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Abraham (a)

Abraham (a) is considered a leader among the followers of monotheistic religions, the forerunner of monotheists, and the father of monotheistic nations. In Islamic literature and the Quran, Abraham is recognized as the builder or rebuilder of the Ka'ba. The Quran and Islamic narrations mention his migration to Mecca, the construction of the Ka'ba with the assistance of Ishma'il(a), and Abraham's performance of the hajj.

Abraham (s) among nations and peoples

The word "Abraham" is of Babylonian origin, and according to some linguists, it is composed of "Ib" meaning father and "rahim" meaning merciful.[1] His two covenants and the Quran consider him a model of submission to God and the possessor of the highest moral virtues.[2] The Quran describes him as a patient and compassionate man who seeks forgiveness for himself and others.[3]And he was always obedient to God's command and also advised his children to submit to the decree and will of the Lord.[4] God describes him as "Hanif," meaning inclined towards turning away from falsehood towards truth.[5] And He considers him the first Muslim.[6]

The Arabs' recognition of Abraham

Even before Islam, the Arabs had a complete awareness of Abraham. They had placed his image or statue along with Ishmael inside the Ka'ba. According to a narration, when the Prophet Muhammad(a) conquered Mecca, he pulled out and broke these two statues from inside the Ka'ba.[7] In addition to this, numerous traces of Abraham, including sites, shrines, beliefs, and monotheistic practices attributed to him, are found throughout the Semitic region from Mesopotamia to the Sinai Peninsula. These serve as evidence of his extensive and profound influence among the nations, communities, and peoples of this region.[8]

Birth and migration from Babylon

In Islamic narrations, we come across extensive information about the personal life of Abraham. All narrations agree that Abraham was born in the land of Babylon, in present-day southern Iraq.[9] The subject of Abraham's migration from his original land is reported several times in the Quran.[10] According to interpretative narratives, the destination of this migration was the sacred land.[11] In a less known narrative, it is reported to be Egypt.[12] In a narration by Ibn Abbas, the destination of Abraham's migration is understood to be Mecca.[13] This migration occurred after Abraham's deliverance from the fire.[14] According to several narratives, this migration followed Abraham's exile at the hands of Nimrod.[15]

The Torah's narrative

According to the Torah's account, Abraham, along with his father Terah, his wife Sarah, and his nephew Lot, left Ur of the Chaldeans and migrated to Haran.[16] Then, by God's command, he left Haran towards the land of Canaan.[17]The holy land is mentioned as his ultimate destination for migration.[18] Some Islamic narratives confirm the accounts of the Torah, according to which Abraham initially went to Haran, resided there for a while, and then departed from Haran to journey towards Palestine.[19]

The journey to Mecca

In the Quran, unlike the Torah, Abraham's journey to Mecca is mentioned, which likely occurred at least twice. During the first journey, Hagar and Ishmael were also with him, and he settled them in Mecca. At that time, Mecca was a barren land devoid of water and vegetation.[20] ﴿رَبَّنا إِنِّی أَسکنتُ مِن ذُرِّیتِی بِواد غَیرِ ذِی زَرع عِندَ بَیتِک المُحَرَّم"Our Lord, indeed I have settled some of my descendants in an uncultivated valley near Your sacred House.[21] Based on numerous narrations, Ishmael was an infant during this journey, and at the command of God and with the assistance of Gabriel, Abraham placed Ishmael in the current location of the Hijr Isma'il.[22] According to another narration, after arriving in Mecca and Abraham's departure, Ishma'il fell into a state of near-death due to extreme thirst. Then, by the grace of God, water was found in that land, and it became the destination for caravans from Yemen.[23] According to the narrations of interpreters, the settlement of Ishma'il and Hagar in this location, along with Abraham's supplication for the prosperity of this city, laid the foundation for the establishment or flourishing of the city of Mecca.[24]

