He is the second of the major prophets
and one that had general religion and laws. God did say in the chapter
of Al-Nahl: Lo! Abraham was a nation obedient to Allah, by nature
upright, and he was not of the idolaters; Thankful for His bounties; He
chose him and He guided him unto a straight path.(Al-Nahl:120-121).
What is brought by some tidings about interpreting this holy phrase
that he (PUH) had a religion that no one else had so he was like a
nation alone, and obedient means that he was obeying and faithful. And
as reported from Al-Kâthim (PUH): In all the world save but one
that was worshipping God, and if there were someone else with him then
God would add him in His saying "Abraham was a nation", and then God
made for him a company and gave him Ismael and Isaac, so they became
three, and God talked to His beloved the prophet Muhammad (PUH) and
ordered him to follow the religion of Abraham, and in some news from
Al-Husain ben `Ali (PUH): None is following the path of Abraham except
of us and our followers and all the people are astraying away from it.
Abraham is the son of Terah (Tarah) [ Hebrew: Terach, Arabic:
Târih] ben Nahor ben Serug ben Reu [Arabic: Ar`u] ben Peleg
[Arabic: Fâlig] ben Eber [Arabic: `Âbir] ben Salah [Arabic:
Shâlikh] ben Arfakhshað ben Shem ben Noah (PUT), as it is
mentioned in Murooj Al-Ðahab for Al-Mas`udi and some stories for
Abdul-Wahâb Al-Najjâr go along with such chain of fathers
although there are some differences in four names, but such differences
never harm. His birth took place in one of Kufa's villages in Iraq that
was called Kuþâr and some said it is called
Fadân-Arâm (Paddan-Aram) and his father was one of people
of this village, and the mother of Abraham and the mother of Lot were
sisters and they were daughters of Lâhij and Lâhij was a
prophet but not a messenger, and Abraham got married to Sarah and she
was his maternal cousin and she owned many cattles and a large
landscape, and so then she had put all of that under the control of
Abraham (PUH) and he worked on taking care of it all, and all of that
is taken from a speech for Al-Sâdiq (PUH) and it is long.
It is also mentioned that Lot was rather the nephew of Abraham (son of
his brother) and there is no conflict in that since that Terah, the
father of Abraham, is the father of Hârân (Haran), the
father of Lot, so then Terah and His son Haran married two sisters and
they are the daughters of Lâhij and they gave birth to Abraham
ben Terah and Lot ben Haran (PUT) and so Lot is the maternal cousin for
Abraham and his brother's son as well, be aware and you will
understand, and we've come to mention before that Sarah was the
maternal cousin for Abraham and she is the sister of Lot but she was
the sister of Lot by the mother and not by the father [meaning: her
father is NOT Haran himself, but someone else], because Haran is the
brother of Abraham and so Abraham can't get married to his brother's
daughter, but after the death of Haran, the father of Sarah got married
to her mother and she gave birth to Sarah, so obviously, Sarah is the
sister of Lot by his mother and she is the maternal cousin of Abraham,
and Lot is the nephew of Abraham and also his maternal cousin. It is
reported from the book of Barnaba that Abraham was a lad from
Paddan-Aram in Iraq, and his people were pagans and his father was a
carpenter that makes idols and sell it to whoever worships them, and
that Abraham was enlightened by God and guided by Him and knew that
idols don't hear nor see, and they don't hear any call and can't answer
any pray and don't harm nor give benefits, and this is also what was
mentioned in Torah, and in Holy Quran it is mentioned in the chapter of
Al-Anbiyâ': And We verily gave Abraham of old his proper course,
and We were Aware of him, When he said unto his father and his folk:
What are these images unto which ye pay devotion?
(Al-Anbiyâ':51-52), and in the chapter of Al-An`âm:
(Remember) when Abraham said unto his father Azar: Takest thou idols
for gods? Lo! I see thee and thy folk in error
manifest(Al-An`âm:74), and in the chapter of Al-Sho`arâ':
Recite unto them the story of Abraham, When he said unto his father and
his folk: What worship ye? They said: We worship idols, and are ever
devoted unto them.(Al-Sho`arâ':69-71), and also: And forgive my
father. Lo! he is of those who err(Al-Sho`arâ':86).
Whoever noticed the conversation between Abraham and his father Azar in
the holy book would see a man with great patience and passion and no
one is like him, and whenever his father steps away from him he goes to
him to guide him for he is afraid for him from the torture in the
after-life, while his father Azar exaggerated with his cruelty, but he
was trying to make him happy and loved by God, but Azar was escaping
away from him and promising him the punishment of the idols and the
judgement of Nemrud. Look by the eye of the heart to this conversation
and to the passion of the friend of God and the cruelty of Azar from
the chapter of Mariam which tells the debate between a pagan that
couldn't catch happiness and a prophet and a messenger of God, Abraham
(PUH), and God said in it (the chapter of Mariam):
And
make mention (O Muhammad) in the Scripture of Abraham. Lo! he was a
saint, a prophet. When he said unto his father:
O my father! Why worshippest thou that which heareth not nor seeth, nor
can in aught avail thee ? 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. O my father! Serve not the devil.
Lo! the devil is a rebel unto the Beneficent(Mariam:41-44), and his
answer to him was: He said: Rejectest thou my
gods, O Abraham ? If thou cease not, I shall surely stone thee. Depart
from me a long while!
He said: Peace be unto thee! I shall ask forgiveness of my Lord for
thee. Lo! He was ever gracious unto me(Mariam:46-47).
