Title:
Did Abraham (pbuh) Smash the Idols?
Article:
In one of
his articles, Mr. Jochen Katz has pointed out a contradiction in the various
narratives of the Qur’an regarding some of the incidents in the life of Abraham
(pbuh). Mr. Katz writes:
The accounts of Abraham, Suras 19:41-49, 6:74-83 differ quite a bit from
Sura 21:51-59. While in Sura 21 Abraham confronts his people strongly, and
even destroys the idols, in Sura 19 Abraham shuts up after his father
threatens him to stone him for speaking out against the idols. And he seems
not only to become silent, but even to leave the area (“turning away from
them all”).
To fully understand Mr. Katz’s objection, let us first take a brief look at
the related verses. Maryam 19: 41 – 49 read as:
And mention Abraham in the book, he was indeed a saintly man
and a prophet. When he said to his father: ‘Why do you worship a thing that
can neither hear [your calls] nor see [your conditions] and cannot help you in
anything. My dear father, things that were unknown to you have come to my
knowledge; therefore follow me, that I may guide you to the even path. My dear
father, do not worship satan, for satan has rebelled against the Merciful
[Creator]. My dear father, I fear that a punishment from the Merciful may
inflict you and you may become a partner of the satan’. He replied: ‘How dare
you renounce my gods, Abraham? If you desist not, I shall stone you [to
death]. Leave my house this instant and go away from me’. ‘Peace be with you’,
said Abraham. ‘I shall pray to my Lord to forgive you, indeed He has always
been gracious to me. I shall leave you and what you call upon besides God. I
shall call upon my Lord and may my prayers to my Lord not be in vain.
Al-An`aam 6: 74 – 83 reads as:
And when Abraham said to his father, Aazar: ‘Do you really take these idols
to be gods? You and all your people are indeed in clear error’. Thus we used
to show Abraham the [secrets of the] kingdom of the heavens and the earth, so
that he become a firm believer. Then, [one day,] when night drew its shadow
over him, he saw a star. ‘That’, he said, ‘is my God’. But when it faded in
the morning light, he said: ‘I will not worship gods that fade.’ When he
beheld the rising moon, he said: ‘That is my God’. But when it set, he said:
‘If my Lord does not guide me, I shall surely go astray’. The when he beheld
the sun shining, he said: That must be my God: it is the largest.’ But when it
set, he said to his people: ‘I disown your idols. I will turn my face to Him
who has created the heavens and the earth, and will live a righteous life. I
am no idolater’. His people argued with him. He said: ‘Will you argue with me
about God, who has given me guidance? I do not fear your idols, unless my Lord
so willed. My Lord has knowledge of all things. Will you not be warned? And
how should I fear your idols when you yourselves are not afraid of serving
idols not sanctioned by God? Which of us is more deserving of salvation? Tell
me, if you know the truth. Those that have faith and do not taint their faith
with wrongdoing shall surely earn salvation, for they follow the right path’.
Such was the argument with which We furnished Abraham against his people. We
raise whom We will to an exalted rank. Your Lord is wise and all-knowing.
Al-Anbiaa 21: 51 – 59 reads as:
And We had bestowed guidance on Abraham before this for We were well-aware
of him. When he said to his father and his people: ‘What are these images to
which you are so devoted?’ They replied: ‘They are the gods that our fathers
worshipped’. He said: ‘Then you and your fathers have, indeed, been in clear
error’. They said: ‘Have you got something worth listening to, or are you just
playing [with our beliefs]?’ He answered: [These are not true gods], your
Lord, on the contrary, is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, Who created
them. And I openly bear witness to this. By Allah, I will, indeed plan against
your idols, after you turn your backs [upon them]. Thus he broke them all into
pieces, except their supreme god, so that they may [be able to] turn to him
[for help]. [When they saw their gods broken in pieces] They said: ‘Who did
this to our gods, he is indeed a transgressor’.
It is these three sets of verses on the basis of which Mr. Katz has pointed
out the contradiction that according to the last set of verses, ‘Abraham
confronts his people and even destroys the idols’, while according to the first
two sets of verses, Abraham goes into silence after he is threatened by his
father, and subsequently leaves the area.
The reader should note that besides the last set of verses, the two former
sets of verses do not mention the incident of the breaking of the idols. Mr.
Katz is actually construing the silence or the non-reference of the two former
verses to the particular incident as a negation of the incident. However,
unfortunately, this is not necessarily the case. I really do not think this
particular objection raised by Mr. Katz needs to be taken seriously till such
time as Mr. Katz provides at least a reasonable basis of construing the silence
of the Qur’an in the two former sets of verses, with reference to the particular
incident as a negation. The non-provision of such a “reasonable
basis”, would raise more questions about the interpreting mind rather than
the literature. The Muslim mind, in the mean time, is satisfied interpreting the
three sets of verses to highlight three separate incidents in Abraham (pbuh)’s
life.
At the end of his article Mr. Katz writes:
Furthermore Sura 6 differs from the other two in
the respect that Abraham does initially also worship the creation instead of
the creator and only later realizes his mistake [sin] of worshiping that which
is not God..
I
have already given my answer to this comment in one of my previous responses to
a criticism by Mr. Katz, titled: ‘Does
Allah forgive Shirk?’
© Copyright July 2000. All Rights Reserved with the Author