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The lunar month of Dhul Hijjah approaches – the month in which Muslims
perform the Hajj and celebrate the festival of Eid ul Adha. In doing so, they retrace the steps and rites of Prophet Abraham
(peace be upon him) and commemorate his willingness to sacrifice his son at the command of God. But moreso, this month retraces
the spiritual pilgrimage that was the life of Abraham, a journey of love, obedience and absolute devotion to God.
Belief in Abraham unifies the three monotheistic faiths, Judaism, Christianity
and Islam. But even beyond these faiths, pagan Arabs prior to the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him) believed they
were following the Abrahamic faith despite their worshipping idols. In Abraham, regardless of our religious persuasion, we
have an exemplary role model, a Prophet and Messenger for all of humanity.
As a child born into a polytheistic society Abraham (peace be upon him)
reasoned that God existed beyond the stone idols fabricated by human hands. When his people went out to celebrate a festival
of their idols, he excused himself saying that he was sick. He went into the temples and smashed the idols, leaving only the
largest of them. When accused of destroying the icons of their faith, Abraham used eloquent and simple reasoning asking if
the idols had the power to help even themselves. Later, to dispute their worship of natural phenomenon, the young Abraham
again turned to reason when he pointed out that he would not worship stars that disappeared with the daybreak, a moon that
waned or a sun that set, for his Lord was everlasting and perfect beyond change. Defeated by his reason, the clergy decided
to kill him and prepared a fire in which to burn him, but God came to the rescue of His devout servant and he survived the
fire unscathed.
For no other prophet in the Quran is the word “debated” used
as much as it is in reference to Abraham, for it was through his reasoning and debating that he negated the falsehood of the
idols to his people, the fallacies of the control exerted by heavenly bodies over human lives or King Nimrod’s claims
to be a deity which his people were expected to worship. Yet despite his power of reasoning, Abraham realized that the commands
of God were beyond human understanding, and he laid himself subservient to God's commands. Thus, when commanded by God to
take his wife Hagar and son Ishmael and leave them in the desert, he did so, accepting God’s will and that God would
take care of them. Later, when asked by God to sacrifice his son to Him, Abraham accepted the command without question. But
as the knife was raised, God sent His Angel to intervene and substitute a sheep for his son.
Abraham’s life was a pilgrimage through hardship, trial and exile,
yet he bore it all with courage, sacrifice and devotion. The Quran tells us: “There is for you in the life of Abraham
a beautiful example.” What would we choose: complacency or responsibility, self-preservation in silence or the risk
that comes with speaking the truth, faith and belief in God or the fallacy of idols of our own making? Abraham chose God and
cried: “Most certainly, my prayer, my sacrifice, my life and my death are for God, the Lord of the Universe.”
Umm
Zakariyya Gardee
(Courtesy
of the Standard-Freeholder, December 9, 2006)
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