The One Lesson from the Story of Prophet Ibrahim
الحمد لله نحمده ونستعينة ونستغفره، ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا، ومن سيئات أعمالنا ، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ، وأشهد أن سيدنا محمداً عبده ورسوله ، اللهم صلِّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن تبعه إلى يوم الدين
The story of Prophet Ibrahim is probably the most important story in the Quran because based on it we can derive the most important attribute in our religion. Allah emphasized in seven verses in the Quran that Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and us follow the religion of Ibrahim (مِّلَّةِ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمَ). This emphasis is in verse 130 and 135 of Surat Al-Baqarah, verse 95 in Surat Al-Emran, verse 125 in Surat Al-Nisa, verse 161 in Surat Al-An’am, verse 123 in Surat Al-Nahl and in verse 78 in Surat Al-Hajj. As examples, Allah says:
وَقَالُواْ ڪُونُواْ هُودًا أَوۡ نَصَـٰرَىٰ تَہۡتَدُواْۗ قُلۡ بَلۡ مِلَّةَ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمَ حَنِيفً۬اۖ وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ ٱلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ (١٣٥)
“They say: “Become Jews or Christians and you will be guided.” Say: “Nay! but (we follow) the religion of Ibrahim, the upright, and he was not of the idolators.” (Al-Baqara 2:135)
ثُمَّ أَوۡحَيۡنَآ إِلَيۡكَ أَنِ ٱتَّبِعۡ مِلَّةَ إِبۡرَٲهِيمَ حَنِيفً۬اۖ وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ ٱلۡمُشۡرِڪِينَ (١٢٣)
“And We revealed to you; follow the religion of Ibrahim, the upright, and he was not of the idolaters.” (Al-Nahl 16:123)
When we study the story of Prophet Ibrahim in the Quran, we realize the dominant theme which is his total submission to the commands of Allah even when they are beyond any human comprehension. Every day we make at least 17 times a specific declaration to Allah that “we worship no one but Him” (إِيَّاكَ نَعۡبُدُ) as we read Surat Al-Fatiha.
What is the most dominant feature of worshiping Allah? It should be the most dominant feature of the actions of Prophet Ibrahim which is complete obedience to Allah, and this is the religion of Ibrahim, and this is the essence of our declaration that “we worship no one but Allah”.
Obeying the command of anyone including your own self, over Allah’s command is not only an act of shirk but it is also an act of kufr. Kufr does not necessarily mean being atheist or agnostic, it means rejecting Allah’s command because it does not suit your own desires or interests. The best example of a person who never associated anything with Allah, but Allah declared him a kafir, a disbeliever, is Iblis (Satan). All Satan did is to reject a command from Allah because he did not like it. Allah says:
فَسَجَدَ ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةُ ڪُلُّهُمۡ أَجۡمَعُونَ (٧٣) إِلَّآ إِبۡلِيسَ ٱسۡتَكۡبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ ٱلۡكَـٰفِرِينَ (٧٤)
“The angels prostrated themselves, everyone, (73) Except Iblis (Satan); he showed arrogance and became one of the disbelievers.” (Sad 38:73-74)
Allah also warned us from worshipping Satan, as He said:
أَلَمۡ أَعۡهَدۡ إِلَيۡكُمۡ يَـٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ أَن لَّا تَعۡبُدُواْ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنَۖ إِنَّهُ ۥ لَكُمۡ عَدُوٌّ۬ مُّبِينٌ۬ (٦٠) وَأَنِ ٱعۡبُدُونِىۚ هَـٰذَا صِرَٲطٌ۬ مُّسۡتَقِيمٌ۬
“Did I not order on you, O children of Adam, that you should not worship Satan; for that he is an open enemy for you? (60) “And that you should worship Me, (because) this is the straight path?” (Yasin 36:60-61)
Worshiping Iblis does not mean that we will consider him as the creator, but our worshiping him is by obeying his commands.
In this talk, I plan to inshallah remind us of the nature of Allah’s obedience that He expects from us and provided for us the story of Prophet Ibrahim as a living example of true worship that we need to follow.