Abraham's second journey to Mecca

According to the verses of the Quran, Abraham traveled to Mecca more than once. During his first journey, he settled his infant son Ishma'i and Hagar there.[25] And during his second journey, he, with the help of his son Ishma'il, built the Ka'ba and established the rituals of Hajj.[26]

The construction of the Ka'ba

From the apparent meaning of some verses, such as (إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَیت وُضِعَ لِلنّاس...) "Indeed, the first House [of worship] established for mankind..."[27] And explicit narratives indicate that the Ka'ba existed before Abraham and was built by Prophet Adam.[28] On the other hand, some scholars consider Abraham as the founder of the Kaaba and regard the accounts of Adam building the Ka'ba as weak.[29] Numerous narrations suggest that initially, the location of the Ka'ba was not known to Abraham, and it was Gabriel who taught him the place to build it.[30] In the Quranic verses, there is no explicit mention of God commanding Abraham to build the Ka'ba. However, some narrations, which commentators have adhered to, state that God instructed him to build the Ka'ba.[31] Abraham was not alone in building the Ka'ba; Ishma'il assisted him by fetching bricks or stones, and Abraham constructed it.[32] In some narratives, assistance from angels to them is also mentioned.[33]The building materials were a type of red brick or stone brought from five different mountains surrounding the Kaaba, and according to one narrative, they were brought from the Mount Tuwa.[34]

Maqam Ibrahim

The Maqam Ibrahim(Station of Abraham) next to the Ka'ba is another trace of Abraham: "وَإِذ جَعَلنَا البَیتَ مَثَابَةً لِّلنَّاسِ وَأَمْنًا وَاتَّخِذُوا مِن مَّقَامِ إِبرَاهِیمَ مُصَلًّی Thus we set up the House as a resort for mankind and a sanctuary, and [said]: "Adopt Abraham's station as a place for prayer.[35] It is said that this is the same stone that he placed under his feet when building the Ka'ba. Some have also considered the Ka'ba itself as the Station of Abraham.[36]

Calling people to Hajj

According to narratives, after the construction of the Ka'ba, Abraham was commanded by God to call upon the people for Hajj: (و‌أَذِّن فی النّاسِ بِالحَجّ... "and proclaim among men the Pilgrimage, ...")[37] He stood on Mount Abu Qubays, placing his hand on his ear and cried out: "O people! Answer the call of your Lord." The tribe of Jurhum, a Yemeni tribe, were the first to respond to his call.[38]

Abraham's Hajj

From the apparent meaning of the Quranic verses, it is understood that Abraham was not familiar with the rituals of Hajj. Therefore, he asked God to teach him: (... وأَرِنا مَناسِکنا..."...Show us our ceremonies...")[39] Scholars of narrations have mentioned that Gabriel taught the rituals of Hajj to Abraham.[40] There is no specific report regarding the number of pilgrimages performed by Abraham; it is said that Abraham's first pilgrimage was after the construction of the House of God.[41] This view is also supported by those who consider him as the founder of the Ka'ba.[42] However, there are narrations indicating that Abraham's first pilgrimage was before the construction of the Ka'ba.[43]

