Surah Maryam, Ayah 45

Ibrahim's Admonition of His Father

Allah, the Exalted, tells His Prophet, Muhammad ﷺ,

وَاذْكُرْ فِى الْكِتَـبِ إِبْرَهِيمَ

(And mention in the Book, Ibrahim.) "Recite this to your people who are worshipping idols and mention to them what happened with Ibrahim, the intimate Friend (Khalil) of the Most Beneficent. These idol worshippers (Arabs) are his descendants and they claim to follow his religion. Inform them that he was a truthful Prophet. Tell them about what took place with his father and how he forbade him from worshipping idols." Ibrahim said,

يأَبَتِ لِمَ تَعْبُدُ مَا لاَ يَسْمَعُ وَلاَ يَبْصِرُ وَلاَ يُغْنِى عَنكَ شَيْئاً

How to give counsel to elders.

يَا أَبَتِ (My dear father - 19:42) In Arabic language this word conveys deep respect and intense love for one's father. Allah Ta` ala had combined in the person of Sayyidna Khalilullah (علیہ السلام) the noble qualities and attributes, and his address to his father is a perfect example of moderation and restraint on the one hand, and the balancing of the opposites on the other. He finds his father living a life of unbelief and polytheism, and also calling upon other people to follow him in a life of sin - the very things which he was sent to eradicate. At the same time there is the filial love and respect which he feels towards his father. Now, the thing to note is, how well he combines the two conflicting feelings together. In the first place he uses the word يَا أَبَتِ , which is the mark of love and respect for his father, in the beginning of each sentence of the address. Then there is not a single derogatory word in his address which could hurt the feelings of his father, and words such as infidel or sinner have been carefully avoided. Instead, guided by prophetic wisdom he merely invited his father's attention to the helplessness and insensitivity of his idols, so that he might himself realize the fallacy of his beliefs. In the second sentence he made a mention of the prophetic knowledge that was granted to him by Allah Ta’ ala. Then in the third and fourth sentences he warned him against the Divine wrath, which would surely fall on him as a punishment for infidelity and idolatry. Even to these respectful entreaties his father did not pay any heed and, instead of giving any thought to what was said to him and adopting a gentle attitude, he addressed him ina very harsh language. Whereas Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) had addressed him with the loving words of يَا أَبَتِ , which should have called for a soft and tender response, such as یَا بُنَیَّ (My dear son) he chose to call him by his name and said يَا إِبْرَ‌اهِيمُ , and not only threatened to stone him to death but also asked him to leave his house. How Sayyidna Khalilullah' (علیہا السلام) responded to this threat is worthy of deep reflection.

Abraham was born in Iraq. His father, Azar, was a polytheist. When Abraham received prophethood, he advised his father to give up polytheism and start worshipping God, or face God’s retribution. Worship of Satan does not mean actually worshipping Satan himself, but worshipping something indicated by Satan. Although it is an inherent part of human nature to feel the need to glorify some being, place it in an elevated position and then bow down and pay homage to it, the real focus of such feelings should be and is God. But, Satan, by various methods, influences people and diverts their minds from this in order to make them worship things other than God, i.e. place them on a par with those who associate others with God and offer only to others what they should offer to God.