Page 60 - The Prophet Abraham (pbuh)

The Prophet Abraham (pbuh)

Abraham (pbuh) with death by fire. Thus, all believers must
devoutly and determinedly call those around them to the true
path and not despair if they are ignored and persecuted.
In one verse, our Lord states that "... It is the truth from
your Lord; so let whoever wishes believe and whoever wish-

es disbelieve" (Surat al-Kahf: 29). In another verse Allah re-
veals to our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
that "Perhaps you will destroy yourself with grief because
they will not become believers" (Surat ash-Shu'ara: 3). In
Surah Yusuf, Allah reveals that "But most people, for all your
eagerness, are not believers. You do not ask them for any
wage for it. It is only a reminder to all beings" (Surah Yusuf:

103-104).
One reason why the Prophet Abraham's (pbuh) tribe per-
sisted in their denial was their concern for their own interests.
Their pagan belief system provided them with various worldly
advantages, and any change to the established order would
conflict with those interests, just as our Prophet's mission (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) upset the Meccan leaders,
who enjoyed enormous commercial profits due to Arabia's pa-
ganism. This is actually a law that Allah has decreed for His

prophets. As Allah states in the Qur'an, the prophets have al-
ways been opposed by their tribe. They have been threatened
with death and subjected to slander, and sometimes have even
been accused of sorcery, madness, and ascribing their own
words to Allah. In sum, those who accused the prophets had no
hesitation about resorting to such falsehoods as asserting that
the prophets were on the wrong path while they were on the

right path.
However, these people are laboring under a cloud of irra-
tionality, for while mistakenly trying to protect their own in-

58