When Allah saved Ibrahim from the fire and from the King in Iraq, he emigrated from Iraq to Syria (الشام) and said: “ إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَى رَبِّي سَيَهْدِينِ”، “I am going to my Lord and He will guide me” (Al-Saffat 37:99). Since he grew old and did not have any children, he supplicated to Allah to grant him a son by saying: “رَبِّ هَبْ لِي مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ” “God gave me from the righteous” (Al-Saffat 37:100), Allah answered his prayers and “gave him the good news that he will have a forbearing son” “فَبَشَّرْنَاهُ بِغُلَامٍ حَلِيمٍ” (Al-Saffat 37:101).
This boy was Prophet Ibrahim’s first born from his wife Hajar and he named him Ismael that means “God hears my Dua”. You can imagine the degree of happiness of Prophet Ibrahim with his son. But, soon after the birth of the child, Allah subjected Prophet Ibrahim to very severe trial to test his level of obedience and to set him as an example to all who will follow him on what is expected from them when they hear a command from Allah. Yes, Prophet Ibrahim faced several trials before when he was young, but anyone who has children realizes that the worst of the trials is when it impacts the children, particularly for a person who was blessed with a child at very old age. Allah commanded Prophet Ibrahim to take his only and infant son and his mother (Hajr) and leave them in the desert of Arabia, a place that is far away from where he lives; a place where there are no people, no water, and no food.
Can you imagine the emotion of prophet Ibrahim and the level of sadness and fear when he was leaving his son and his wife after he placed them in this place, Mecca? You need to measure your best level of trust in Allah with the level of trust of the wife, Sayeda Hajar, when she said: “If Allah commanded you, Allah will not cause us to be lost.” By these words, she was comforting her husband by saying “don’t worry about us, we will be fine”; obviously her heart must have been full of fear and worry if not for herself but at least for her infant son.
As the time passed, prophet Ibrahim used to visit his wife and his son Ismael in Mecca. Ismael was growing to become a handsome boy. When Ismael was at the age of say 10 to 12 that his father can walk with him and have meaningful discussion with him, Allah subjected Prophet Ibrahim to the most difficult trial that no human being can bear to demonstrate to us by real example the level of obedience that Allah expects from his slaves.
The test of obedience was to command Ibrahim to slaughter his only son and not only that, but Allah sent the command as a vision and not as a direct communication with Prophet Ibrahim. Yes, Prophet Ibrahim knew that the vision of the Prophets represents a revelation. But this vision of him slaughtering his son is very distressing. We can speculate on what was going in his mind, is this really a command from Allah or just a dream. While he knew that a vision of Prophets is revelations from Allah, doubts can come, and Satan surely would have been playing on Prophet’s Ibrahim emotion to reject the vision. Prophet Ibrahim had no choice but to tell his young son Ismael whom Allah described as (غلام حليم) (Al-Saffat 37:101); this attribute “Haleem” means sweat, soft patient, gentle, tolerant, and forbearing. With these beautiful attributes of Ismael, you can imagine the level of love prophet Ibrahim has for him.
So, Prophet Ibrahim told his son of his vison by saying:
قَالَ يَـٰبُنَىَّ إِنِّىٓ أَرَىٰ فِى ٱلۡمَنَامِ أَنِّىٓ أَذۡبَحُكَ فَٱنظُرۡ مَاذَا تَرَىٰۚ
“O my son! I have seen in my sleep that I am slaughtering you, so look what you think!” (Al-Saffat 37:102)
It may be that Prophet Ibrahim was hoping that his son may offer different interpretation of the vision or question whether this vision is a real command from Allah, but Ismael who is all aware that a vison of a prophet is a revelation from Allah, instantly understood that it is a command from Allah and without any hesitation he told his father “ O my dear father, do what you have been commanded and by the will of Allah I’ll be patient.” (Al-Saffat 37:102) (يَـٰٓأَبَتِ ٱفۡعَلۡ مَا تُؤۡمَرُۖ سَتَجِدُنِىٓ إِن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ)
Even at his young age, Ismael felt that his father is tormented by what he is commanded to do, therefore his response was comforting and firm. He addressed his father by my dear father and assured him that his vison is a command from Allah and comforted him that he will be patient.
