Surah Maryam, Ayah 48

The Reply of Ibrahim's Father

Allah, the Exalted, informs of the reply of Ibrahim's father to his son, Ibrahim, in reference to what he was calling him to. He said,

أَرَاغِبٌ أَنتَ عَنْ آلِهَتِى يإِبْرَهِيمُ

(Do you revile my gods, O Ibrahim) This means, "If you do not want to worship them (the idols) and you are not pleased with them, then at least stop cursing, abusing, and reviling them. For verily, if you do not cease, I will punish you, curse you and revile you." This is the meaning of his statement;

لأَرْجُمَنَّكَ

(La'arjumannaka.) Ibn `Abbas, As-Suddi, Ibn Jurayj, Ad-Dahhak and others said this. Concerning His statement,

وَأَعْتَزِلُكُمْ وَمَا تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّـهِ وَأَدْعُو رَ‌بِّي

And go away from you and what you invoke besides Allah. And I shall invoke my Lord." - 19:48.

On the one hand Sayyidna Khalilullah (علیہ السلام) went to the extreme to show his respect and love for his father, which has been described above, and on the other hand he did not allow the slightest doubt to be cast on his expression of the universal truth (حق) or on his total belief in it. He accepted willingly his father's orders to leave the house and also made it known that he had totally dissociated himself from his (father's) idols and addressed his prayers only to Allah.

The statues criticized by the Prophet Abraham were not simply ordinary pieces of stone. Rather, they represented those entities, whose supposed magical greatness, enshrined in the legends of the past, had charmed the people and left a lasting impression on their minds. Compared to them, ‘young Abraham’ appeared to be an ordinary person, while the statues of Iraq seemed to be mountains of greatness. That is why Abraham’s father contemptuously ignored his advice. If the call to the Truth, initiated at a particular place, reaches a stage when the addresee though fully understanding it, stoop to violence, the believers have to move away from that place. Such a move is called Hijrah or immigration. The call of Truth is a divine call. That is why, from the very outset, it is marked by God-oriented thinking. Even if those to whom the call is addressed deal contemptuously with the call-giver and oppress him, he still keeps a soft corner in his heart for them. Similarly, if he finds himself unsupported by his surroundings, he is not dejected, because his real support comes from God. He firmly believes that, as always, He is with him and will remain with him forever.