Page 40 - The Prophet Abraham (pbuh)

The Prophet Abraham (pbuh)

the Qur'an the most suitable and appropriate methods. For ex-
ample, believers should invite their friends and family mem-
bers first to believe in Allah and the Day of Judgment:

So do not call on any other deity along with Allah, or you
will be among those who will be punished. Warn your
near relatives. (Surat ash-Shu'ara: 213-14)
The Prophet Abraham's (pbuh) words to his father are ex-
emplary in this respect. He explained to his father, in a most
wise manner, that worshipping idols was equivalent to ascrib-
ing partners to Allah and that a person should serve Allah
alone. Some of these words are revealed in the Qur'an:

Remember when Abraham said to his father, Azar: "Do
you take idols as gods? I see that you and your tribe are
clearly misguided." (Surat al-An'am: 74)
Remember when he [Abraham] said to his father: "Father,
why do you worship that which can neither hear nor see,
and is of no use to you at all? Father, knowledge that nev-
er reached you has come to me. So follow me, and I will
guide you to the right path." (Surah Maryam: 42-43)
One of the most important elements of this conversation,

which should be taken as a model, is that no matter how arro-
gant and difficult an unbeliever may be, a believer must remain
patient while relaying the message and behave in the most
pleasant manner possible.
The Prophet Abraham's (pbuh) approach here is exactly
the same as that of the Prophet Moses (pbuh) toward Pharaoh.
The Prophet Moses (pbuh) also employed a temperate and pa-

tient style when relaying Allah's message to Pharaoh, in com-
pliance with Allah's command to "speak to him with gentle
words so that, hopefully, he will pay heed or show some fear"
(Surah Ta Ha: 44).

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