Ibrahim (AS), also known as Abraham, was a messenger of Allah who lived in Babylon, Iraq. He is considered one of the highest of all the messengers of Allah. Ibrahim (AS) was a man who was tested by Allah multiple times and always passed with flying colors. This earned him the title of being a close friend of Allah.
Ibrahim (AS) was born into a society that worshipped idols, and his father was even in the business of creating and selling them. However, Ibrahim (AS) rejected the concept of idol worship from a young age and spoke out against it. When he was older, he asked his father and the people around him why they worshipped idols and pointed out that they could not hear or benefit them in any way.
They told Ibrahim (AS), that this was an action their forefathers did, and they intend to continue. Ibrahim (AS) told them that they and all of the idols they have been worshipping are enemies of him. He told them that he old worships on lord, and that is the lard of all the worlds, the creator.
Ibrahim (AS) told his father that knowledge has come to him that his father does not have. He pleaded with him to stop worshiping idols, but his father remained stubborn and told him to keep quiet and not question the actions of himself and his forefathers.
He told his father again, “Oh my father, do not worship satan” and “Oh my father, Indeed I fear there will touch you a punishment from the most merciful so you would be to a satan a companion [In Hellfire]”.
His father and the community remained stubborn, so he told himself, “And [I swear] by Allah, I will surely plan against your idols after you have turned and gone away.”
During the time of Ibrahim (AS), there would be a Holy Festival, were all the people would come out of the city and get out in the open. They would get out to the desert and worship these idols. They might intrude new idols or come up with new beliefs. Participation in this festival was a must for everyone in the community.
When it came time for the festival, they came to Ibrahim (AS) and told him lets go, we are going to pray. He told them, “I am Ill”, this was not a physical sickness, but he was saying he was sick of what they were doing.
Once they all left, he looked at all of the idols at told them told talk to him, communicate in some way, but of course they naturally didn’t answer. It was stones and sticks.
He one again gave the idols a chance to speak, saying, “What is [Wrong] with you, that yo do not speak?”.
With his right hand he began destroying them, one by one. He destroyed all the idols except for one, the main idol everyone in the community worshipped. He left that one untouched and put in axe in front of it.
When everyone returned, there were shocked to see all of the idols were destroyed and demolished. They angry began asking who had the guts to do such a “horrible” act.
Some of the people began to mention Ibrahim (AS) and how he had been speaking out against the idols. So, they brought Ibrahim (AS) out, in-front of everyone and asked him, “Oh Ibrahim, Who did this to out gods”. He looked at them and said, “The one, the biggest of them did it. Ask them, If they can speak!”.
The people became angry and told Ibrahim (AS) that he knew the idols can’t speak, hear or see. Ibrahim (AS) told them how could they worship something that cannot speak, hear or see.
They began to question themselves, but their arrogance and pride did not left their logic and common sense prevail. They remained stubborn and decided he needed to be punished.
They tied Ibrahim (AS) up and decided they needed to burn him to death to set an example. Ibrahim’s (AS) father began to tell him to keep quiet or he will stone him to death personally.
So, the people of the town set up a massive fire to cast Ibrahim (AS) into. Everyone in the community contributed in lighting this fire, as they brought timber as a retaining for their “lords”.
When the time of Ibrahim’s (AS) punishment came, the fire was too hot for anyone to come near it. So, they tied him to the truck of a tree and catapulted him into the fire.
As he if flying through the air, Jibril (AS) came to Ibrahim (AS) and asked him if he needed any help, he responded, “From you no, but from Allah Yes!”. His hear was so attached to Allah, that he truly only relied on him. He then made Dua, and said, “Allah was enough for me and He is the best disposer of affairs.”. Allah then commanded to fire, “Oh fire, be coolness and safety upon Ibrahim”. The fire then became cool and a means of peace for Ibrahim (AS). The fire burned off the ropes and chains that were on Ibrahim (AS), but not him. The people watching were shocked as they saw Ibrahim (AS) emerge unscathed from the fire.
Ibrahim (AS)'s nephew, Lut (AS), was inspired by his faith and decided to follow him. Together, they left their home and searched for a new place where they could worship Allah without interference. They eventually came across a tyrant king, Namrud, who called Ibrahim (AS) forward and questioned him about his beliefs. Despite the threats and intimidation, Ibrahim (AS) remained firm in his faith and spoke out against the idol worship of Namrud and his people.
Namud was someone who would kill anyone who spoke out against him, but he had heard of Ibrahim (AS) emerging from the fire safely. So, he told Ibrahim to get out of his kingdom and never return.
During their journey, there was a female that accepted Ibrahim’s (AS) message. This woman’s name was Sarah and how would become the wife of Ibrahim (AS).
Ibrahim (AS) would then leave Iraq and migrate from Iraq to Shaam. Shaam today is Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
Ibrahim (AS) eventually stopped at a place called Harran. There, he found that the people were worshiping the stars. Despite being outnumbered, Ibrahim (AS) decided to try to bring the people of Harlan towards the worship of Allah. He realized that he needed to speak to them in their own language, so he used the stars as a way to explain the concept of monotheism to them.
