Page 43 - Perished Nations

rying a moon on it in the shape of a crescent. In addition, these people
made embossed pictures and sculptures of these gods and worshipped
them. This was quite a widespread belief system which found appropri-
ate soil for itself in the Near East and thus maintained its existence for a
long time. People living in that region continued to worship these gods
until around 600 AD. As a consequence of this belief, some constructions
known as "'ziggurats"' which were used both as observatories and tem-
ples, were built in the region stretching from Mesopotamia to the interior
of Anatolia and here some gods, primarily the moon-god "'Sin"', were wor-
shipped. 12
This way of belief, only discovered in archaeological excavations
today, is to be found mentioned in the Qur’an. As mentioned in the
Qur’an, Ibrahim (as) rejected the worship of these deities and turned only
to Allah, the one true God. In the Qur’an, Ibrahim's (as) conduct is
recounted as follows:
Lo! Ibrahim said to his father Azar: "Takest thou idols for gods? For I see
thee and thy people in manifest error."
So also did We show Ibrahim the power and the laws of the heavens and
the earth, that he might (with understanding) have certitude.
When the night covered him over, He saw a star: He said: "This is my
Lord." But when it set, He said: "I love not those that set."
When he saw the moon rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord." But
when the moon set, He said: "unless my Lord guide me, I shall surely be
among those who go astray."
When he saw the sun rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord; this is
the greatest (of all)." But when the sun set, he said: "O my people! I am
indeed free from your (guilt) of giving partners to Allah.
For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the
heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah." (Surat al-
Anam: 74-79)
In the Qur’an, it is indicated that Ibrahim (as) and Lut (as) lived close
to each other and were contemporaries, by the fact that the angels sent to
the people of Lut (as) came to Ibrahim (as), and announced to his wife
the good news of a child, before going on to Lut (as).
An important issue about Ibrahim (as) in the Qur’an, not mentioned in
the Old Testament, is the construction of the Ka’bah. In the Qur’an, we

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