Page 84 - Faith: The Way to Happiness

FAITH: THE WAY TO HAPPINESS

and respectful manner of speaking. However, the discomfort felt by
his father in the face of his son's fine upstanding behavior was so
g reat that he became unwilling to see him any more and capable
even of killing him. His father's heedlessness prevented him fro m
seeing the truth and closed off his mind and conscience. The aggre s-
sive, unpleasant behavior he displayed arose from his lack of faith in
Allah and his failure to live according to His guidance.
Despite his father's unpleasant behavior, Prophet Ibrahim (as)
left him in a friendly way, saying this:
"I will separate myself from you and all you call upon be-
sides Allah and I will call upon my Lord. It may well be
that, in calling on my Lord, I will not be disappointed."
(Surah Maryam: 48)
Of course leaving those one loves, especially one's mother and
f a t h e r, or damaging relations with them is not very pleasant for us.
Leaving one's family, the people who are closest to us, is extre m e l y
d i fficult and upsetting. For this reason nobody wants to go against
his mother or father or a close relative. However, if that person is
somebody who does not recognize Allah or is a disbeliever and an
enemy of Allah, then feeding one's love of him and accepting him as
a friend and ally is completely contrary to the way of Allah.
Thus, in the face of the aggressive behavior of his father, Pro p h e t
Ibrahim (as) realized that he could not be his friend and followed his
father's wish for him to leave. Since what was most important for
P rophet Ibrahim (as) in this incident was behaving in accord a n c e
with Allah's guidance, he left his father without hesitation. After act-
ing in this way he knew that, "in calling on His Lord, he had never
been disappointed." Naturally, this is the tranquility and happiness
b rought about by action intended to gain Allah's approval.
Allah bestowed on Prophet Ibrahim (as) Prophets Ishaq (as)

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