Then he “reduced them to fragments”—that is, to broken pieces. They had all been gathered in one building, so he smashed every one of them, “except a chief one of theirs”—that is, their chief idol, which he left intact for a purpose he would later explain. Consider the remarkable precision of this wording: anything detested by Allah should not be described in terms of greatness except by attributing that greatness to those who esteem it. Thus, whenever the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—wrote to the polytheistic rulers of the earth, he would say, “To the ruler of Persia,” “To the ruler of Rome,” and the like; he would not say, “To the great ruler.” Here, likewise, Allah Most High said, “except a chief one of theirs,” rather than, “a great one among their idols.” This deserves attention, and one should take care not to magnify what Allah has abased, except by relating that supposed greatness to those who magnify it.
His words, “so that they might return to it,” mean that Abraham left this idol unbroken so that they might return to it, reflect on the proof it afforded, give it due attention, and not turn away from it. Hence He later said, “Then they turned to themselves.”
When they saw the humiliation and disgrace that had befallen their idols, “they said, ‘Who has done this to our gods? He must surely be one of the wrongdoers.’” They accused Abraham of wrongdoing—though they themselves were far more deserving of that charge—because he had smashed them. They did not realize that smashing them was among his finest virtues and an expression of his justice and monotheism. The true wrongdoer was the one who took them as gods despite having seen what could be done to them.
“They said, ‘We heard a young man speaking against them’”—that is, criticizing and disparaging them. A person known to do that must have been the one who smashed them; alternatively, some of them had heard him mention that he would devise a plan against them. “He is called Abraham.” Once they had established that it was Abraham, “they said, ‘Then bring him before the eyes of the people’”—that is, where they could all see and hear—“so that they may bear witness”; in other words, so that they might be present to see what would be done to the man who had smashed their gods.
This was precisely what Abraham wanted and intended: that the truth should be made clear in the presence of the people, so that they could witness it and the proof would be established against them. Moses likewise said when he arranged the appointed meeting with Pharaoh: “Your appointed time is the Day of Adornment, and let the people be assembled in the forenoon.”
When the people had gathered and Abraham was brought forth, they said to him, “Was it you who did this”—meaning the smashing—“to our gods, Abraham?” This was a question demanding an admission: What emboldened you, and what led you to undertake such a deed?
With the people bearing witness, Abraham said, “Rather, this chief one of theirs did it”—that is, it smashed them in anger because they were worshipped alongside it and wanted you to worship your chief idol alone. Abraham’s purpose in saying this was to compel his opponents to face the necessary conclusion and to establish the proof against them. He therefore said, “Ask them, if they can speak.” He meant: Ask the broken idols why they were smashed, and ask the idol that was not smashed why it smashed them. If they possess the power of speech, they will answer you. Yet I, you, and everyone else know that they neither speak nor utter a word, neither benefit nor harm, and cannot even defend themselves against anyone who wishes to harm them.
“Then they turned to themselves”—that is, their reason reasserted itself and their good sense returned. They realized that they were misguided in worshipping the idols and acknowledged against themselves their wrongdoing and association of partners with Allah. “They said, ‘You yourselves are truly the wrongdoers.’” The intended purpose was thereby achieved, and the proof became binding upon them ⦗527⦘ through their own admission that their way was false and that their conduct was disbelief and wrongdoing.
They did not, however, remain in that state. Instead, “they were turned upside down”—that is, the matter was reversed for them, their reason was overturned, and their good sense went astray. They said to Abraham, “You know very well that these cannot speak. How, then, can you mock and ridicule us and command us to question them when you know that they cannot speak?”
Abraham then rebuked them, openly proclaimed their polytheism before the assembled witnesses, and made clear that their gods were unworthy of worship: “Do you then worship besides Allah something that can neither benefit you in any way nor harm you?” They can confer no benefit and avert no harm.
“Fie upon you and upon what you worship besides Allah!” That is: How far astray you are, how ruinous your bargain, and how base you and the things you worship besides Allah are! Had you possessed reason, you would have recognized this reality. But because you have cast reason aside and knowingly embraced ignorance and error, even livestock are in a better state than you.
When he had thus left them unable to answer and they could offer no proof, they resorted to force in order to punish him. “They said, ‘Burn him and support your gods, if you are going to act.’” That is, kill him in the most horrific manner by burning him, out of anger for your gods and in support of them. May they perish—may they utterly perish! They worshipped beings which they themselves admitted needed their support, yet still took them as gods.
Allah therefore defended His intimate friend. When they cast him into the fire, He said to it, “Be coolness and safety for Abraham.” It accordingly became cool and safe for him: no harm touched him there, nor did he experience anything unpleasant.
“They sought to devise a plan against him” when they resolved to burn him, “but We made them the greatest losers”—in this world and the Hereafter—just as Allah made His intimate friend and his followers the ones who prosper and succeed.
“And We saved him and Lot.” No one from among Abraham’s people believed in him except Lot—peace be upon him—who, it is said, was his nephew. Allah saved Abraham, and he migrated “to the land which We blessed for all peoples”—that is, the Levant. He left his people in Babylon, in the land of Iraq, and said, “I am emigrating to my Lord. He alone is the Almighty, the All-Wise.” Among the blessings of the Levant are that many prophets lived there, that Allah chose it as the destination of His intimate friend’s migration, and that it contains one of His three sacred Houses: Bayt al-Maqdis, the Sacred House in Jerusalem.
“And We granted him,” when he withdrew from his people, “Isaac and Jacob”—the son of Isaac—“as an additional gift.” This was after Abraham had grown old and his wife was barren. The angels therefore gave her glad tidings of Isaac, “and after Isaac, Jacob.” Jacob was Israel, from whom descended the great nation. There was also Ishmael son of Abraham, from whom came the noble Arab nation and among whose descendants was the master of all former and latter generations.
“Each one”—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—“We made righteous”; that is, they fulfilled Allah’s rights and the rights of His servants. Part of their righteousness was that He made them leaders who guided by His command. This is among Allah’s greatest blessings to His servant: that He makes him a leader by whom those seeking guidance are guided and in whose footsteps those following the path proceed. That was because they were patient and possessed certainty in Allah’s signs.