We know what happened next, Allah acknowledged Ibrahim’s fulfillment of the command that Allah classified as major trial and then ransomed Ismael with an animal sacrifice as Allah informed us in Surat Al-Saffat
قَدۡ صَدَّقۡتَ ٱلرُّءۡيَآۚ إِنَّا كَذَٲلِكَ نَجۡزِى ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِينَ (١٠٥) إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَهُوَ ٱلۡبَلَـٰٓؤُاْ ٱلۡمُبِينُ (١٠٦) وَفَدَيۡنَـٰهُ بِذِبۡحٍ عَظِيمٍ۬ (١٠٧) وَتَرَكۡنَا عَلَيۡهِ فِى ٱلۡأَخِرِينَ (١٠٨)
You have fulfilled the dream!” This is how we reward the good doers. (105) Indeed, this was a manifest trial. (106) And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice; (107) And We left for him (a word of praise) among the later generations. (Al-Saffat 37:104-108)
The last verse (وَتَرَكۡنَا عَلَيۡهِ فِى ٱلۡأَخِرِينَ) gave the good news to Prophet Ibrahim that his obedience to Allah’s command will bring great praise for him by later generation. This promise is being fulfilled by Muslims all over the world each time, they say:
اللهم صل على محمد وعلى آل محمد كما صليت على إبراهيم وعلى آل إبراهيم ، اللهم بارك على محمد وعلى آل محمد كما باركت على إبراهيم وعلى آل إبراهيم
O Allah, pray on Muhammad and the “A’al” (آل) of Mohammad” as You prayed on Ibrahim and the ‘A’al” of Ibrahim. And grant Blessings to Muhammad and the “A’al” of Mohammad as You granted blessings to Ibrahim and the “A’al” of Ibrahim.
It is interesting to note the attribute that Allah emphasized for the two sons of Prophet Ibrahim, Ismael and Ishaq.
- For Ismael, Allah said:” فَبَشَّرۡنَـٰهُ بِغُلَـٰمٍ حَلِيمٍ۬ (١٠١) “We gave him the good news of a (Haleem) forbearing son” (Al-Saffat 37:101).
- For Ishaq, Allah said: (قَالُواْ لَا تَوۡجَلۡ إِنَّا نُبَشِّرُكَ بِغُلَـٰمٍ عَلِيمٍ۬ (٥٣)) “They said: “Have no fear, we give the give the good news of a (Aleamm) knowledgeable boy.” (Al-Hijr 15:53)
Note the difference, the trial of sacrifice needed a son who is Haleem, sweat, soft patient, gentle, tolerant, and forbearing more than a son who is knowledgeable and wise because Allah’s commands don’t require technical analysis on why, but they require obedience whether the purpose is understood or not.
True belief in Allah means surrendering to His authority as our Master and acknowledging that we are His slaves, and this can only be demonstrated by full obedience. Surrender to Allah means that you obey Allah’s command even if it does not make sense to you. There is no way that you call Allah your Lord when you refuse to obey Him. Allah is not interested in half-hearted commitment or partial obedience.
Although the commands given to Prophet Ibrahim, were very difficult to imagine, at the end no harm was done to him, his wife, and his son. Rather, they received great blessings from Allah. As a result of the command of taking Hajar and the infant Ismael to Mecca a new nation was formed whose members are the only ones today who declare the oneness and glory of Allah and pray for Prophet Ibrahim at least 5 times every day. Out of the command to sacrifice his only son Ismael comes the greatest annual ritual that the world witness which is the Hajj in Mecca and the Eid of Sacrifice commemorating the whole episode of the sacrifice. Also, the ritual of Hajj involves an enactment of what Prophet Ibrahim did to Satan by stoning him when he tried his best to prevent Prophet Ibrahim from following the command of Allah to perform the sacrifice.
