated them,
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and I am of that
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among the witnesses."
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"And by Allah, I will surely plot
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against your idols
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after
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you have turned and gone away."
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So he made them
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into fragments, except
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a large one among them, that perhaps
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they might return to it.
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They said, "Who has done
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this to our gods?
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Indeed, he is among
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the wrongdoers."
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They said, "We heard a youth
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mentioning them, who is called
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Ibrahim."
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They said,
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"Then bring him before
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the eyes of the people,
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that they may testify."
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They said, "Is it you
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who has done this
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to our gods, O
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Ibrahim?"
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He said, "Rather, this large one of them did it,
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this one;
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so ask them,
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so ask them,
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if they are able to speak."
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So they returned to
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themselves and said,
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"Indeed, you
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are the wrongdoers."
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“And they were utterly confounded, and they said: Well thou knowest that these speak not.” (21:65)
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"You have already known
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that these
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do not speak."
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He said, "Do you then worship
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instead of Allah
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that which does not benefit you
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at all, nor
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harm you?"
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"Fie upon you and upon what
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you worship instead of
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Allah!
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Do you not then use your intellect?"
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They said, "Burn him
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and support
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your gods, if
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you are to act."
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We said, "O fire,
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be coolness
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and safety for
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Ibrahim."
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And they intended for him
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a plot,
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but We made them
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the greatest losers.
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The hadith continues,
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if Allah wills.
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And Allah knows best.
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And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
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And may Allah send blessings and peace
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upon our Prophet Muhammad,
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and upon his family
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and all his companions.
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You have been with
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the Stories of the Prophets.