Ibrahim’s (AS) Call to his People

As Ibrahim (AS) grew his hatred for the idols grew. These statues could not speak, move, eat the offerings that were presented to them and had to be created by men. He could not understand why any sane individual would worship these objects.

The first person he tried to guide was his own father. He asked, ‘O my father, why do you worship these things which cannot hear you, or see you, or help you at all? O my father, knowledge has come to me that did not come to you. So follow me, I will show you the right path.’ But of course, not only did his father worship idols but he also made money from selling them, and he could not bear his own son trying to guide him so he rejected this.

So Ibrahim (AS) tried again, ‘O my father, do not worship Shaitaan. Shaitaan is very rebellious against Allah, the Most Merciful. O my father, I am scared that you will be punished by the Most Merciful.’

At this, his father got so angry that he began to threaten Ibrahim (AS), ‘Do you question my gods, O Ibrahim? If you do not stop, I will definitely stone you. So get away from me safely before I punish you.’

Ibrahim (AS) then tried to appeal to the rest of his people. He asked them what it was that they were worshipping. They responded, ‘We are worshipping idols, and we will continue to do so.’

So Ibrahim (AS) asked, ‘Do they hear you when you call out to them? Can they benefit or harm you in any way?’

They did not answer this directly. Instead, they simply declared, ‘We found our forefathers worshipping them.’ So their reason for worshipping these idols was simply because their parents had done so before them.

And so Ibrahim (AS) declared, ‘All that which you have been worshipping is definitely my enemy. I worship only the Lord of everything, the One who has created me and the One who guides me. He is the One who feeds me and gives me to drink. When I am ill, He is the One who cures me. He is the One who will cause me to die, and then bring me back to life again. And He is the One who I hope will forgive me on the Day of Judgement.’

Ibrahim (AS) noticed that when the people needed something they would run to these deaf idols and ask them for whatever it was that they needed. So he warned the people, ‘Worship Allah alone and fear him; it is better for you but you do not know. All those who you are calling out to besides Allah cannot give you anything at all. Allah is the only one who can provide for you, so you should turn to Him alone and be grateful to him alone, because it is to Him alone you are going to return to.’

Even as a young man, the guidance and message of Ibrahim (AS) was very strong. However no one would listen to him, and every time he questioned them they just responded, ‘Our forefathers did this before us.’ So Ibrahim (AS) realised that something had to be done.

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