In addition, after Prophet Ibrahim passed the test of the major command of sacrificing his son Ismael, Allah gave him the great news that his second wife Sarah will have for him a second son and his name will be Ishaq (Isaac) and Allah will appoint him as prophet. Allah said after the account of the episode of the sacrifice:
وَبَشَّرۡنَـٰهُ بِإِسۡحَـٰقَ نَبِيًّ۬ا مِّنَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ (١١٢)
And We gave him the good news of Ishaq (Isaac) a Prophet from among the righteous.” (Al-Saffat 37:112)
Not only that but this new son whose name Ishaq (Isaac) will live and get married and will have a son whose name will be Yaqoob (Jacob). So, prophet Ibrahim was not only given the good news that he will have a second son, but he was also given the good news that he will be a grandfather as Allah says in Surat Hud:
فَبَشَّرۡنَـٰهَا بِإِسۡحَـٰقَ وَمِن وَرَآءِ إِسۡحَـٰقَ يَعۡقُوبَ (٧١)
“We gave her (Sarah) the good news (of the birth) of Ishaq (Isaac), and Yaqub (Jacob) after Ishaq.” (Hud 11:71)
The Quran gives us many examples of the full obedience that Allah expects from His prophets and their followers. But the most compelling example is that of Prophet Ibrahim. Not only him but the submission of his wife Hajar and his young son Ismael to Allah’s commands are clear examples for us. The story of Prophet Ibrahim gives us a very important lesson that we must learn. By the grace of Allah, none of Allah’s commands to us rise to the level of the commands that Prophet Ibrahim received but his story should remain in our mind each time we become lax in fulfilling one of Allah’s commands.
The story of Prophet Ibrahim should also serve as lessons to the wives and the children that they should be a source of help to the father to fulfill Allah’s command and not be a hindrance. They need to heed Allah’s warning that even your family members can be enemies when they try to hinder your state of full obedience to Allah, Allah says:
يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ إِنَّ مِنۡ أَزۡوَٲجِكُمۡ وَأَوۡلَـٰدِڪُمۡ عَدُوًّ۬ا لَّڪُمۡ فَٱحۡذَرُوهُمۡۚ وَإِن تَعۡفُواْ وَتَصۡفَحُواْ وَتَغۡفِرُواْ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ۬ رَّحِيمٌ (١٤) إِنَّمَآ أَمۡوَٲلُكُمۡ وَأَوۡلَـٰدُكُمۡ فِتۡنَةٌ۬ۚ وَٱللَّهُ عِندَهُ ۥۤ أَجۡرٌ عَظِيمٌ۬ (١٥)
“O you who believe! Truly, among your wives and your children are (some that are) enemies to yourselves: So, beware of them! But if ye forgive and overlook and cover up (their faults), verily Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (14) Your riches and your children may be but a trial: but in the Presence of Allah is the highest Reward.” (Al-Taghabun 64:14)
It should be settled based on the Quran and the seerah and the rituals of Hajj that are performed in Mecca by the Arabs before Islam and by all Muslims after Islam for thousands of years that the son whom Allah commanded prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice is the first-born son, Ismael. Unfortunately, some early interpreters used a confusing statement in the Old Testament to suggest that the one who was intended for the sacrifice is the 2nd son Ishaq. This account was introduced by a chief Rabbi from Yemen who became Muslim after the Prophet’s death and moved to Madina during the rule of Khalifa Omar and became very influential, his name is Kaʿb al-Aḥbār (كعب الأحبار). The account that mentions Isaaq is in Genesis 22:
“Sometime later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” (Genesis 22:1-2)
You don’t need any serious analysis to know that the name Isaac was just added, so the Jews can take credit for the account, though it is very clear that Isaac was never the only son of Prophet Ibrahim by simple review of other statements in Old Testament. The following are relevant ones:
- Ishmael was born to Prophet Ibrahim when he was 86 years Old: “And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael. (Genesis 16:15-16))
- Isaac was born when Prophet Ibrahim was 100 years old and thus Ishmael was 14 years old: “Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him”. (Genesis 21:5)
- For 14 years, Ishmael was the only son that Prophet Ibrahim has. So, Isaac cannot be the only son for Prophet Ibrahim unless Ishmael died before Prophet Ibrahim. But this did not happen because according to the Old Testament, Prophet Ibrahim died at the age of 175 years, and he was buried by his two sons Ishmael and Isaac: “Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him”. (Genesis 25:7-9) according to the bible Ishmael died at the age of 137 years, i.e., 48 years after his father)
So, based on the Old Testament’s historical accounts of ages, it is impossible that the command of sacrifice be applied to Isaac because he was never the only son. The sequence of events that I presented clearly indicate that the sacrifice can only be applied to Ishmael because Isaac was not even born.
