Eid Reflections

“And when Abraham said: My Lord, make this city secure and save me and my sons from the worship of idols” – Surah Ibrahim v.35

As the occasion of another Eid comes to pass, we would be remiss to not pass some form of reflection on the dedication of the man this holiday seeks to celebrate. Over four thousand years ago when humanity stooped to crude idolatry and moral degeneration became embedded with material progress,  there came a man of vision and towering personality who exerted tremendous effort and dedication in redirecting humanity back to the worship of God. In this blog post, I will attempt to articulate certain critical lessons we can learn from the Prophet Ibrahim.

The very first lesson that can be drawn from the life of the Prophet Ibrahim is the immense importance of keeping an open mind as well as critically engaging with opposing viewpoints. The Quran extensively mentions the quest for truth that was embarked upon by Ibrahim. After quickly becoming dissatisfied with the worship of idols and statues, he became mesmerized by the appearance and majesty that was given off by celestial bodies (stars, moon and the sun). However, his mind was always open to the possibility that these bodies may not be the God that he was searching for. Upon the setting of the stars, moon as well as the sun, Ibrahim came to the conclusion that they could possibly not be the Creator as they lacked the omnipotence that he believed God must possess. The critical engagement of the Prophet is shown to us when he confronts a King who would tell people that he was Allah. Ibraham responded that “it is certainly Allah who causes the sun to rise from east, can you instead bring it from the west?” In challenging him and concisely dispatching the bizarre arguments put forward by him, he illustrated to us the correct way of engaging with those whose theology differs from ours. Allah Almighty commands in the Quran to “invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best” (16:125). Surely these examples can serve as the ultimate model for how we should conduct our searches for the truth as well as invite others to partake on this journey with us.

An alternative lesson that can be gauged from the Prophet Ibrahim is to have strong faith and determination in all that you do. Upon receiving the message from God, he made a commitment to bring the truth to the people with whom he resided. One of the more touching exchanges that happened as a result of this commitment was one he had with his father. The Prophet strongly pled with his father to consider Islam and told him that “my father, I sincerely fear a punishment from God overtakes you and you become a companion of the Devil”. Imagine knowing the punishment that awaited those who rejected the message and being unable to avert that from falling upon your own father! Imagine the pain that must have went through the Prophet as he realized that his words were falling on deaf ears! Now imagine the heavy heart that he must have had as he left his father knowing that there was a very minimal chance of change. Despite all of this, the Prophet Ibrahim exemplified the defining trait of the great messengers – strong faith and determination in the face of extreme personal adversity. Despite the tremendous tests that plagued the Prophet Ibrahim and all of the Prophets of God – they never wavered in their love and faith in God. This tradition of testing individuals in order to weed out the truthful and strong hearted is rooted in the Islamic scripture and evidenced by the verse in which Allah proclaims: “But We certainly have tried those before them, so God will make evident the truthful and those who are liars”. We can only pray that we excel on the tests that are given to us and come through with higher faith and love of Allah.

The aforementioned lessons are only a few that can be drawn from an illustrious life of service, dedication and total submission to Allah. In his story, we observe the complete picture of what it means to be a believer as well as a caller to the way of God. It is no wonder that the Quran remarks that “And Allah took Ibraham as a khalil (an intimate friend)”.The verse cited at the top of this post is a prayer that Ibraham made to liberate both his soul and the souls of his progeny from subservience, submission and dedication to idols. While in past times, idols manifested themselves in the form of statues – they take on varying unique shapes and forms in our current society. We ask Allah to accept the prayer of our Prophet Ibrahim and save us (his progeny) from worshiping our own souls in lieu of Allah and to mold our hearts in such a way that they will always be receptive to the divine message. We ask Allah to accept the prayer of our Prophet when he asked that “the hearts of people incline towards my progeny”. May you have a Blessed Eid and many more to come.