Transliteration:( Qaaloo harriqoohu wansurooo aalihatakum in kuntum faa'ileen )
"They said, 'Burn him and help your gods, if you have to do' [99]."
Hearing Hazrat Ibrahim’s fearless words, Namrood and his people decided to imprison him and burn him alive. Hazrat Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was gathering wood for a month in a place called Koti, preparing for what lay ahead.
They lit a massive fire, so intense that birds could not fly over it. To hurl him into it, they used a catapult, and in that moment, he recited:
“Allah is sufficient for us and what an excellent Disposer of Affairs” (Surah Aal-e-Imran: Verse 173).
On the way, Hazrat Jibraeel (peace be upon him) met him and asked if he needed anything. He replied, “I do not need anything from you. My need is with Allah, Who is fully aware of it.”
Hazrat Ibrahim believed that seeking Allah’s help at that moment might appear as impatience, showing his deep trust and complete submission to Allah’s will.
Interestingly, a woodpecker attempted to extinguish the fire by carrying water in its beak, while a chameleon tried to fan the flames. Though neither action impacted the fire, their intentions revealed who supported truth and who opposed it.
Because of this, Islam teaches to kill the chameleon, as it symbolised enmity toward Allah’s friend—Hazrat Ibrahim (peace be upon him).
68. They said: “Burn him and help your gods, if you will be doing.” 69. We said: “O fire! Be you cool and safety for Ibrahim!” 70. And they wanted to harm him, but We made them the worst losers.
When their arguments were refuted and their incapability became clear, when truth was made manifest and falsehood was defeated, they resorted to using their power and strength, and said:
(“Burn him and help your gods, if you will be doing.”) So they gathered together a huge amount of wood. As-Suddi said, “I if a woman was sick, she would make a vow that if she recovered she would bring wood to burn Ibrahim. Then they made a hole in the ground and set it aflame, and it burned with huge sparks and immense flames. There had never been a fire like it. They put Ibrahim, peace be upon him, into a catapult, at the suggestion of a nomadic Kurdish man from Persia.” Shu`ayb Al-Jaba’i said, “His name was Hayzan, and Allah caused the earth to swallow him up, and he will remain sinking into it until the Day of Resurrection. When they threw him he said, `Sufficient for me is Allah, and He is the best disposer of affairs.’ ” This is similar to what Al-Bukhari recorded from Ibn `Abbas that Ibrahim said, “`Sufficient for me is Allah, and He is the best disposer of affairs,” when he was thrown into the fire, and Muhammad said it when they said:
(Verily, the people have gathered against you, therefore, fear them. But it increased them in faith, and they said: “Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs.”) ﴿3:173﴾. Sa`id bin Jubayr reported that Ibn `Abbas said: “When Ibrahim was thrown into the fire, the keeper (angel) of the rain said: `When will I be commanded to send rain’ But the command of Allah was more swift. Allah said:
(O fire! Be you cool and safety for Ibrahim!), and there was no fire left on earth that was not extinguished.” Ibn `Abbas and Abu Al-`Aliyah said: “Were it not for the fact that Allah said,
(and safety), Ibrahim would have been harmed by its coldness.” Qatadah said: “On that day there was no creature that did not try to extinguish the fire for Ibrahim, except for the gecko.” Az-Zuhri said: “The Prophet commanded that it should be killed, and called it a harmful vermin.”
(And they wanted to harm him, but We made them the worst losers.) they were defeated and humiliated, because they wanted to plot against the Prophet of Allah, but Allah planned against them and saved him from the fire, and thus they were defeated.
(21:68) They said: “Burn him, and come to the support of your gods, if you are going to do anything.”
There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.
For a faster and smoother experience,
install our mobile app now.
Related Ayat(Verses)/Topics