To merely justify that Isaac is the one intended for sacrifice, it is unfortunate that some interpreters were willing to suggested that after Prophet Ibrahim made his supplication to Allah for a son, the series of verses in Surat Al-Saffat went as follows:
- Verse 101: So, We gave him the good news of a forbearing boy (فَبَشَّرۡنَـٰهُ بِغُلَـٰمٍ حَلِيمٍ۬).
- Verses 102 to 111 give the account of the sacrifice and the praise of Ibrahim.
- Verse 112: And We gave him the good news of Ishaq, a prophet (وَبَشَّرۡنَـٰهُ بِإِسۡحَـٰقَ نَبِيًّ۬ا)
.
They suggest that verse 101 and verse 112 refer to the same child. This is absolutely wrong for several reasons:
- It attributes to the Quran redundancy and poor style that is not befitting for the divine speech of the Quran.
- The first good news in verse 101 refers to the first son in fulfillment of Prophet Ibrahim Dua in verse 100 (رَبِّ هَبۡ لِى مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ)
- The first good news was for a son whose attribute is Haleem (حَلِيمٍ۬) and this is the key attribute of Ishmael, while the key attribute of Ishaq was Knowledgeable (عَلِيمٍ۬).
- Linguistically the use of “and” in verse 112 (And We gave him the good news) directly means that this good news is different from the first one in verse 101. In addition, since Allah gave the good news that Ishaq will be a prophet, it would make no sense that Ibrahim will be ordered to sacrifice him.
- This last point is emphasized in Surat Hud, when Allah gave the good news that Sarah will have son whose name is Ishaq and Ishaq will have a son who name is Yaqub (Jacob). So, it makes no sense that Allah will ask Ibrahim to sacrifice him, when Ibrahim already knew that he would have to live and get married and have a son called Jacob.
Someone may say but why Allah did not mention Ismael in this account, the reason is simple, the Quran is a book that requires you to think and when the information is obvious, it is not mentioned. Also, the Quran is not a linear book as humans write, it requires Tadabour by assembling all the verses related to the topic of interest and harmonizing them to gain a clear understanding.
There are several other proofs that Prophet Ismael who was the one intended for the sacrifice. As example, the horns of the ram that Allah sent to Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice were always hung in the Kabba. It was Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) who ordered them to be removed to avoid them from distracting the worshipper. And it is clear that Prophet Ibrahim and Ismael were the ones who built the Kabba in Mecca while Ishaq was in Syria.
We mentioned that many rituals of the Hajj in Mecca are an enactment of the sacrifice account, and these rituals are not only done by Muslims, but they were done by the Arabs before Islam. If it was Ishaq, don’t you think that the Jews would have made this a great ritual for them.
Another account that is reported in Al-Hakim that was narrated by Muawiya:
حديث الحاكم عن معاوية بعدم إنكار الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم على من ناداه بابن الذبيحين ، كما يؤيدها ما روى عنه صلى الله عليه وسلم من قوله ” أنا ابن الذبيحين “.
The Prophet (PBUH) did not object when people called him the son of the two sacrifices. And in another account that the Prophet (PBUH) called himself with that name. (This was referring the sacrifice of prophet Ismael who was ransomed by a heavenly ram and the sacrifice of the Prophet’s father Abdullah who was ransomed with 100 camels).
Ataa ibn Abu Rabbah (عطاء بن أبي رباح) reported that Ibn Abbas said:
عن عطاء بن أبي رباح ، عن ابن عباس أنه قال : المفدي إسماعيل ، وزعمت اليهود أنه إسحاق وكذبت اليهود
“The one who is intended for the sacrifice is Ismael and the Jews claim that he is Ishaq but the Jews are lying”.
