Hadith 417: ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; he said, my father narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Ṣamad narrated to us; Abū Hilāl informed us. ʿAbd Allah also narrated to us; he said, Shaybān narrated to us; Abū Hilāl informed us; Bakr narrated to us, who said:

“When Abraham (peace be upon him) was thrown into the fire, the vast majority of creation cried out to their Lord, saying, ‘O Lord, Your khalīl (intimate friend) is being cast into the fire—grant us permission to put it out for him.’ Allah said, ‘He is My khalīl; I have no other khalīl on earth besides him, and I am his Lord; he has no Lord but Me. If he calls on you for help, then help him; if not, leave him be.’

Then the angel in charge of rain came and said, ‘O Lord, Your khalīl is being cast into the fire; allow me to extinguish it with rain.’ He replied, ‘He is My khalīl; there is no other khalīl of Mine on earth, and I am his Lord; he has no Lord but Me. If he seeks your help, assist him; otherwise, leave him.’

When Abraham was finally cast into the fire, he invoked his Lord with a supplication that Abū Hilāl could no longer remember. Allah, exalted is He, then said, ‘O fire, be coolness and safety for Abraham’ (Qur’an 21:69).

That day the fire became cool for the people of both east and west, and not even a single shank (kurāʿ) was cooked within it.”