Surah Al-An'am, Ayah 75

Ibrahim Advises his Father

Ibrahim advised, discouraged and forbade his father from worshipping idols, just as Allah stated,

وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَهِيمُ لاًّبِيهِ ءَازَرَ أَتَتَّخِذُ أَصْنَاماً ءَالِهَةً

(And (remember) when Ibrahim said to his father Azar: "Do you take idols as gods") meaning, do you worship an idol instead of Allah

إِنِّى أَرَاكَ وَقَوْمَكَ

(Verily, I see you and your people...) who follow your path,

فِى ضَلَـلٍ مُّبِينٍ

(in manifest error) wandering in confusion unaware of where to go. Therefore, you are in disarray and ignorance, and this fact is clear to all those who have sound reason. Allah also said,

وَاذْكُرْ فِى الْكِتَـبِ إِبْرَهِيمَ إِنَّهُ كَانَ صِدِّيقاً نَّبِيّاً - إِذْ قَالَ لاًّبِيهِ يأَبَتِ لِمَ تَعْبُدُ مَا لاَ يَسْمَعُ وَلاَ يَبْصِرُ وَلاَ يُغْنِى عَنكَ شَيْئاً - يأَبَتِ إِنِّى قَدْ جَآءَنِى مِنَ الْعِلْمِ مَا لَمْ يَأْتِكَ فَاتَّبِعْنِى أَهْدِكَ صِرَاطاً سَوِيّاً - يأَبَتِ لاَ تَعْبُدِ الشَّيْطَـنَ إِنَّ الشَّيْطَـنَ كَانَ لِلرَّحْمَـنِ عَصِيّاً - يأَبَتِ إِنِّى أَخَافُ أَن يَمَسَّكَ عَذَابٌ مِّنَ الرَّحْمَـنِ فَتَكُونَ لِلشَّيْطَـنِ وَلِيّاً - قَالَ أَرَاغِبٌ أَنتَ عَنْ آلِهَتِى يإِبْرَهِيمُ لَئِن لَّمْ تَنتَهِ لأَرْجُمَنَّكَ وَاهْجُرْنِى مَلِيّاً - قَالَ سَلَـمٌ عَلَيْكَ سَأَسْتَغْفِرُ لَكَ رَبِّي إِنَّهُ كَانَ بِى حَفِيّاً - وَأَعْتَزِلُكُمْ وَمَا تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَأَدْعُو رَبِّى عَسَى أَلاَّ أَكُونَ بِدُعَآءِ رَبِّى شَقِيًّا

First, it was idol worship. He said that it was error, and straying. Then, in the next verses, he pointed out to stars as unworthy of worship. And a little earlier in verse 75, it is in the form of an introduction that Allah Ta` ala mentions a particular elegance and insight of Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) by saying: وَكَذَٰلِكَ نُرِ‌ي إِبْرَ‌اهِيمَ مَلَكُوتَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْ‌ضِ وَلِيَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُوقِنِينَ ﴿75﴾ that is, ` We made Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) see what We have created in the heavens and the earth in a way which would unravel the reality of all these created objects manifestly so that he may become firm in his belief.' What came to pass after that has taken the shape of a wondrous dialogue that appears in later verses (which shows a certain quality even in the translated form of the meanings of the totally untranslatable beauty, diction and elan of the original) and it would be useful to dwell upon the manner in which it emerges stage by stage.

The seeking of things other than God is a futile pursuit of entities that have no power to benefit or harm anybody. Heaven and earth, along with the systems prevailing in them, deny the existence of any being having any powers except the one and only Supreme Being. Similarly, man makes worldly glories his purpose in life and, in his efforts to achieve this purpose, tramples upon the requirements of truth and justice. All this is absolutely wrong. This would mean that this world is but a showplace for selfish and egoistic persons. But, the fact is that the perfect system prevalent in this universe reveals resplendent glimpses of the Perfect God and it is quite unimaginable that such a Perfect Being as He would create a showplace without meaning. The present situation existing in this world is purely temporary. God may at any moment promulgate a new command and break down the existing system. Then man’s present freedom will come to an end and God’s authority will prevail over human beings as it does today over all the other creatures in the universe. At that point only those who have surrendered themselves to God during the test period will be successful, i.e. those who feared God without any pressure being brought to bear on them before they bowed down to Him in body and soul.