Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) : Life story and sacrifices
Our beloved Prophet Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) (also known as Abraham) was born on 25th of Dhul Qaddah. He has a most in depth personality and character described in Quran. He played a significant role as an example of faith in Christianity, Judaism and Islam. It is believed that Ibrahim successfully passed all the tests given by Allah to him and have a stalwart faith in Allah Almighty. It is said that Allah promised Ibrahim to be the leader of the whole world one day. Muslims also celebrate a Holy event Eid ul Adha in rememberance of Ibrahim's (AS) sacrifice. The first house of Allah, Kabba was built in Makkah by Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) and his son Ismail (AS).
Birth of Abraham
Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) was born in a kingdom Babylon were idols were worshipped and they were considered as Gods. Father of Hazrat Ibrahim (AS), was a sculptor and he would craft these Idols from wood and stones. As Hazrat Ibrahim was a child he used to play with the finished idols. Hazrat Ibrahim always thought that why would people worship these pieces of stone and wood? His father gave him an explanation that these statues represent God and people offer food and worship in order to get favours from God. This explanation didn't satisfy him and as he grew older, it was confirmed in his mind that it is false. He often question that How could these statues be Gods? As they have no power either to harm or to protect.
Voice of Allah
Once in a night, Ibrahim travelled up on a mountain just to watch sky and observe nature. A few moments later he heard a voice that was calling him,
"It was none other than his Lord, Allah"
Than Allah commanded him to submit and become a Muslim. He fell to the ground and prostrated himself to Allah and said,
“I submit to the Lord of the universe!”
Then he got to his feet and went back to home. His life was totally changed. His heart was filled with peace.
Mission to spread the name of Allah
Hazrat Ibrahim was now on a mission to made his people believe that Allah is the one true God. He first turned to his father whom he loves the most, he said,
“O Father! Why do you worship that which doesn't hear, doesn't see, and cannot avail you in anything? O father, I have got knowledge which you have not, so follow me. I will guide you to a straight path.” [Quran 19:42-48]
His father in a fit of fury rejected his request and told him to get out of his sight.
Plan of Hazrat Ibrahim (AS)
Hazrat Ibrahim knew that on the eve of big celebration, all the townfolks would be leaving town in order to share a huge feast. When they had left, Ibrahim went into the temple and demolished all the idols present there except the largest one. When the people returned, they were horrified. They blamed Ibrahim for all this stuff. They asked him, are you the one who had done this? Ibrahim said, No. This largest one had done this all. They replied, it cannot even move or speak. How is it possible? Then Ibrahim replied, if these statues cannot even walk aur speak than why did you worship them? They cannot even protect themselves.
The people were silent as Ibrahim had made a valid point. But they couldn't be able to reject the idols they were worshipping for generations because of their pride. Anger streamed into the crowd.
Miracle of fire
The crowd wanted a revenge from Hazrat Ibrahim (AS). A decision of burning him alive was taken by the King of Babylon, Nimrod. A Hug pit was dug and it was filled with woods. It was considered to be the biggest fire anyone could ever seen. Hazrat Ibrahim was chained tightly and was held in a Catapult to be thrown into fire. At this Moment, An Angel, Gabriel visited him and asked, is there anything you need? He replied, the only wish of mine is that Allah be pleased with him. He could have asked for anything but instead of begging for his life, he wanted the blessings of Allah Almighty.
Allah would not allow his Prophet to be executed so he ordered the fire to be nothing but cool and peaceful for him. The fire obeyed the orders of Allah and Ibrahim went out of it without a single damage to his skin and clothes. Every spectator was stunned, they said crying,
“Ibrahim’s God has saved him from the flames!”
The Great Sacrifice
Ibrahim (AS) saw a dream in which he was ordered from Allah Almighty to sacrifice his beloved son Ismail (AS).As this was a message from Allah, he took his son to mount Arafat without any hesitation.He carried a rope, a knife with him to perform this sacrifice.After reaching on the top of the mount Arafat, he told his son about his dream. In the obedience of Allah, Ismail (AS) accepted this command.He asked to tie his hands and legs so that his father would not face any difficulty in performing this sacrifice.He was aware of the countless love of his father for him so he also asked his father to blindfold himself to avoid witness the suffering of his son.As Ibrahim (AS) began to carry the sacrifice, Allah replaced Ismail (AS) with a ram and he was unharmed. Allah tested Ibrahim to see his dedication for Islam and Ibrahim (AS) successfully passed the test.
Lesson from Abraham's life story
We can learn countless lessons from the story of Hazrat Ibrahim. We should learn the lesson that we must have a firm faith in Allah, like Hazrat Ibrahim had, when he was going to be thrown into a deadly fire, the only thing he wanted is the blessings of Allah. This showed his strong belief in Allah. Another lesson, we should learn from his stroy is that we must never hesitate from any type of sacrifice for Allah.