Ibrahim عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ: The Father of Supreme Devotion

From the above discussion, it is clear that a child has strong rights over his father that he be loved, protected, provided for, and raised well. This is obvious to any Muslim, and in fact is a truth of human society that has never been denied by any civilized person. What then are we as Muslims to make of the stories about Sayyiduna Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace) that are mentioned in the Qur’an and Hadith?

Benefiting from Ibrahim عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ as Modern Muslims

The stories in question are as follows:

I: Ibrahim brought [Hajar] and her son Isma’il while she was suckling him, to a place near the Ka`ba under a tree on the spot of Zamzam, at the highest place in the mosque. During those days there was no one in Mecca, nor was there any water. So he made them sit over there and placed near them a leather bag containing some dates, and a small water-skin containing some water, and set out homeward. The mother of Isma’il followed him saying, “O Ibrahim! Where are you going, leaving us in this valley where there is no person and nothing at all?” She repeated that to him many times, but he did not look back at her. Then she asked him, “Has Allah ordered you to do so?” He said, “Yes.” She said, “Then He will not neglect us,” and returned while Ibrahim proceeded onwards. (Hadith narrated from ibn ‘Abbas in Bukhari)

II: Years later, Sayyiduna Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace) was commanded via a dream to sacrifice his son. [ix] As stated in the Qur’an: And when he reached the age wherein he could work [with his father], [Ibrahim] said: “O my son, I have seen a dream that I must sacrifice you, so see what you think.” He said, “O my father, do as you have been commanded. You will find me, insha Allah, of those who are steadfast.”And when they both had submitted and he had laid him down prostrate on his forehead (for sacrifice), We called out to him “O Ibrahim! You have fulfilled your vision, thus indeed do We reward those who do right: For indeed this was a clear trial.”And we ransomed him with a tremendous sacrifice [of the ram] and left for him [to be praised] among succeeding generations. Peace be upon Ibrahim! Thus do we reward those who do right.  (al-Saffat 37:102-110)

The first story tells how Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace) left his wife Hajar and their son Isma’il in the desert, while the second tells of how Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace) acted fully on the command to kill his son (before God miraculously replaced the boy with an animal to be sacrificed). There is no doubt of course that killing one’s child is a forbidden act in Islam, which explains away any possibility of acting on the second story. As for the first story, we have already seen from the above discussion of the Muhammadan example that a father’s active presence in the life of his child is critically important. Still, in order to avert any claims toward ambiguity arising from the story of Sayyiduna Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace), the scholars of Islam make the ruling of the father’s duty to his child explicit:

It is not permitted for anyone to refer [as proof] to this [incident] when abandoning his child and family in a wasteland as an act of reliance on the Mighty, the Merciful and out of following the action of Ibrahim al-Khalil, as the extremist Sufis say regarding the reality of the state of reliance (tawakkul). For verily Ibrahim did that at the command of Allah, as can be seen in his statement in the hadith [when asked] “Has Allah ordered you to do so?” and he said, “Yes.”[x]

In other words, the Shariah is clear that this action of Sayyiduna Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace) can in no way serve as a proof for its permissibility for Muslims who came after him. We are not to follow Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace) in the outward details of what he did. Given the obviousness of the rights in Islam of a child over his father, and the prohibition of following the Prophet Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace) in the outward actions of these stories, one must then acknowledge one thing: The Qur’anic stories of Sayyiduna Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace) leaving his baby in the desert or sacrificing his son are supposed to be shocking.

They are supposed to be shocking in order to call our attention to the fact that there is more to Islam than simply outward actions. The word islam means submission, and these stories exemplify submission to Allah in a way that goes well beyond prayer, fasting, and doing good deeds. Sayyiduna Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace), whom Allah granted the title Khalīl Allah, or the Intimate Friend of God, demonstrated his submission at such a level that he was willing to sacrifice a most basic instinct (protecting his child!) for the sake of Allah. He submitted because it was the right of Allah as King and Creator of the universe that he submit. Being the Intimate Friend of Allah, Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace) knew that God would not wrong him in any way, but that was not what he expressed his hope in. He simply did.