Then Abraham (PUH) disowned Azar and his deeds
and did not like to live in his place and between his people so he left
them by an order from God to Palestine and Shaam [Shaam: Syria and the
surroundings], and Abraham was looking for guiding his father and his
father promised to follow him and for this he did pray for forgiveness
for his father but when he knew that he will keep on worshipping the
idols and stay on the religion of his people he (Abraham) disowned him
and his people and their worshipping, and this is testified by the
chapter of Al-Tawbah: The prayer of Abraham for
the forgiveness of his
father was only because of a promise he had promised him, but when it
had become clear unto him that he (his father) was an enemy to Allah he
(Abraham) disowned him. Lo! Abraham was soft of heart,
long-suffering(Al-Tawbah:114). In the stories of Abdul-Wahab
Al-Najjâr: Then Abraham did travel to Palestine as a stranger
with his wife Sarah and his nephew Lot and his wife, God did say in the
chapter of Al-`Ankaboot: And Lot believed him,
and said: Lo! I am a fugitive unto my Lord. Lo! He, only He, is the
Mighty, the Wise(Al-`Ankaboot:26) and so they lived there and it was
the land of Canaanites and he (Abraham) lived in Shakim and it is now
the city of Nabulus but he didn't stay for long time but he kept on
moving to the south as denoted by some Toratic phrases about his
journey to Egypt and to the land of Abi-Mâlik (Abimelech)
[Hebrew: Abiymelek]. There is a talk that has some conflicts, and the
one that quoted it is hesitated since the resources for this talk are
the Torah and the Bibles mostly, and still they have some opposition
and conflicts in the same resource and also between each of them, so we
don't quote anything unless we make sure it coincide with what we are
sure that it is been told by the holy prophet (PUH) and the holy quran
by the way of his Household the purified, or whatever is close to that
by the way of others which is accepted by the righteous mind and
thought and logic.
Al-Mas`udi announced in Muruj Al-Ðahab [book's name: Plains of
Gold], that Azar is Terah the father of Abraham, and what is apparent
is that Azar is a character (describtion) for Terah ben Nahor according
to him (Al-Mas`udi), so he said about it this: and when God took the
soul of Nahor, his son Terah stood after him and he is Azar the father
of Abraham and at his time lived the king Nimrod..etc [in the book it
is Nimrod ben Canaan, but searching in the old testament the only trace
I had is Nimrod ben Cush]. It is apparent that most of our brothers of
Islamic scholars and historians believe that the father of Abraham was
a pagan, and one of them also Abdul-Wahâb Al-Najjâr, for
this is what is obvious from the holy phrases. After proving that Azar
is Terah ben Nahor the father of Abraham, he (Abdul-Wahâb)
mentioned some interpretations for the word "Azar" as being a
substitute for the word "father" that was mentioned in quran, or it
might be a word for calling shame upon him (maybe because he stood
beside falsehood and paganism) [notice: Âzar in Arabic means "he
helped"], or it might mean "to restrain", and Terah is his name but
Azar is a character for him or an adjective.
And Al-Râzi said in his interpretation for the holy phrase "when Abraham said unto his father
Azar"(Al-An`âm:74): what this phrase shows is that Azar is the
name of Abraham's father. And said Al-Zajjâj: there is no doubt
that his name was Terah. And some people that have no faith made this a
point of crack in holy quran, and there are some explanations been
mentioned about this matter, one of them is that the father of Abraham
(PUH) was Terah and Azar was his uncle, and the uncle could be called
as "father" as it is mentioned by God in telling the story of the sons
of Jacob when they said: We shall worship thy
God, the God of thy fathers, Abraham and Ishmael and
Isaac(Al-Baqarah:133), and it is well known that Ishmael was an uncle
for Jacob but they called him as "father" and so it is the situation
here, and then said Al-Zajjâj: the Shiites said that none of the
prophet's (PUH) fathers was a pagan or a disbeliever [meaning the
prophet Muhammad] and they mentioned that Azar is his (Abraham's) uncle
and they got the clues for it, so then he mentioned the point of views
and the clues in a long speech and talk and it is well known for them
(Sunnites) in their creed for whoever has the knowledge of it. One of
the point of views is God's saying: Who seeth
thee when thou standest up (to pray),
And (seeth) thine abasement among those who fall prostrate (in worship)
(Al-Shu`arâ':218-219), meaning that his halo was moving from one
to another among those who fall prostrate until it became to
`Abdul-Muttalib [Grandfather of Muhammad PUH] and his son `Abdullah
[father of Muhammad PUH] (PUH), so then it became to existance [meaning
the halo was moving from ancestors until it became apparent by the
existance of Muhammad PUH], and more explanations will become in the
future by God's own will.
In summary, they don't believe that his (Abraham's) father was a
faithful, and accoding to their creed (Sunnites) is it not a shame and
accepted for they don't believe in the condition of the infallibility
and faithfulness of the ancestors of prophets and messengers, but our
scholars according to their Imams, the Household of Muhammad (PUH)
don't say this, and they believe absolutely that the prophets and
messengers and their viceroys don't become to existance accept from
holy and faithful and infallible ancestors, and since this is
possible as well as their assumption and God is able to do it, then why
not believing in it, and how dare we say about a prophet or a messenger
from God to His creation or even about their viceroys that were
appointed by God also, how dare we say that he is a son of a pagan or a
fallible person or a wicked man, and there is more to come about this
matter if God allowed that.
Next: The Infallibility of God's Viceroys