The call to his father
Gently, he asks his father Āzar why he worships what neither hears nor sees, and is of no use to him.
إِذْ قَالَ لِأَبِيهِ يَـٰٓأَبَتِ لِمَ تَعْبُدُ مَا لَا يَسْمَعُ وَلَا يُبْصِرُ وَلَا يُغْنِى عَنكَ شَيْـًٔا ٤٢Abraham
إبراهيم
Abraham
The intimate friend of Allah, who broke with idol worship and shattered the idols. Cast into the fire, he emerged unharmed. With his son Ishmael he raised the foundations of the Kaaba, and he was tested with the command to sacrifice, to which he submitted before being ransomed.
His story, step by step
Each step links to the passage of the Quran that recalls it.
The star, the moon, the sun
He shows his people that a star, the moon and the sun each set in turn — and that what disappears cannot be worshipped.
إِنِّى وَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِىَ لِلَّذِى فَطَرَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ حَنِيفًا ۖ وَمَآ أَنَا۠ مِنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ ٧٩
The shattered idols
He shatters the idols of the temple, all but the largest, so that his people come to question it — and question themselves.
فَجَعَلَهُمْ جُذَٰذًا إِلَّا كَبِيرًا لَّهُمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِ يَرْجِعُونَ ٥٨
The fire
His people cast him into an immense blaze. The fire is commanded to be coolness and safety for him.
قُلْنَا يَـٰنَارُ كُونِى بَرْدًا وَسَلَـٰمًا عَلَىٰٓ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ ٦٩
Before the king
To the king who claims to give life and death, he answers with a challenge: Allah brings the sun from the east, so bring it from the west.
… فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأْتِى بِٱلشَّمْسِ مِنَ ٱلْمَشْرِقِ فَأْتِ بِهَا مِنَ ٱلْمَغْرِبِ …
Hājar and Ismāʿīl in the valley
At Allah's command, he leaves Hājar and the infant Ismāʿīl in a barren valley near the House — where Zamzam will spring, where Mecca will be born.
رَّبَّنَآ إِنِّىٓ أَسْكَنتُ مِن ذُرِّيَّتِى بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِى زَرْعٍ عِندَ بَيْتِكَ ٱلْمُحَرَّمِ …
The sacrifice
Tested with the command to sacrifice his son, he submits, and his son with him. Allah ransoms him with a great sacrifice — the one Eid al-Adha recalls every year.
وَفَدَيْنَـٰهُ بِذِبْحٍ عَظِيمٍ ١٠٧
The glad tidings of Isḥāq
Angels, come in the guise of guests, announce to Sāra, already old, the birth of Isḥāq — and after him, of Yaʿqūb.
… فَبَشَّرْنَـٰهَا بِإِسْحَـٰقَ وَمِن وَرَآءِ إِسْحَـٰقَ يَعْقُوبَ ٧١
The foundations of the Kaaba
With his son Ismāʿīl, he raises the foundations of the House, and both pray that Allah accept it. It is towards it that believers pray today.
وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبْرَٰهِـۧمُ ٱلْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَإِسْمَـٰعِيلُ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ١٢٧
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His account in the Quran
by Mishary Al Afasi