Also, Abu Amr ibn Al-Alaa (أبو عمرو بن العلاء) (D: 154H) who is one the seven primary transmitters of the chain of reciters of the Quran and a great Arabic linguist, was asked by a person about the one who was sacrificed, and his response was:
وكان أبو عمرو بن العلاء قد سأله عبد الملك بن قريب الأصمعى عن الذبيح، فقال له: أين ذهب عقلك ؟ متى كان إسحاق بمكة؟ إنما كان إسماعيل بمكة وهو الذى بنى البيت مع أبيه والمنحر بمكة.
How can you ask such a question! Ismael was in Mecca, and he is the one who built the Kabba with his father and the place of sacrifice is in Mecca. When was Ishaq ever in Mecca!
There are 7 mutawatir qira’at Nafi’ (d. 169/785), Ibn Kathir (d. 120/737), Abu ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ala’ (d. 154/762), Ibn ‘Amir (d. 154/762), ‘Asim (d. 127/744), Hamza (d. 156/772), al-Kisa’i (d. 189/904)
There is another issue that is also false due to misinterpreting the verse in the Quran when using the biblical account that prophet Ibrahim prayed for the people of Lot because he had compassion for them. Allah says in Surat Hud:
فَلَمَّا ذَهَبَ عَنۡ إِبۡرَٲهِيمَ ٱلرَّوۡعُ وَجَآءَتۡهُ ٱلۡبُشۡرَىٰ يُجَـٰدِلُنَا فِى قَوۡمِ لُوطٍ (٧٤) إِنَّ إِبۡرَٲهِيمَ لَحَلِيمٌ أَوَّٲهٌ۬ مُّنِيبٌ۬ (٧٥) يَـٰٓإِبۡرَٲهِيمُ أَعۡرِضۡ عَنۡ هَـٰذَآۖ إِنَّهُ ۥ قَدۡ جَآءَ أَمۡرُ رَبِّكَۖ وَإِنَّہُمۡ ءَاتِيہِمۡ عَذَابٌ غَيۡرُ مَرۡدُودٍ۬ (٧٦)
“And when the fear left Abraham, and the good news came to him (about the birth of Ishaq), he started disputing with Us for the people of Lot. (74) Indeed, Ibrahim is forbearing very penitent, ever turning to Allah. (75) (It was said) O Abraham! Leave it. The command of your Lord has come to pass, and there has to come upon them a punishment that cannot be averted.” (Hud 11:74-76)
The question is: what was prophet Ibrahim disputing with the angels about regarding the people of Lot? Prophet Ibrahim had no objection for Allah’s decree to destroy the people who were committing the great sin among the people of Prophet Lot, he was only concerned about the believers among them. Accusing Prophet Ibrahim of praying for the people who committed that grave sin results from misinterpretation of Genesis 18:16-33 in the Old Testament. Even the biblical interpreters write that Abraham’s prayer was only for Lot and his family.
This account of Prophet’s Ibrahim dispute with the angels is presented as follows by many early interpreters such as: Qatada (d. 118 H), Al-Sady (127 H), Ibn Ishaq (d. 150 H), Ibn Jurayi (150H)
عن قتادة و عن السدي و عن ابن إسحاق و ابن جريج و أبو المثنى ومسلم أبو الحبيل الأشجعي
When the angles told Ibrahim that they are going to destroy the people of lot, he said: How can you destroy them and there are 100 believers among them.
The angels said: if there are 100 believers they will not be destroyed.
So, Prophet Ibrahim realized that they must be less than 100, so he said: How can you destroy them if there are 50 believers among them.
They said, if there 50 believers among them, they will not be destroyed.
He said: How can you destroy them if there are 10 believers among them.
They said, if there 10 believers among them, they will not be destroyed.
Then they said: Ibrahim, stop the argument, a city that does not even have 10 righteous people is not worthy of being saved from Allah’s wrath. Ibrahim, there are only 3 believers in only one family, and they will be saved.
To Conclude, let us focus on the main lesson from the story of Prophet Ibrahim that represents the foundation of our religion which is complete obedience of Allah’s commands even if we don’t understand their purpose.
We pray to Allah to give us the wisdom and to help us with the commitment to follow all His command without any hesitation or procrastination.
DUA
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