Page 57 - The Courage of the Faithful
P. 57
Examples of Courage Among the Prophets and Sincere Believers
anyone who denounced their idols, were angered by and wanted to
punish him:
They came rushing back to him. He said, "Do you worship
something you have carved when Allah created both you
and what you do?" They said, "Build a pyre for him and
fling him into the blaze!" They tried to outwit him but W e
made them the lowest. He said, "I am going towards my
Lord; He will be my guide." (Surat as-Saffat, 94-99)
In spite of their rage, Prophet Ibrahim (as) continued to speak of
the existence and unity of Allah, carrying out his duty with courage.
Knowing that all people, including the tribe who were so violently
opposing him, are under the control of Allah, he behaved stead-
f a s t l y, showing his boundless trust in our Lord. The leaders of the
tribe wanted to throw him into a fire, but Allah saved him by a mir-
acle. This is a proof of Allah's promise of help to all believers who
battle fearlessly on His path.
In other verses of the Qur'an, Prophet Ibrahim's (as) show of de-
votion to Allah, and the courage he demonstrated, are held up as ex-
amples of the behavior for believers to aspire to:
His people argued with him. He said, "Are you arguing
with me about Allah when He has guided me? I have no
fear of any partner you ascribe to Him unless my Lord
should will such a thing to happen. My Lord encompasses
all things in His knowledge so will you not pay heed?
Why should I fear what you have associated with Him
when you yourselves apparently have no fear of associat-
ing partners with Allah for which He has sent down no au -
thority to you? Which of the two parties is more entitled to
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