Notes

  1. ↑ Jawharī, Al-Ṣiḥāḥ fī al-lugha, vol. 5, p.1871; Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, vol. 12, p.48; Abū Ḥayyān Andulusī, Al-Baḥr al-muḥīṭ fī al-tafsīr, vol. 1, p. 542.
  2. ↑ Book of Genesis: 12:1-3; Jazāʾirī, Al-Nūr al-mubīn fī qiṣaṣ al-anbīyāʾ wa l-mursalīn p. 110.
  3. ↑ Quran: 11:75; 9: 114.
  4. ↑ Quran: 2:131-132.
  5. ↑ Quran: 16:120; Quran: 3:17; Quran: 4:125.
  6. ↑ Quran: 6:163.
  7. ↑ Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 5, p. 93; Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Fatḥ al-bārī bi sharḥ ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 8, p. 14.
  8. ↑ Sūsa, Al-ʿarab wa al-yahūd fī al-tārīkh, p. 251-256.
  9. ↑ Yāqūt al-Ḥamawī. Muʿjam al-buldānو vol. 1و p. 383.
  10. ↑ Quran: 19:48; 37:99; 29:26; 21:71.
  11. ↑ Ṭabarī, Jāmiʾ al-bayān fi tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 20,p.174; Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 8, p. 371; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 12, p. 45.
  12. ↑ Ibn Athīr al-Jazarī, Al-Kāmil fī l-tārīkh, vol. 1, p. 100.
  13. ↑ Ṭabarī, Jāmiʾ al-bayān fi tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 17, p. 62; Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 7, p. 100.
  14. ↑ Ṭabarī, Jāmiʾ al-bayān fi tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 17, p. 60; Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 8, p. 370-371.
  15. ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 8, p. 371; Majlisī,Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 12, p.39-154.
  16. ↑ Book of Genesis: 11:31.
  17. ↑ Book of Genesis: 12:4-5
  18. ↑ Book of Genesis: 12:1.
  19. ↑ Ṭabarī, Jāmiʾ al-bayān fi tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 17, p. 61; Qurṭubī, Tafsīr al-Qurtubī(Al-Jamiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 15, p. 98; vol. 23, p. 65; Shabistarī, Aʿlām al-Qurʾān, p. 23.
  20. ↑ Ṭabarī, Jāmiʾ al-bayān fi tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 755; Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 6, p. 84.
  21. ↑ Quran: 14:37.
  22. ↑ Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 4, p. 116; Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 4, p. 201.
  23. ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 4, p. 20.
  24. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 12, p. 68; Al-shirwanī wa Al-ʿIbādī, Ḥawāshī al-shirwanī wa al-ʿIbādī, vol. 4, p. 66.
  25. ↑ Quran: 14:37.
  26. ↑ Quran: 2:127.
  27. ↑ Quran: 3:96.
  28. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 386; Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī,Fatḥ al-bārī bi sharḥ ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 6, p. 290-291; Qummi Mashhadi, Tafsīr kanz al-daqāʾiq wa bahr al-gharāʾib, vol. 1, p. 338-339.
  29. ↑ Ibn Kathīr,Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm, Vol. 1, p. 391.
  30. ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 62; Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 389; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 96, p. 38.
  31. ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 61; Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Tafsīr al-Ṣāfī, vol. 1, p. 189; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 12, p. 99.
  32. ↑ Thaʿlabī, Al-Kashf wa l-bayān ʿan tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 274; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 292; Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 389.
  33. ↑ ʿAynī, ʿUmdat al-qarī; Sharḥ ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 9, p. 213.
  34. ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 62; ʿAynī, ʿUmdat al-qarī; Sharḥ ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 9, p. 213; Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Tafsīr al-Ṣāfī, vol. 1, p. 189.
  35. ↑ Quran: 2:125.
  36. ↑ Ṭabarī, Jāmiʾ al-bayān fi tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 746-747; Fakhr al-Rāzī, Al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr, vol. 4, p. 54.
  37. ↑ Quran: 22:27.
  38. ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 4, p. 205; ʿAynī, ʿUmdat al-qarī, vol. 9, p. 128; Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 11, p. 15.
  39. ↑ Quran: 2:128.
  40. ↑ Ibn Kathīr al-Dimashqī, Qiṣaṣ al-anbīyā, vol. 1, p. 189; Suyūṭī, Al-Durr al-manthūr fī tafsīr al-maʾthūr, vol. 1, p. 137; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 12, p. 100.
  41. ↑ Ibn Kathīr al-Dimashqī, Qiṣaṣ al-anbīyā, vol. 1, p. 189; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 12, p. 100.
  42. ↑ Ṭūsī, Al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 462.
  43. ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 4, p. 202-203.

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