Ibrahim (AS) began by pointing out the limitations of the stars, saying that they were not worthy of being worshipped because they were weak and could not always be relied upon. He then pointed to the moon, saying that it was bigger and more deserving of worship than the stars. But even the moon was not sufficient, as it too disappeared from view.
Finally, Ibrahim (AS) pointed to the sun, saying that it was the biggest and most deserving of worship. However, even the sun was not enough, as it too disappeared from view. Ibrahim (AS) then declared that he disassociated himself completely from the worship of the stars and other celestial objects, and that he would only worship the one true God who created everything, including himself and the people of Harlan.
After this, the people of Harran began threatening to kill him. So, this is when Ibrahim (AS) decided to leave.
Ibrahim (AS) went into a closer area of Shaam, but after sometime there was a drought there. So he decided to leave this place with his family. He then instructed Lut (AS) to go to a certain area. Lut (AS) eventually settled in a place known as Sodom.
Ibrahim (AS) continued with his family (Sarah), and they were heading in a certain direction, specifically Egypt.
When he arrived in Egypt, he found out it was more corrupt than what he thought. In Egypt, there was a tyrant king, that was known to be a womanizer. This king had people that spying in the city, there jobs were to look around for beautiful women. If they found a beautiful woman than, she must come to him whether she likes it or not, married or not.
So, then Ibrahim (AS) arrived in the city with his wife Sarah, the spied sent word to the king that there was a beautiful women, an outsider.
The king ordered the spies to ask if he is her husband. If he says yes, kill him and if otherwise let him live. Allah sent Jibril (AS) to Ibrahim (AS) to inform him on what the king was planning to do. So, Ibrahim (AS) to Sarah to say that he was her brother. His intention was that she was his sister in Islam and he was her brother in Islam.
The soldiers came and took Sarah captive, and took her to the king. Both Ibrahim (AS) and Sarah remained steadfast in their faith and made a plea to Allah for Sarah’s protection. The king, feeling a sense of sadness, decided to release Sarah and give her a gift in the form of a slave girl named Hajar.
Sarah went back to Ibrahim (AS) and they lived as husband and wife in Egypt for quite a while. Allah granted them lots of barakah and blessings in their business. They became wealthy, but the people started to become jealous of them. So, they decided to pack everything up and go back to Jerusalem.
Ibrahim (AS) and Sarah were blessed with wealth and prosperity, but they still longed for a child. Despite being barren, Sarah offered her slave girl Hajar to Ibrahim (AS) as a wife and the couple had a son, Ismail (AS). Ibrahim (AS) was 86 years old at the time.
Some time after the birth of Ismail (AS), Allah instructed Ibrahim (AS) to bake Hagar and Ismail (AS) and travel the earth until they got to a certain place. This place was completely barren, it had nothing on it, it was just soil and it was a very hot. This was the valley of Makkah. When Ibrahim (AS) arrived in this place with Hagar is Ismail (AS) he was instructed by Allah to leave Hagar and Ismail (AS), and go. Ibrahim (AS) followed the command of Allah and started walking away.
At the beginning Ismail (AS) was breast-fed, but this eventually ran out. So Hagar, decided to start looking for some food. She went up a nearby mountain and began searching, but there was no sign of anything. So, se came down the mountain and began making Dua to Allah. She climbed another nearby mountain and again began making Due to Allah. After a while, she heard a sound, and she bagged looking around until she found a spring of water gushing from nowhere. SubhanAllah, she looked at it and thanked Allah. She sat down and began collecting the water. With her hands, she created a basin like structure around the water. She began saying in her language: “Zam Zam Zam Zam”, this means “Stop Stop Stop Stop”, because she wanted to take and drink the water. Today this water is known as ZamZam water and it is from the same well.
Due to this being the only source of water nearby, bird came down and began drinking from the it. At the time, caravans used to pass through the desert and would often look for birds. They would look, not to hunt them, but because this meant there it water nearby.
So the clan of Jurham was passing by when they ﷺ the birds in the middle of nowhere. They investigated and soon found the Hagar and Ismail (AS) drinking out of the spring. They recognized this was clearly a miracle and asked Hagar is they could life there. She asked why and they told her that water in the middle of this particular desert doest happen, specically gushing from underground.
Hagar agreed on the condition that the water was their property and not the caravan's. Meaning they caravan drink from it, but its their property not the caravan’s. The caravan agreed and they were very happy. They loved Ismail (AS) as he grew up among them. They taught Ismail (AS) arabic and good manners. As he grew up, Ibrahim (AS) would come and go out of Makkah.
