Erasing the Accusation of Shirk
Erasing the Accusation of Shirk
Erasing the Accusation of Shirk
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037.094 And (his people) came toward him, hastening.<br />
037.095 He said: Worship ye that which ye yourselves do carve<br />
037.096 When Allah hath created you and what ye make ?<br />
These verses clearly informs us that idols were being worshipped by <strong>the</strong><br />
nation <strong>of</strong> Ibrahim (peace be upon him). They are described as ‘images’ and<br />
‘idols’. Ibrahim (peace be upon him) informs his people that he will avoid<br />
that which <strong>the</strong>y worshipped after <strong>the</strong>y had gone to <strong>the</strong>ir festival and he<br />
(peace be upon him) would never say he would avoid <strong>the</strong> pious! Ibrahim<br />
(peace be upon him) fur<strong>the</strong>r describes that which <strong>the</strong>y worship as a<br />
‘falsehood’ emphasizing <strong>the</strong> deceitfulness <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se idols; however <strong>the</strong> pious<br />
cannot be described as false as <strong>the</strong>y are those who speak <strong>the</strong> truth and guide<br />
on <strong>the</strong> correct path. Moreover, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) questions that<br />
why do <strong>the</strong>y not speak or eat? Again, <strong>the</strong> pious can eat and speak, and so,<br />
<strong>the</strong>se questions were directed to <strong>the</strong> lifeless idols. Finally, Ibrahim (peace be<br />
upon him) tells his people that <strong>the</strong>y worship that which <strong>the</strong>y carve<br />
<strong>the</strong>mselves, which again, is an explicit reference to <strong>the</strong> idols that <strong>the</strong>y would<br />
carve <strong>the</strong>mselves!<br />
Question<br />
Why was <strong>the</strong> story <strong>of</strong> Ibrahim (peace be upon him) revealed to Muhammad<br />
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace)?<br />
Answer<br />
The reason was that <strong>the</strong> poly<strong>the</strong>ists <strong>of</strong> Makkah were worshipping exactly<br />
what <strong>the</strong> nation <strong>of</strong> Ibrahim (peace be upon him) : idols. As a result, Allah<br />
revealed <strong>the</strong> story to Muhammad ( may Allah bless him and grant him<br />
peace). If <strong>the</strong>re was no similarity between <strong>the</strong> nations <strong>the</strong>re was no reason<br />
for Allah to reveal this story to Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant<br />
him peace).<br />
The Nation <strong>of</strong> Musa (peace be upon him)<br />
All o<strong>the</strong>r previous nations worshipped idols. Nowhere in <strong>the</strong> Qur’an is <strong>the</strong>re<br />
a nation mentioned that worshipped <strong>the</strong> deceased pious. Even <strong>the</strong> nation <strong>of</strong><br />
Musa (peace be upon him) worshipped idols, as Allah Almighty states in <strong>the</strong><br />
Qur’an:<br />
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