Abraham the Great Prophet 4

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 Abraham and the King

Abraham’s ideas became known throughout the country. In spite of all the underhanded methods which the religious groups were using, they were not successful in damaging him or his reputation. Eventually, they took refuge in fanning the hatred of the mobs by saying that he was against their gods and ancestors.

The fame of Abraham reached the ears of the king. The problem he had created was of such magnitude, that it could not escape the notice of the king. The dignitaries and religious groups urged him to step in and solve the problem. The king was very proud and confident that he would defeat Abraham’s arguments and restore the damaged prestige of the temple, so he ordered the summons for him to appear in the court.

One day when the court was in full session, Abraham entered the court. The king asked him, “You are the son of the high priest of my kingdom; what are you telling people about our gods?”

Abraham said, “I am saying that there is only one God in the universe. If we follow his laws the best results will come out of them and make our lives more meaningful and happy.”

“What are the attributes of this God you are talking about?” the king asked. He was very proud of his inheritance, rank, power and kingdom. Saying that there is only one God was like throwing a direct challenge to his pride and authority. Abraham was fully aware of the situation; but his pure love for justice and truth inspired him with such courage that he unflinchingly answered, “My God is the one whose law decides the matters of life and death.”

Abraham’s answer covered a wide range of spheres but the king only stuck to its literal meaning and said,

“In my kingdom the matters of life and death are decided by me.”

Instead of prolonging the discussion unnecessarily by giving counter-arguments, Abraham used his method of irrefutable concrete evidence to illustrate the abstract truth and said,

“If you think that everything in your kingdom obeys your orders, then bring the sun from the west as my God brings it from the east.”

After this answer the discussion ended immediately. The king was astounded and without an answer. This defeat hurt his vanity, ego, and pride. The intoxication of power dwindled and he was left to choose between two alternatives. One was to accept the truth, which his hurt pride, ego, and desire to rule and dominate people did not let him do, and the other was to discredit Abraham with false propaganda and fan hatred and bias against him. The king opted for the second alternative. He was the sovereign authority of his country with the full powers of a dictator. He was unwilling to leave his status, which he would have had to do if he accepted the proposition of Abraham. The lure of power prevented him from overcoming the prejudice against the idea of one God. The fine feelings, if there were any, succumbed to the lust of power; in spite of his defeat the king did not accept the truth.

Throughout the country people were anxiously waiting for the outcome of the discussion. Abraham was the son of the high priest and the king was supposed to be a protector of the priest and his family; in this state of affairs nobody could easily do any harm to him. When they realized that the king would not lower his wing of protection to save him they lost all balance and started shouting, “Kill him!” “Burn him alive!” A wave of hatred swept the whole country. At that moment someone said, “Let us build a building and light a fire in it, and then put Abraham in the burning fire so that he can see the result of talking against our gods and ancestors.”

 

Abraham the Great Prophet 3

Abraham and His Nation

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Abraham was a keen observer of natural phenomena. His nation worshipped stars, so he thought of a clever way to show the nation the defects of star-worship. He went to the temple, where in the evening, his nation was waiting for the star to worship. Suddenly a shining star appeared in the blue sky; the priest and his choir started singing and worshipping it. Abraham quietly asked, “Is this God?” “Yes,” said the priest. After a limited time it disappeared.

 “How could a being present for a short time claim to be an omnipotent God?” asked Abraham. No answer was given to this question.

The night came after the evening; the full moon appeared. It was brighter than the star; the priest and the singers started their songs and worshipped it. Abraham again asked, “Is this God?” After a short while it disappeared. Abraham declared that if God had not shown him the true nature of these phenomena he might have belonged to the group of misled people

The night ended; the sun rose, and it was brighter than the star and the moon. The priest and singers started the songs in praise of the rising sun. However, it also disappeared after shining a while. Abraham declared that he could not accept this phenomenon of nature as an all-mighty God.

 “You do not believe in our gods; then who is your God?” asked one worshipper.

 “My God is one who brought the entire universe into existence from nothing and gave it guiding principles to obey. All the stars, moon, and sun follow these laws obediently. This truth is so clear to me that I have directed all my energies according to his laws, and I do not think anyone else has the capacity to be God.”

“We have seen our ancestors worshipping idols and stars; we are following in their footsteps,” was the answer given to Abraham.

“You are sticking to your ways only because your ancestors did so. You do not want to revise your decision about idol worship. You think that these gods are so powerful as to inflict pain and suffering upon you if you disobey them. I am going to devise a way to break this myth of powerful gods when all of you are absent,” declared Abraham.

Reason is a great gift from God; it guides the thinking powers into right directions. However, fallacious reasoning can be very harmful; an ordinary person usually finds it very difficult to distinguish between correct and fallacious reasoning. In order to prevent the confusion, Abraham employed a unique method to illustrate the truth. His method was to give irrefutable concrete examples to illustrate the abstract facts.