One of the times Ibrahim (AS) was lying down he had a dream. His dream showed Ibrahim (AS) slaughtering how own son Ismail (AS). Now Ibrahim (AS) is in a great test, having to slaughter his only son. Ibrahim (AS) was a pious man and knew he had to follow the command of Allah. So he related his dream to his son the day after, asking he what he should do. Ishmail (AS) told his father, “O my father, Do as you are commanded. You will find me, If Allah wills, of the steadfast”. Ibrahim (AS) took his son and looked for a place to slaughter his son, away from his mother. At that moment, Iblis (Shaytan) came and began trying to turn Ibrahim away from what he saw. He told Ibrahim (AS), “O Ibrahim! You’re gonna go and slaughter you son? You just ﷺ a dream, maybe it was just a dream, a foolish dream.”. Ibrahim (AS) responded my throwing stones at him. Shaytan then went to Ismail (AS) and tried turning him away, but Ismail (AS) also there stones at him. Then he came to both of them at the same time, and again he was cast with stones by both.
They then arrive at a big rock. One suitable to lay Ismail (AS) on. Ismail (AS) then looks at his father and tells him to lay him with his face towards to ground, so he may not get sympathy and walk away from the command of Allah.
Ibrahim (AS) takes his sharpened knife and puts it on the neck of Ismail (AS), but every time he tries to slaughter him, the knife would turn to the other way. This shows that nothing can happen without the will of Allah, not even the cutting of a knife. Allah called to him, “O Ibrahim, You have fulfilled the vision!” and replaced send a ram from paradise to be slaughtered and sacrificed instead of Ismail (AS).
A few days pass and Allah gives Ibrahim (AS) another command. To build a house as a symbol of the oneness of Allah. Ibrahim (AS) went to Ismail (AS) and told him that Allah has given him another order. Ismail (AS) asked his father what this order was. So, Ibrahim (AS) told Ismail (AS), and asked him to help him; Ismail (AS) agreed. Similar to when Nuh (AS) built the Ark, Allah helped Ibrahim (AS) and Ismail (AS) build this structure, as each brick fit into place like a jigsaw puzzle. When this structure was built, there was an uneven corner, and Ibrahim (AS) thought to himself that he wanted to put a rock in the corner that would fit flush and perfectly. So he told Ismail (AS) to help him look for a rock and they began searching.
Later on, Ismail (AS) came back with a beautiful rock. Ibrahim (AS) asked him what this was and Ismail (AS) told him this rock has been sent from Jannah. This rock is what we call today Al-Hajar-Al Aswad. This rock was originally white, by it became back from the sins of people.
This structure is what we now know as the Kaaba, and is a vital part of the yearly pilgrimage, Hajj.
Suddenly the rock Ibrahim (AS) was standing on softened. It softened so much the his footprint was left on the rock before it hardened again. These footprints can still be found near the Kaaba today and serve as an indicator to the direction Allah wants us to pray in.
Allah then tell Ibrahim (AS) to call people to come and visit the Kaaba. There was nobody around, and Ibrahim (AS) asked Allah where would his voice reach to.
Allah then told Ibrahim (AS), Oh Ibrahim! You do you job and what you’ve been ordered to do and leave the rest on us.
So Ibrahim (AS) got up and said, “Oh people around the world! Allah has built a house of his, and he wonders you to come and perform pilgrimage. So come and perform pilgrimage”.
So Allah made the voice of Ibrahim (AS) reach everywhere, and till this day, you can go and perform pilgrim because of the call of Ibrahim (AS).
Ibrahim (AS) eventually went back to his first wife, Sarah. And one day, some visitors visited him. Three good looking men came in. He asked his wife if she know them, but she said no. He wanted to be a good host to the guests and went and slaughter a nice calf so his wife can cook it and he can serve his new guests.
When the guests came he greeted them with Salam and they also said Salam back. In a short time he came out with the roasted Calf and served it to his new guests.
The guests did not eat the food, despite Ibrahim (AS) trying to encourage them to eat. He began to fear, not physically, but why these people were refusing to eat, what is wrong with these people.
They told Ibrahim (AS), “Fear not. We have been sent to the people of Lut”. They told him stye were angels sent one two missions. To come and give Ibrahim (AS) some good news and destroy the people of Lut (AS).
Sarah began to laugh when the angels informed Ibrahim (AS) about the destruction of the people of Lut. She was happy something is being done about those transgressors.
When she laughed they gave her the good news. They told her she was pregnant with a son named Ishaq and they told her she would life long enough to see her grandson, Yaqub. She was 90 years old at the time and became overjoyed at the thought of having a child.
Once Ibrahim’s (AS) fear was gone and he received the news of Ishaq (AS), he became worried about the people of Lut (AS). He started saying they might still change and turn to Allah. He also began pleading and telling them Lut (AS) was from amongst them.
The angels told Ibrahim (AS) that it was a decree from Allah that they be destroyed, there was no point in debating. He was reassured Lut (AS) and the believers would be saved, but the disbelievers will be destroyed.
He then gave farewell to the angels, and they went on their way.
Allah then blessed Ibrahim (AS), but telling him that two things will be kept in his family, prophethood and revelation. This meant that all of the future prophets and messengers will be in the family of Ibrahim (AS).
Ibrahim (AS) passed away in Palestine, in a place known as Hebron. Ibrahim (AS) was indeed an example of patience, faith, and strength.