The name is in Arabic
Abraham, son of Azer (Terah), son of Nahor, son of Sarug, son of Raghu, son of Peleg, son of Eber, son of Shalech, son of Arpachshadh, son of Shem, son of Noah, peace be upon him.
Title
Khalil Allah, the father of the prophets, one of the most powerful messengers.
Chronological order
He comes after Saleh, peace be upon him (a contemporary of Lot, peace be upon him).
Mission location
The land of Babylon (Iraq), then he migrated to the Levant, Palestine, Egypt, and Mecca.
📜 Lineage and birth
Lineage: His lineage goes back to Shem bin Noah, peace be upon him.
Birth and upbringing: He was born in the land of Babylon in Iraq, in an era when people worshiped idols and planets, and among them was his father Azar, who made idols and sold them.
🧠 His calling and mission (the search for truth)
Abraham, peace be upon him, grew up naturally rejecting the worship of idols that are neither beneficial nor harmful, and he began his journey in search of the true God.
Arguing with his people:
Al-Kawkab: He saw a star and said, “This is my Lord” (as a proof against them), and when it disappeared, he said, “I do not like the coming ones.”
The Moon: He saw the moon rising and said, “This is my Lord.” When it disappeared, he said, “If my Lord does not guide me, I will be among the lost people.”
The sun: He saw the sun rising, and said, “This is my Lord, this is greater,” and when it disappeared, he declared his innocence of their polytheism and his monotheism to God: “Indeed, I have turned my face to Him who created the heavens and the earth, upright, and I am not of the polytheists.” (Al-An’am: 79).
Inviting his father (Azar): He began inviting the people closest to him, his father Azar, to be gentle and kind, but his father refused and threatened him with stoning.
Smashing the idols: On a feast day for his people, Abraham went to the temple and smashed all the idols with an axe, and left the ax on the neck of the largest idol. When his people returned and asked him, he said to them: “Rather, the eldest of them did this, so ask them if they can speak” (Al-Anbiya’: 63), to prove to them its inability.
Nimrod’s argument: Abraham was summoned to the mighty king (Nimrod), and Nimrod asked him: Who is your Lord? Abraham said: My Lord is the One who gives life and causes death. Nimrod said: I revive and cause death (he kills one man and pardons another). Abraham said: “For God brings the sun from the east, so bring it from the west” (Al-Baqarah: 258), so Nimrod was astonished and unable to respond.
🔥 The Great Miracle (Fire)
Punishment: His people and Nimrod decided to burn him as punishment for destroying the idols and defying the king.
The Great Fire: They gathered great firewood and lit a huge fire the likes of which had never been seen, then they threw Abraham into it with a catapult.
The miracle: God Almighty said to the fire: “O fire, be coolness and peace upon Abraham” (Al-Anbiya’: 69). Ibrahim came out of it safe and sound.
🌍 His migration and the building of the Kaaba
Migration: After Abraham despaired of the faith of his people, he emigrated from Babylon with his wife Sarah (who was barren and could not give birth) and his nephew Lot, peace be upon him.
Movement: He immigrated to Harran, then to Egypt, then returned to Palestine.
The birth of Ishmael: Sarah gave her husband, Hagar, her maid to marry, and she gave birth to him, Ishmael, peace be upon him.
Ishmael in Mecca: By order of God, Abraham took Hagar and his infant son Ishmael to the valley of Mecca (which had no crops or water), and left them there, and the Spring of Zamzam flowed out of honor for them.
The birth of Isaac: The angels announced to Abraham and Sarah, who were two old men, the news of the birth of Isaac, peace be upon him, and his birth was another miracle.
Building the Kaaba: Abraham returned to Mecca after Ishmael had grown up, and by God’s command, they together raised the foundations of the Kaaba, to be the first house built to worship God on earth.
🐑 The story of slaughter (the great test)
Vision: Abraham, peace be upon him, saw in a dream that he was slaughtering his son (Ismail, according to the popular opinionh).
Surrender: He presented the matter to his son, and the son responded in obedience to God: “O my father, do what you are commanded. You will find me, God willing, among those who are patient” (Al-Saffat: 102).
Redemption: When they submitted their affairs to God and Abraham was about to slaughter him, God called him that he had believed the vision, and God ransomed him with a great sacrifice (a ram).
⌛ His age and death
His age: Abraham, peace be upon him, lived a very long life, and narratives state that he lived about 175 years or 200 years.
Death: He died in the land of Palestine (Sham).
Burial place: He was buried in the city of Hebron in Palestine, in the place now known as the “Ibrahimi Mosque”, with his wife Sarah, his son Isaac and his wife Rebekah.
Note: Abraham, peace be upon him, is considered the father of all the prophets who came after him (Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, Jesus, and Muhammad, peace be upon them all), and he is a symbol of pure monotheism and submission to God’s command.