Abraham Idol Wrecker
Abraham smashing idols contained in Midrash Bereishit 38:13 and Surah 21 in the Qur'an. Abraham's father was an idolater while Abraham is a devout monotheist. Abraham breaks many idols and the people try to burn him until God rescues Abraham.
| Qur'an surah and verse | Qur'an quote | Midrash |
|---|---|---|
| 21.51 | "What are these images, to which ye are (so assiduously) devoted?" | "Then why do you pray to them and worship them?" |
| 21.57 | "after ye go away and turn your backs" | "the woman rushed out into the street" |
| 21.58 | So he broke them to pieces, (all) but the biggest of them | "he broke them all except the largest" |
| 21.62 | They said, "Art thou the one that did this with our gods, O Abraham?" | "'What hast thou done?' they demanded, angrily." |
| 21.63 | He said: "Nay, this was done by - this is their biggest one! ask them, if they can speak intelligently!" | "I? Nothing," answered Abraham. "See, the largest idol . . . It seems to me that he has been angry and has killed all the others. Ask him why he did this." |
| 21.65 | "Thou knowest full well that these (idols) do not speak!" | "'They cannot speak,' said Terah." |
| 21.68 | They said, "Burn him and protect your gods, | Let them be bound and cast into the furnace |
| 21.69 | We said, "O Fire! be thou cool, and (a means of) safety for Abraham! | "Abraham walked unharmed in the flames" |
| 21.70 | We made them the ones that lost most! | "Twelve men in all perished . . . Haran was burned to ashes at once" |
The Qur'an does not elaborate on the meaning behind the idolaters losing more than Abraham likes the Midrash. The Midrash account is accepted by Jews as non-historical but as a lesson created by Jews to warn against following the Greek gods. Elements of the story suggest to have roots in the Apocalypse of Abraham and the Book of Jubilees. Abraham's father's name is Azar in the Qur'an and Terah in the Midrash and Bible
| “ | . . . though some of the later Arab writers give the name . . . as Teraḥ. Others claim that Azar was his real name, while Teraḥ was his surname (Nawawi, "Biographical Dict. of Illustrious Men," p. 128; but see Jawaliḳi, "Al-Mu'arrab," ed. Sachau, p. 21; "Z. D. M. G." xxxiii. 214). Still a third class of authorities say that Azar means either "the old man" or "the perverse one." | ” |
Early Muslims differed on whether Azar was an alternate name for Terah, as Israel was for Jacob. Many of the commentators of the Qur'an (both Sunni and Shia) have also cited an opinion that Azar was the father of Abraham.
Read more about this topic: Legends And The Quran
Famous quotes containing the word idol:
“One should never direct people towards happiness, because happiness too is an idol of the market-place. One should direct them towards mutual affection. A beast gnawing at its prey can be happy too, but only human beings can feel affection for each other, and this is the highest achievement they can aspire to.”
—Alexander Solzhenitsyn (b. 1918)