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.”