Brilliant footprints of Ibrahim(as).
Hazrat Ibrahim alaihy salam holds an outstanding status among the patrons of learning
.He is called the Father of the Prophets(as).In Glorious Quran,God has instructed humanity to follow the method of Ibrahim(as).If we ponder upon the method of Hazrat Ibrahim alaihy salam,we come to the light of his method which is a method of profound sincerity,obedience and yielding one's body and soul completely to God's will.It is an approach of sacrificing one's affections of mind and desires of heart ,deliberately ,to please the Lord.The impressive life of Hazrat Ibrahim (as)if described in one word ,can be symbolically called,'sajdah'! His entire life is a prayer,submission to Almighty Allah.First of all,he meditated and observed the system of the universe and the objects of nature i,e,stars,moon and sun in search of truth about the Creator.When Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala revealed truth on him about Himself and His creation,Hazrat Ibrahim(as) guarded that truth and stuck to it even in the most crucial and perilous moments of his life.When his nation did not accept the teachings of" Monotheism" and his father ordered him to leave home,he faced all problems and catastrophies courageously.He remained patient ,persistent and cool when he was being thrown by a' huge catapult'(manjneeq) into the burning flames of the fire of 'Namrod' the king of that times.Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala replaced fire into garden of flowers.Moreover,when he was asked to migrate from Iraq to Syria ,he left his homeland.Throughout his life,he passed many trials and tests.Allah Almighty says in Quran,
"And remember that Abraham was tried by his Lord with certain commands which he fulfilled;He said,"I will make you an Imam(leader)to the people!"(Sura tul Baqarah124)
Seeking the pleasure of God, was the Alpha and Omega of his life.When God's command came to leave his beloved wife Hazrat Hajrah and new born son Ismael,in a desert,he departed leaving his family alone and helpless.But in fact they were neither alone nor helpless,their Lord was with them and they had trust on their Lord.Hazrat Hajrah ran here and there on hills of Safa and Marwa in search of water for her crying baby and soon water of Zam Zam flew up from sand.Reading those events we drink energy and vitality of Faith.Subsequently,when Ismael(as) grew up ,Hazrat Ibrahim(as) saw a dream to slaughter his one and the only child .How amazing ,beautiful and historical event which happened on earth was that both father and son surrendered themselves before their Lord.Father told his dream to son and son replied spontaneously,' Father "Do what you are being ordered ,you would find me among patients ,God's willing".During the process of sacrifice,Allah Almighty sent down a big animal to slaughter.It was a most difficult exam of Hazrat Ibrahim(as).Due to the noblest characteristic of obedience,Allah gave him an honourable title of 'Khalil' meant friend of Allah Almighty! In Quran,our Lord praised him,
"And who turned away from the religion of Abraham but such as debase their souls with folly?him we choosed and rendered'pure' in this world and he will be in the Hereafter in the ranks of the Righteous.Behold! his Lord said to him,"Submit",he said,"i submit to the Lord and Cherisher of the universe".And Abraham enjoined upon his sons and so did Jacob,O my sons! Allah hath chosen the 'Faith'for you;then die not except in the state of submission(to Allah)(Sura AL Baqarah 130-132)Hazrat Ibrahim(as) is well recognized as a leader in Christians and in Jews too.God has selected him for the monumental task to rebuild Holy Ka'aba,which had been demolished after the flood of Hazrat Noah(as).Hazrat Ibrahim and Ismael(as)both Prophets completed that sacred construction but in a state of piety and humble pray(no pride ,no boast)and said,
"Our Lord!make of us Muslims,bowing to You and of our progany a people Muslims,bowing to You;and show us our places for the celebration of (due) rites and turn unto us( in Mercy)for Thou art the Oft-Relenting ,most Merciful"(Al Baqarah128).Almighty Allah saved even the foot-prints of Hazrat Ibrahim(as)on the stone,he stood up for constuction!.He was the first Prophet who preached religion to humanity on international level.He preached for almost hundred years.He sent Hazrat Loot(as) ,his nephew to Jordon,Hazrat Isaq(as),his son to Syria and Palestine and Hazrat Ismael(as)to Arabs.He died in the age of 175 years in Palestine,that place is called "Madina tul Khalil".The impressive life of Hazrat Ibrahim(as) is a crystal mirror in which we can see ourselves and judge our lives ,how much we have affection for our Lord and can measure our passions of submission and sacrifice to please our Lord !Allama Iqbal said ,
'Aj bi ho jo Brahim ka eeman peda
Aag kr sakti hy andaz e gulistan peda!
(Ismat Usama)
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