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WasAzartheFatherofIbrahim?
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By:AyatullahJa'farSubhani
SpecialOccasions Theabovequotedversesaswellas15thverseofSurahTawbahand14thverseofSurahal
AudioChannel Mumtahinah would give the impression that Azar was related to Ibrahim in the capacity of
father and Ibrahim too, has addressed him as 'father'. However, the idolworshipper Azar's
Weather(Mashhad)
beinghisfatherisnotinharmonywiththeconsensusofopinionoftheShi'ahscholars,who
IslamicWorldNewsSites believe that the forefathers of the Holy Prophet of Islam as well as all other Prophets were
YellowPages(Mashhad) piouspeoplewhobelievedinmonotheism.ThedistinguishedShi'ahscholar,ShaykhMufid
has,inhisexquisitebook,[40]consideredthispropositiontobeoneonwhichalltheShi'ah
Kids
scholars are unanimous and a large number of Sunni scholars have also concurred with
SouvenirAlbum theminholdingthisbelief.Thequestion,therefore,arisesastowhatistherealimportofthe
apparentcontentsoftheaforesaidversesandhowthisproblemshouldbesolved.
Search ManycommentatorsoftheHolyQur'anassertthat,althoughtheword'Ab'isusuallyusedin
Arabic to mean 'father', this meaning is not exclusive and at times it has been used in the
Arabic lexicon and in the Quranic terminology to mean 'uncle' as well. For example, in the
followingversetheword'Ab'standsfor'uncle'.
Were you present when death came to Ya'qub? He said to his children: 'What will you
worship when l am gone' They replied: We will worship your Allah and the Allah of your
forefathers (Aba) Ibrahim and Isma'il and Ishaq: He is the only Lord. To Him we have
surrenderedourselves.(SurahBaqarah,2:132).
There is no doubt about the fact that Isma'il was the uncle of Ya'qub and not his father,
becauseYa'qubwasthesonofIshaqwhowasthebrotherofIsma'il.However,inspiteofthis,
thechildrenofYa'qubhavementionedhimasfatherofYa'qubi.e.theyhavecalledhim'Ab'
visavisYa'qub.Asthiswordcarriestwomeaningsitispossiblethatintheversesrelatedto
AzarhavingbeeninvitedtotherightpathbyIbrahimitmaymean'uncle',andespeciallyso
in view of the consensus of opinion mentioned by Shaykh Mufid. And possibly Ibrahim
called him 'father', because he had acted as his guardian for quite a long time and he
(Ibrahim)lookeduponhimasifhewerehisfather.

AZARINTHEHOLYQUR'AN
WithaviewtofindouttheverdictoftheQurtanabouttherelationshipbetweenIbrahimand
Azarweshouldliketoinvitetheattentionofthereadertotheexplanationoftwoverses:
1. As a consequence of the strenuous efforts made by the Holy Prophet, Arabia was
illuminatedwiththelightofIslam.Mostofthepeopleembracedthisreligionwholeheartedly
and realized that polytheism and idolworship would end in Hell and torture. Although they
were happy to have come within the fold of the true faith, they felt grieved to recollect that
their fathers and mothers were idolworshippers. Hearing of the verses which depict the
plightofthepolytheistsontheDayofJudgmentweighedheavilyonthem.Togetridofthis
mental torture they requested the Holy Prophet to pray to Allah for the forgiveness of their
forefathers who had died as infidels, in the same manner in which Ibrahim had prayed for
Azar.
Thefollowingverseswere,however,revealedinreplytotheirrequest
ItisnotfortheProphetorthebelieverstobegforgivenessforidolaters,eventhoughtheybe
related to them, after it has become manifest that they have earned the punishment of Hell.
Ibrahimprayedforhisfatheronlytofulfillapromisehehadmadehim.But,whenherealized
that he was an enemy of Allah, he disowned him. Yet Ibrahim was a compassionate and
tenderheartedman.(SurahTawbah,9:113114)
ItwouldappearmoreprobablethattheconversationofIbrahimwithAzarandhispromising
the latter to pray for his forgiveness, which ended in the severance of their mutual
connections, and renouncement of each other took place, when Ibrahim was young i.e. at a
timewhenhewasstillresidinginBabylonandhadnotyetintendedtogotoPalestine,Egypt
andtheHijaz.Afterstudyingthisverseitmaybeconcludedthat,whenAzarpersistedinhis
infidelityandidolworship,Ibrahim,whilestillyoung,severedhisconnectionswithhimand
neverthoughtofhimthereafter.
2. During the last part of his life i.e. when he grew old, Ibrahim, after discharging a great
responsibility (i.e. construction of the Ka'bah) and bringing his wife and child to the dry
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desert of Mecca, prayed, from the core of his heart, for a number of persons, including his
parents,andsoughtacceptanceofhissupplicationfromAllah.Atthattimeheprayedthus
'Forgive me, Lord, and forgive my parents and all the faithful (believers) on the Day of
Reckoning.(SurahIbrahim,1441)
Theseversesclearlyshowthattheceremonyofsupplicationtookplaceafterthecompletion
oftheconstructionoftheKa'bahwhenIbrahimwaspassingthroughhisoldage.Ifthefather
for whom he has shown love and devotion in this verse and he prayed for him is the same
AzaritwouldmeanthatIbrahimdidnotremaindissociatedfromhimthroughouthislifeand
attimesalsoprayedforhim,whereastheversewhichwasrevealedinreplytotherequestof
the descendants of the polytheists makes it clear that after some time, when he was still
young,IbrahimbrokeoffallconnectionswithAzarandkeptalooffromhimandaloofness
andrenouncementmeansceasingtobeonspeakingterms,lackofattentionandabandoning
supplicationsforeachother'ssalvation.
When these two verses are read together, it becomes clear that the person whom Ibrahim
cametohateinhisyoungageandwithwhomhebrokeoffalltiesofinterestandlovewasa
person other than that whom he remembered till his old age and prayed for his forgiveness
andsalvation.[41]
Notes:
[40]Awa'ilalMaqalat,page12
[41]Majma'ulBayan,vol.III,page319andalMizan,vol.Vll,page170

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