14. Ibrahim

When a man confronts troubles, he tries his utmost to save himself from them; if he has friends, he uses their strength; if he has wealth, he spends it in that connection. A man’s anxiety to save himself compels him to rush towards both these solutions. Prayer (salat) and spending (infaq) are, in fact, the worldly manifestations of man’s feelings about the problem of the Hereafter. Prayer (salat) is running towards God’s protection so that one may thereby save himself from God’s wrath in the Hereafter. In the same way, openly and secretly spending in this world is like donating one’s earnings for the cause of God, so that it may become the means of obtaining relief from the rigours of the Hereafter. In the Hereafter, one may wish to spend, but one will have nothing with which one could ransom oneself from the suffering there.

To the most wonderful extent, the present world bears testimony to God’s existence. The rotation of stars and planets in the vastness of space; the provision and sustenance for life on the earth, the abundance of water; man’s ability to run his vehicles on land, sail on water and fly in space; the earth’s being favourable to man with the help of rivers and mountains; the regularity of the seasons and the occurrence of day and night with the help of the sun and the moon—all these are phenomena too great to be adequately expressed in words. There is such perfect co-ordination between man and the universe that every imaginable, or unimaginable necessity of man has already been provided for here in abundance. All these things are so wonderful that they should shake a man and should overwhelm him with feelings of submission to God. In spite of this, why, on seeing the universe, is he not filled with wonder and why does he not tremble at the concept of the Creator of the universe? The reason for this is that man sees the universe as soon as he is born. By seeing it again and again he takes it to be an ordinary thing; he does not find any uniqueness in it, and takes it for granted. Moreover, when a man receives anything in this world, it appears to be available to him through the ‘cause-and-effect’ process. On this basis, he thinks that whatever he attains is due to his own diligence and talents. That is why the feeling of gratitude to God, the Giver, does not develop in him.

To the most wonderful extent, the present world bears testimony to God’s existence. The rotation of stars and planets in the vastness of space; the provision and sustenance for life on the earth, the abundance of water; man’s ability to run his vehicles on land, sail on water and fly in space; the earth’s being favourable to man with the help of rivers and mountains; the regularity of the seasons and the occurrence of day and night with the help of the sun and the moon—all these are phenomena too great to be adequately expressed in words. There is such perfect co-ordination between man and the universe that every imaginable, or unimaginable necessity of man has already been provided for here in abundance. All these things are so wonderful that they should shake a man and should overwhelm him with feelings of submission to God. In spite of this, why, on seeing the universe, is he not filled with wonder and why does he not tremble at the concept of the Creator of the universe? The reason for this is that man sees the universe as soon as he is born. By seeing it again and again he takes it to be an ordinary thing; he does not find any uniqueness in it, and takes it for granted. Moreover, when a man receives anything in this world, it appears to be available to him through the ‘cause-and-effect’ process. On this basis, he thinks that whatever he attains is due to his own diligence and talents. That is why the feeling of gratitude to God, the Giver, does not develop in him.

To the most wonderful extent, the present world bears testimony to God’s existence. The rotation of stars and planets in the vastness of space; the provision and sustenance for life on the earth, the abundance of water; man’s ability to run his vehicles on land, sail on water and fly in space; the earth’s being favourable to man with the help of rivers and mountains; the regularity of the seasons and the occurrence of day and night with the help of the sun and the moon—all these are phenomena too great to be adequately expressed in words. There is such perfect co-ordination between man and the universe that every imaginable, or unimaginable necessity of man has already been provided for here in abundance. All these things are so wonderful that they should shake a man and should overwhelm him with feelings of submission to God. In spite of this, why, on seeing the universe, is he not filled with wonder and why does he not tremble at the concept of the Creator of the universe? The reason for this is that man sees the universe as soon as he is born. By seeing it again and again he takes it to be an ordinary thing; he does not find any uniqueness in it, and takes it for granted. Moreover, when a man receives anything in this world, it appears to be available to him through the ‘cause-and-effect’ process. On this basis, he thinks that whatever he attains is due to his own diligence and talents. That is why the feeling of gratitude to God, the Giver, does not develop in him.