One day, the entire nation had gone to a festival. Abraham entered the temple. He saw a lot of delicious eatables presented to the idols.

“Why are you not eating these delicious niceties? Moreover, why don’t you talk?” he asked them ironically. After that he broke all the small idols, and put the hammer in the hand of the big idol. When the people returned and saw the idols were smashed into small pieces, their anger and grief knew no bounds. They asked the priests about the culprit. The priests were well aware of the declaration of Abraham but disinclined to admit it. They were afraid that people would hold them responsible for deliberately neglecting the care of the gods.

          Someone pointed out that a youth known as Abraham used to talk against the idols, so perhaps he had done it. The priests saw an opportunity to avoid the blame of neglect. So, Abraham was called into a common assembly and questioned.

He replied, “Why are you asking me? Ask the big idol; it will tell you. Perhaps they had an argument and the big one smashed the small ones in anger.”

The priests of the temple had been telling the common man that their gods were very powerful; they could talk, see, predict the future, and save them from danger and harm. A lot of stories about the moon god, the sun god, and his chariot with fiery black horses were floating in the society. These gods were always interfering with human beings. Sometimes, they were tempted to enter into romantic relationships with the glamorous maidens on earth and have children by them. Another manner of interference was to inflict punishments upon human beings for their sins. For the atonement of their sins, common men had to seek the help of priests. They brought rich presents and materials for the sacrifices to get rid of the sins. This was a lucrative business for the priests. They did no hard work but enjoyed the best of everything.   

The courageous action of Abraham broke the myth of the powerful gods, and the visible fact was that they were so weak that they could not save themselves from destruction. The broken idols presented a picture contrary to what was said about them. They were unable to point out their destroyer; he was standing hale and hearty before the assembly. Abraham’s response was so unexpected that all the priests were answer less. In shame they went to Abraham and said, “You are the son of the chief priest and you definitely know that these idols cannot speak. Why are you putting us in an awkward position in front of the public?”

Abraham realized that these priests were keenly alive to their own interest, which was to keep the common man away from critical thinking. They wanted the common man to know the universe as they had painted it, with the help of numerous stories and mysteries, and not as it is. The priests wanted the ordinary people to feel happy about the false promises which they were continually providing them, and not to know the facts.

The religious authorities of the country took Abraham as a challenge against their idols. They had no answer to his arguments, so they diverted their energies in brewing storms of conspiracies and intrigues against him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

       

 

 

 

 

       

 

 

       

     

   

 

Abraham the Great Prophet 2

Father and Son

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From childhood to manhood, Abraham was surrounded by various kinds of idols. His father was the chief priest in the temple; the knowledge about gods and their adventures were bedtime stories for him. When God chose him to be a prophet, he was shown the way the universe is governed, to strengthen his belief in one God. Now, inspired with God-given reasoning powers, he started to point out the weaknesses of idol worship.

Azar and Abraham were very close to each other, so the first step he took was to reach his father. He told him about the new light he had received and warned him about the dangers of idol worship. He also proclaimed that there is only one God who is the creator of the universe; idols cannot see or listen, and they cannot harm nor do any good to anyone. He wanted his father to follow him because he had had the true guidance, to leave the false gods and stop living under the shadow of misleading emotions. He was worried about his father’s safety. Abraham wanted to save his father from the harm that idol worship could bring upon him.

All Abraham’s tender feelings for his father were shaken by his father’s answer: “Are you talking against my gods? If you do not stop it I will order you to be stoned to death. Leave my house and don’t see me again!”

God’s new revelation to the son, which had completely changed his outlook, shocked the father. In the same way, the father’s harsh reaction surprised the son. However, he didn’t lose his temper, but answered politely, “I will try to help you to understand the truth.”

          Abraham prayed to God to save his father from the harms of his wrong choice; but he realized that his father had conceived no passion for truth. The only skill he had mastered was idol worshipping; without it he did not know what to do with himself. He could not overcome his prejudice against one supreme power governing the universe because it was not profitable for him.  When he found that the treasure of knowledge and virtue which had filled the vigorous soul of Abraham could lead him to a poorly filled purse, he rejected the idea of one God. The noisy intoxication of idol-worship had its effects; he was totally unable to resist the temptation of wealth and power. Moreover he had no desire to see and appreciate the truth which could turn him into a worthless pauper.  Abraham tried to fulfill his promise which he had made to his father, but his tender emotions and affectionate feelings for his father did not blur his insight; he realized that Azar was never going to accept one God. He had no desire to acknowledge the truth. He was an enthusiastic enemy of God; so without hesitation, Abraham left his father. With his renunciation he lost the respect, rank, and riches which he could have as a high priest.