Surah Al-Baqara (2) — Ayah 258

(Ayah 258) ➊ { اَنْ اٰتٰىهُ اللّٰهُ الْمُلْكَ :} That is, the reason for the dispute of that king with Ibrahim (peace be upon him) regarding the Lord Almighty was that Allah had granted him kingship, and in return for this blessing, he himself claimed to be lord and denied the One who had granted him kingship. If Allah had made him poor, he would never have dared to do so.

➋ Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was a resident of Iraq. In his time, almost all forms of polytheism existed in Iraq; they worshipped idols, the sun, the moon, and the stars, and along with these, they also considered the king of the time as lord. It was the duty of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to refute all these forms and invite people to worship the One Lord alone. Accordingly, he invited his father and his people to abandon idol worship and worship the One Lord. As a result, he had to leave his home. Then, in a most wise manner, he made it so clear that the sun, moon, and stars are not lords that his people were left speechless. (See An'am: 76 to 82) As a result, he faced disputes from his people and threats of being targeted by the wrath of the sun, moon, and stars. When Ibrahim (peace be upon him) realized that mere advice would not make them admit the helplessness of the idols, on the day of the festival, he broke all the idols except the biggest one. An investigation was held, and Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was declared guilty. On this occasion, he made the helplessness of the idols so clear before the whole nation that they admitted in their hearts that they themselves were the wrongdoers, and Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was not at fault. Instead of accepting the truth, they said the opposite: burn him and help your gods. (See Anbiya: 51 to 70) Now, obviously, no matter how many the public are, it is the job of the government to punish someone, so he was presented before the king of the time. He tolerated idol worship and star worship in his kingdom, in fact, he supported it, because he himself was a polytheist and also claimed to be lord. On this occasion, this debate took place with the king, in which, being left speechless, he had Ibrahim (peace be upon him) thrown into the fire.

➌ This incident and the two following incidents are examples and evidence of how Allah brings His friends from darkness to light, and how the Taghut bring their friends from light to darkness.

➍ When Ibrahim (peace be upon him) denied the king's claim of being lord, he asked: "Who is your Lord?" He replied: "My Lord is the One who gives life and causes death." He said: "I give life and cause death." It is narrated from some Tabi'in that he called for two prisoners, killed one, and let the other go, and said: "See! Keeping them alive or killing them is in my hands." The statement of the Tabi'in can only be an Israelite narration because they themselves were not present at that time, and such a need arises only when the king is pious and always speaks the truth. If a liar says something wrong, what is the need to justify it with interpretation? The one who can claim to be lord, what can prevent him from claiming that he alone gives life and causes death? Some commentators have written that when Ibrahim (peace be upon him) saw that he was being obstinate, he left the first argument and gave the second argument about the sun, but in reality, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) did not leave the first argument; rather, through it, he made him admit his claim that he gives life and causes death. Now, on this claim, he based the second argument: if you have so much power that you create everyone and cause death, then do a simple thing in comparison: Allah brings the sun from the east, if all authority is with you, then bring the sun from the west. At this, the disbeliever was astonished and completely speechless, and Allah does not grant guidance to such wrongdoers.

➎ The stories of a mosquito entering Nimrod's nose and him having himself beaten with hammers for four hundred years are neither narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) nor from any companion.