Prior to the advent of the period of Abraham, the condition of countries and communities had become such that polytheism (ascribing partners to God—shirk) had become the order of the day. The sun, the moon and other natural phenomena had become objects of worship. In ancient times, polytheism became so dominant over all activities of life that it thrived from one generation to the next. It seemed impossible that people could be taken away from the atmosphere of polytheism and brought into the sphere of belief in the unity of God—monotheism (tawhid). At that time, at the especial behest of God, Abraham left Iraq and entered the Arabian desert, which was a desolate place, far away from civilization. In this isolated atmosphere, he settled his wife, Hagar (Hajrah), and his son, Ishmael (Isma‘il), so that a new generation would grow up, which would be cut off from the polytheistic trend prevalent at the time, and which, having been brought up in a free atmosphere, would follow its true nature in its formation. Abraham’s statement reveals this particular fact in prayer-like style. This was God’s plan in settling the children of Ishmael in a dry and deserted place. Now, the people who made the unity of God (tawhid) the voice of their hearts, were, so to say, the true fruits of the Garden of Abraham. By contrast, the people of this place who reverted to the way of polytheism (shirk) would be treated as the poisonous weeds of this Garden.

The hilly and desert world of ancient Makkah was a natural training ground for the realization of God; the entire panorama of nature was an encouragement to man to remember Him. The only sign of human construction here, which claimed man’s attention, was the stone mosque, the Ka‘bah, built by Abraham and Ishmael. Here man could enter and engage in the remembrance of God. In this atmosphere, the children of Ishmael were miraculously provided with water from the Zamzam spring. Moreover, it was so arranged that they received sustenance (rizq) from produce which was not grown there. This was, in fact, a special arrangement to make them grateful. With the provision of extraordinary bounties, extraordinary feelings of gratefulness arise in man. This was the wisdom which was hidden in Abraham’s prayer that in the desert they should be provided with sustenance in the shape of fruits.

In this prayer of Abraham, one sees glimpses of all those emotions which emerge in the heart of a true subject of God while addressing a prayer to Him. His submissive attitude compels him to admit his humility before God; whatever he requests is on the basis of his being needy and not on the basis of any entitlement; on the one hand, he admits to the bounties already available to him and, on the other, presents his request with all due respect. He admits that God is the Giver and man the beneficiary. He prays to God to make him live in the world as His worshipper. He makes this request for himself, for his family members and for all believers also. At the time of prayer, the greatest problem before him should not be that of the world but that of the Hereafter, where a man has to live forever. The prayer then made is prophetic in nature, and if such a prayer comes from a true heart, it will necessarily be accepted by God.

In this prayer of Abraham, one sees glimpses of all those emotions which emerge in the heart of a true subject of God while addressing a prayer to Him. His submissive attitude compels him to admit his humility before God; whatever he requests is on the basis of his being needy and not on the basis of any entitlement; on the one hand, he admits to the bounties already available to him and, on the other, presents his request with all due respect. He admits that God is the Giver and man the beneficiary. He prays to God to make him live in the world as His worshipper. He makes this request for himself, for his family members and for all believers also. At the time of prayer, the greatest problem before him should not be that of the world but that of the Hereafter, where a man has to live forever. The prayer then made is prophetic in nature, and if such a prayer comes from a true heart, it will necessarily be accepted by God.

In this prayer of Abraham, one sees glimpses of all those emotions which emerge in the heart of a true subject of God while addressing a prayer to Him. His submissive attitude compels him to admit his humility before God; whatever he requests is on the basis of his being needy and not on the basis of any entitlement; on the one hand, he admits to the bounties already available to him and, on the other, presents his request with all due respect. He admits that God is the Giver and man the beneficiary. He prays to God to make him live in the world as His worshipper. He makes this request for himself, for his family members and for all believers also. At the time of prayer, the greatest problem before him should not be that of the world but that of the Hereafter, where a man has to live forever. The prayer then made is prophetic in nature, and if such a prayer comes from a true heart, it will necessarily be accepted by God.