Page 52 - The Prophet Abraham (pbuh)

The Prophet Abraham (pbuh)

Another one of the Prophet Abraham's (pbuh) most note-
worthy methods was to incite his tribe's consciences and to em-
ploy methods that would encourage them to think. He asked
them questions, thereby exposing the irrational and confused
nature of their beliefs. He showed them that their idols were

nothing more than unconscious pieces of wood and stone, and
used a clever plan to convince their hearts and minds of this. As
he caused his tribe's traditional pagan worldview to collapse by
spreading Allah's truth, he also explained Allah's existence and
oneness. In the Qur'an Allah describes the Prophet Abraham's
(pbuh) method in the following words:

When night covered him [Abraham], he saw a star and
said: "This is my Lord!" Then when it set, he said: "I do not
love that which sets." Then when he saw the Moon come
up, he said: "This is my Lord!" Then when it set, he said:
"If my Lord does not guide me, I will be one of the mis-
guided people." Then when he saw the Sun come up, he
said: "This is my Lord! This is greater!" Then when it set,
he said: "My tribe, I am free of what you associate with
Allah! I have turned my face to Him Who brought the
heavens and Earth into being, a pure natural believer. I am
not one of the idolaters." (Surat al-An'am: 76-79)
The Prophet Abraham's (pbuh) comments regarding the
Moon, the Sun, and stars in these verses above are probably not
his own thoughts, but rather a means of communicating Allah's
message to his tribe. (Allah knows the truth.) The Prophet
Abraham (pbuh) knew that the Moon and stars would disappear
when the Sun rose, and that the Sun would sink again after it

had risen. Since his pagan tribe were not reasoning and judg-
ing in the light of true faith, however, he may have chosen to
employ the gradual explanation outlined above.

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