Allah—exalted be He—says: “Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian; rather, he was an upright monotheist in full submission, and he was never among the polytheists” (Qur’an 3:67).

These noble descriptions of Abraham—peace be upon him—include the fact that he was ḥanīf, and that his creed, al-Ḥanīfiyyah, is the pure religion devoted exclusively to Allah, free of any trace of idolatry. Allah commanded His Prophet ﷺ to follow this creed, saying: “Then We revealed to you: Follow the creed of Abraham, the upright monotheist; he was never among the polytheists” (Qur’an 16:123). He likewise commanded us to do the same when He, the Exalted, said: “He has chosen you and has imposed no hardship upon you in religion—the creed of your forefather Abraham. He is the One who named you Muslims” (Qur’an 22:78). Thus, it is the religion of all the messengers.

Because Abraham—upon him peace—is the greatest of the prophets after our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, he endured, for the sake of calling people to monotheism, ordeals and persecutions unparalleled by any other. He remained steadfast through them all. Moreover, as the father of the prophets—all those who came after him are from his lineage—the ḥanīfiyyah is the creed of every prophet. It is the call to pure monotheism and the prohibition of associating partners with Allah; this is the creed of all the messengers. Yet, owing to Abraham’s unique stands in defense of this creed, it was attributed specifically to him and to those who followed him, and all the prophets after him