Surah Al-An'am, Ayah 77

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

Using Wisdom and Strategy in Tabligh and Da'wah is the Way of Prophets

Let us begin with verse 76 which opens with the words: رَ‌أَىٰ كَوْكَبًا So, when the night enveloped him, he saw a star. Then, beaming at his people, he said: This is my Lord. The sense in which he said it was: Is it not, as you think and believe, my Lord and your Lord, the Rabb of both of us who nurtures, nourishes and sustains us? In a little while you will find out how real that is. Then, after some time, the star vanished. This gave Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) a good occasion to drive his argument home against his disbelieving people. He said: لَا أُحِبُّ الْآفِلِينَ (I do not like those who vanish). The word: آفِلِين (` afulin' ) is from: افول ('afulin) which means to set.

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.