3.2 Who is My God?-The Invitation For The Father

Who is my God?
Another struggle faced by Ibraheem is that between him and the heavenly bodies' worshippers. These are people who worshipped the stars, the planets, the sun, and the moon. He demonstrated to them that these heavenly bodies should not be worshipped and taken as gods since they are creatures of Allah and they appeared at one time and disappeared at another time.

The Holy Quran narrated to us how he drew the attention of the worshippers to show them the falsity of their actions. When he saw the stars, he said "This is my lord." But when it set he said: "I like not that those who set." He did the same when he saw the moon and the sun and concluded that they cannot be his gods since they disappeared. He told them that his Lord is Allah the Almighty to whom nothing can be hidden and that there is no deity but Allah.

Thus, Ibraheem clarified to these people that the celestial bodies are not to be worshipped because they are mere creatures of Allah and are just among the signs of the existence of one deity Allah the Almighty who said: "And from among His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Prostrate not to the sun nor to the moon, but prostrate to Allah Who created them if you really worship Him." (Ch 41: 37).

3.2 Who is My God?-The Invitation For The Father

Allah is my God
In his life-time struggle for the cause of Allah, Ibraheem searched for the guidance and for his Lord the Almighty Allah. He knew that his Lord is Allah and he used the means available to him to persuade his people to give up worshipping idols and heavenly bodies. He explained to them that Allah is omnipotent and nothing can overcome Him. Allah is the Lords of all the creatures and of all the worlds.

Allah guided Ibraheem, sent him as a Prophet to his people, and chose him "His Close Friend". He was ordered to call his people and drove them away from worshipping idols. He began with his own father, then his community, and finally moved to other cities calling people to believe in Allah and abandon worshipping creatures like them.

3.2 Who is My God?-The Invitation For The Father

Ibraheem's invitation
Ibraheem delivered the message revealed to him by Allah to his people. He challenged the people's worship of idols. He asked them: "What do you worship?" They answered back "We worship idols". He said: "Do they hear you when you call? Or help or harm you?" They said: "We found our fathers doing that." Here Ibraheem is trying to show them the irrationality of worshiping idols. Since everyday action people is motivated by either seeking rewards and profits or avoiding pains, he asked them their idols can do one of these things. They answered back that they worshipped them because they had found their fathers doing so. For Ibraheem, this is not enough proof to worship idols. Their fathers were human and could be wrong.

He then clearly stated his position towards their idols when he said as narrated by the Holy Quran "I do not worship these idols. Rather, I am the enemy of these idols. I worship the Lord of all the worlds, the One Who created me and Who guides me, the One Who gives me food and drink, the One Who heals me when I am ill, and the One Who makes me die and brings me to life." (Ch 26: 78-81). In other words, your idols did not create anything and did not guide. They could not do any of these things provided to me by Allah the Almighty; therefore they are not worth of being worshipped.

3.2 Who is My God?-The Invitation For The Father

In front of the king
After challenging the idols' and the celestial bodies' worshippers and bringing them to their knees (short of arguments), Ibraheem engaged in another struggle: against those people who proclaimed are taken as gods. There was one king named Namrud who proclaimed himself god and was worshipped by people. When he heard that Ibraheem walked out safely from the fire and that he only prostrated himself before Allah alone and not before anyone else, he became angry and afraid that Ibraheem may challenge his deity.

So the king Namrud decided to silence Ibraheem and sent for him. Ibraheem did not fear anyone except Allah so he responded straightaway to the call of the king and came to his palace. When Ibraheem arrived, the king asked him "who is your Lord, Ibraheem" to which he answered "My lord (Allah) is He Who gives life and causes death". Then the king said, "I also give life and cause death." It was reported that the king had a man brought before him and had him killed and then he had another man brought before him and let him alive. Then turned proudly to Ibraheem and said: "You see! I give life and death. I killed one man and let the other man live".

Ibraheem wanted to make the king and all the people witness the wrongness of their worship. So he said to the king: "Allah brings the sun from the east. Now you bring it from the west." The king was bewildered and could not find anything to attack back. This was how Ibraheem defeated him and left him speechless. After escaping safely from fire and defeating the king, Ibraheem became famous in the entire kingdom.

3.2 Who is My God?-The Invitation For The Father

Ibraheem pursued calling to worship Allah alone and was trying hard to convince them to give up worshipping anything else. Despite all his efforts and the power of his arguments, people deserted him and only one woman "Sarah" (she became his wife) and one man "Lot" shared his belief in Allah. He left Babylonia and traveled with these two believers to another city named Ur, then another city called Haran, and then to Palestine from which he went to Egypt calling people to believe in Allah wherever he travelled.

The invitation to the father
We have seen how Ibraheem, as a good son, wanted to guide his father to the Right Path. He gently said to him as mentioned in the Holy Quran, "O my father, why do you worship something that does not hear or see? Why do you worship something that cannot help or harm anyone? My father, do not worship Satan!" (Ch 19: 44). Despite the wise way he used to approach him, his father became angry and answered back harshly, "I will beat you. Leave me alone. Do not talk to me."

Ibraheem patiently replied to his father, "Peace be upon you. I will leave this place and call my Lord." Sad with the harsh feedback from his own father, he decided to leave and go to another country where he could worship Allah and call people to do the same safely.