The point is, Allah Most High tells us about His commands to Sayyiduna Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace) regarding his role as father in order to teach us spiritual and not legal lessons. Traditionally, Muslims have known this at an intrinsic level: we know that the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace) has taught fathers how to be, so when hearing the accounts from the life of Sayyiduna Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace) we know there is some other, deeper, aspect of the deen that is being conveyed to us. As modern people, however, this insight—that there is something else spiritual going on in the story—is sometimes lost on us. We have difficulty understanding the lessons inherent within these stories about Sayyiduna Ibrahim, and there are multiple reasons for why that is.

One of the most basic reasons why we have a hard time understanding the powerful lessons in these stories is the fact that our changed social realities impinge on our understanding of the spiritual teachings of Islam. In terms of relationships, what was unthinkable in the past—across time, space and religions—is not only thinkable but actually occurring now in our societies due to the breakdown of the social fabric. There are rulings in the classical law of Islam that are predicated on the assumption that a father would never leave his child.[xi] But in our day, not only is the “deadbeat dad” a reality in many societies, even the more unthinkable fact of a mother leaving her children to pursue art or work is a phenomenon now not unheard of, particularly in Western societies. Due to our changed social realities and the resulting anxiety about fathers leaving their families, our reaction to the account is not the same as Muslims past. We might have a response of shock or anger, and not one of spiritual curiosity (“Why did Allah command such an unusual action, when He Himself requires men to take care of their wives and children?”).

Another thing that blocks us from benefiting from the stories is the influence of modern intellectual ideas on our ‘aqida, i.e. what we think and believe to be true. The great equalizing push of secular liberalism means that we no longer see the prophets as being on the very top of a grand hierarchy, set up by God as a way to teach us how to be. We see them to be men, “just like us,” due to the liberal idea of the fundamental equality of all men and also because of modern movements in Islam that deemphasize concepts like adab (decorum) and the veneration of godly people. The more we see ourselves approaching their status, such that the gap between us and the divinely inspired prophets decreases in our eyes, the less we feel compelled to push ourselves to understand what Allah is getting at by telling their example. When not compelled to move beyond our own realities to higher spiritual ones, we can then only interpret the actions of the prophets through our own inclinations and social understandings.

With the equalizing push of secular liberalism comes a growing emphasis on the right of the human toward self- (and not divine) determination. We feel entitled to our own opinions and our own perceptions in a manner unlike any era of the human past. What this ultimately means is that the human, “rational,” way of understanding what is right and wrong takes precedence over any understanding that comes from God. And in this way, we are left completely unable to comprehend a subtle but critically important theological point: Allah is the One who determines what is Right and what is Wrong, whether you understand the reasoning behind His determinations or not.

This point of ‘aqida is deeply connected to the idea of submission and slavehood to Allah. To restate it: according to the ‘aqida of Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama‘ah (the formal name of those who consider themselves to be “Sunni” Muslims), the meaning, or ultimate consequence, of any given action can only be determined by Allah Himself, the Lord and Master of all creation.[xii] Out of His Generosity to us, He has made it so that we can see the wisdom in many of His rulings. For example, it is not difficult for a human being to understand why murder is unlawful, why charity brings reward, and why slander is a sin. But sometimes religious rulings are not based on any rational sense (e.g. why must we pray five times a day, instead of four, or six?). And sometimes on rare occasions, when dealing directly with his prophets and not as commands to the generality of believers, Allah might even reverse the ruling so that it seems to go against reason in order to bring higher truths to light.

Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace)’s life events are the most stark example of this. When he was young, his own father had wanted to kill him by stoning him to death, as attested to in the Qur’an.[xiii] But while the action of his father wanting to kill him was an act of unbelief that leads to Hell, the action of Sayyiduna Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace) in going to kill his son at the moment of sacrifice was determined by Allah to be a good deed. In fact, it was a deed deemed so excellent as to become an example for believers for all time to come, since it shows Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace)’s supreme, unparalleled belief in the Supremacy and Lordship of Allah in a manner commensurate with his high rank not just among believers but among all of the prophets of God.

A final reason why we may have a hard time understanding the actions of Sayyiduna Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace) regarding his son is that many modern Muslims have forgotten the centrality of the spiritual teachings of Islam. In line with our materialist, physically oriented era, we see Islam to be a set of rules, and can only interpret the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah through the lens of fiqh, or legal prescriptions. This is a momentous loss of religious faculty. If we cannot see that spirituality—the subtle perception of God’s Hand in all things—is what gives meaning and life to the teachings of Islam, we will never fully be able to understand what beautiful thing was happening as Sayyiduna Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace) was turning his back on his wife and child in the desert. He was, in that turning, shedding any last traces of attachment to anything other than Allah.[xiv] And once that occurred, the love and devotion he had for his wife and child had become purely for the sake of Allah alone.

In developing a higher level of spiritual purity, there was no denial of his humanness. The first thing Sayyiduna Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace) did when he was out of sight of his family was to pray and beseech Allah for their well-being: “Our Lord, I have settled some of my descendants in an uncultivated valley near Your sacred House, our Lord, that they may establish prayer. So make hearts among the people incline toward them and provide for them from the fruits that they might be grateful.”[xv] His prayer was answered, and his unusual-seeming action became the reason for the development of Mecca, the coming of our Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace), and the establishment of the annual pilgrimage. “Actions are by their intentions,”[xvi] and clearly in this case the tremendous level of sincerity, devotion, and submission shown by Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace) led to tremendous good that extended well beyond himself and his offspring to reach and benefit believers to the present day. The internal and external of every action is connected. We must not forget this; we must give each aspect its due to gain success and religious balance.

Regarding these particular accounts of Sayyiduna Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace), we learn something great as far as the internal aspect of how we should be. The starkness of the action and the unapologeticness of Sayyiduna Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace) afterwards are signs to us of what our internal state should be with our Lord. As modern people, we have a desire to understand with our minds everything, but this sometimes clashes with the soul’s ability to submit to the divine call. As submitted Muslims, we might not understand the rationale behind every divine command, but we must do them anyway. Some believers manage to still act on the commands they don’t understand because they trust in His Wisdom and in the fact that He has promised that a believer’s good deeds will never go to waste (such deeds always result in even more good, both in this world and in the Next). Others, at an even higher level of iman, act simply because they understand the supreme rank of Allah as Lord, and so their attitude is: “We hear and we obey”[xvii] without hesitation and without needing an explanation. They are the perfectly submitted slaves of Allah, who see nothing before them except Him.

In the words of one Sufi commentator of the Qur’an, the more one rises in one’s witnessing of Allah, the greater the trials he must face: “the higher the rank of the person, the greater the trial.”[xviii]Given Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace)’s elevated rank and tremendous witnessing of the Divine Presence, the trials he faced were greater, and the reward he received from His Lord even more so. Our ability to understand the wondrous spiritual lessons in the events of Ibrahim (Allah grant him peace)’s life hang on our ability to understand this truth. However, such understanding does not come automatically without effort. It requires that we seek knowledge and learn at least the basics required of every individual Muslim regarding matters of belief (‘aqida) and practice (fiqh). When we have the knowledge, we must also put it into practice in our worship and in our relationships. The more we practice it, and demonstrate our taqwa or Godfearingness, the more we are able to experience the spiritual truths of Islam at a deeper level, since Allah Most High has promised us: “Have taqwa of Allah and He will grant you a Discernment (between Right and Wrong).”[xix] By absorbing the beliefs of Islam and by conducting our lives according to its teachings, the whole matter becomes clear: No doubt the Muslim father must be supremely devoted, but first and foremost his devotion is to Allah.