HISTORY OF TABARI VOLUME 2 PART 3

HISTORY OF TABARI
VOLUME 2

TARIKH WA RASUL AL MULK



As for Thamud:


  They were insolent toward their Lord, disbelieved in Him, and caused evil upon the earth. Because of this, God sent to them Salih [121. Another of the Arabian prophets mentioned in the Qur ' in, especially in surahs, 7, 11, 26, and 27 . Unlike ' Ad, Hud ' s people, Thamud is a historically well-attested tribe . See Shorter Encyc., 499-500, s.v. Salih, and ibid ., 591-92, s.v. Thamud . The story of Salih is elaborated by Tha'labi, Qisas, 58-63; Kisa'i, 117-128.]  b. 'Ubayd b. Asif b. Masikh b. 'Ubayd b. Khadir b. Thamud b. Gether b. Aram b. Shem b. Noah as a messenger to call them to declare God's unity and to worship Him alone.

  It is said that Salih was Salih b. Asif  b. Kamashij b. Iram b. Thamud b. Gether b. Aram b. Shem b. Noah. One of their responses to him was to say, "0 Salih! You have hitherto been the one in whom our hope was placed. Do you ask us not to worship what our fathers worshipped? Verily we are in grave doubt about that to which you call us." [122. Qur'an, 11:62.] God had made their lives long, and they inhabited al-Hijr as far as Wadi al-Qura between al-Hijaz and Syria . Salih went on urging them to worship God in spite of their rebelliousness and tyranny. His calling them to God only strengthened their determination not to respond. When this had gone on for some time-as had Salih's efforts-they said to him, "If you are truthful, then bring us a sign.”

  What happened then regarding them and Salih. was told by al-Hasan b . Yahya-'Abd al- Razzaq -Isra'il-'Abd al-'Aziz b. Rufay'-Abu al-Tufayl: Thamud said to Salih, "Bring us a sign if you are indeed truthful." Salih said to them, "Go to an elevation on the land," and it shook violently as a woman in labor shakes, and it opened up, and from its midst a camel came forth. salih said, "This is God' s camel , a token unto you. Let her feed in God's land, and do not hurt her, lest a painful torment seize you. [123. Ibid., 7:73, also 11:64] She has the right to drink, and you have the right to drink, each on an appointed day." [124. Ibid ., 26:155.]
But when they wearied of her, they hamstrung her,[ 125. 'Agaruha, i.e., they cut or hocked the leg tendons , an act which usually preceded the slaughtering of a camel . See Lane, V, 2107-08. This is the symbolic act for which Thamud was punished. After having called upon Salib to provide a divine sign -the bringing forth of a pregnant camel from a rock-and being warned not to harm her, they carried out this act.] and Salih said to them, "Enjoy life in your dwelling place for three days! This is a promise that will not be belied, [126. Qur'an, 11:65] (that is, you have only three days left to live).

  'Abd al-'Aziz said: Another man related to me that Salih told them, " As a sign of punishment, tomorrow morning you will be red, then yellow the day after that, and on the third day black." Punishment came to them in the morning, and when they saw that, they embalmed themselves and prepared themselves for death According to al-Qasim -al-Husayn -Ilajjaj- Abu Bakr b. 'Abd al-Rahman-Shahr b. Hawshab -'Amr b. Kharijah: We said to him, " Tell us the tale of Thamud ."

  He said, " I shall relate to you what the Messenger of God said about Thamud." (' Amr b. Kharijah's account runs as follows :) Thamud were the people of Salih to whom almighty God had granted long life in this world, and He made their lives invulnerable . So much so, that once when one of them began to build a house out of dried mud and it collapsed on him, that man still survived. When they saw that, they used their skills to make houses out of the mountains . They hewed the mountains out, cut through them, and hollowed them out, and they lived in comfort therein . Then they said, " 0 Salih! Ask your Lord for us to bring forth a sign to let us know that you are the Messenger of God." So Salih prayed to his Lord and He brought forth the she-camel for them . Her drinking right was fixed on one day, theirs on another . When it was her drinking day, they would leave her alone with the water and then milk her so that her milk filled every vessel , container, and waterskin . But once when her drinking day came they kept her away from the water and did not let her drink any of it; and yet they still filled every vessel, container, and waterskin. So God told Salih, "Your people are hamstringing your she-camel ." He told them that, and they replied , " Verily we have not done that ." He said, "If you are not hamstringing her, a son is about to be born to you who will hamstring her." They said , " What is the sign of that son? By God, as soon as we find him we will kill him!" He said, "He is a boy with fair skin, blue eyes, reddish-brown hair, and a ruddy complexion."

  In that city there were two mighty and invincible shaykhs. One of them had a son whom he did not want to let marry, and the other had a daughter for whom he could not find an equal match . A meeting was arranged between them and one of them said to the other, "What prevents you from marrying your son off?" He answered , " I cannot find an equal match for him."  The other responded , " Verily my daughter is an equal match for him, and I will arrange a marriage with you ." So he married her to him and from them that son was born.

  In the city there were eight unrepentant evildoers. When Salih said to them, " Only a child among you will hamstring her," they chose eight women who were midwives from the town and ordered them to circulate through the town . If they found a woman in labor, they were to observe what she bore . If it was a boy they were to slay it, but if it was a girl they were to refrain from harming her. When they found that child , the women shouted and said , " This is the one whom God ' s messenger Salih meant ." Their orders required them to take him , but his two grandfathers intervened to stop them and said , " If Salih wants him, we will slay him!"

  He was the most evil of children and each day he grew as much as others grew in a week , each week he grew as much as others grew in a month , and each month as much as others grew in a year. One day the eight evildoers who never did good gathered togeher with the two shaykhs and said , " Make this boy our leader because of his status and the nobility of his grandfathers ." So they became nine . Now Salih refused to sleep in the city with them, spending his nights instead in a prayerplace called the Mosque of $alih . In the morning he would come to them and admonish them , and when it was evening he would go back to his mosque and spend the night there.

  According to Hajjaj-Ibn Jurayj : When $alih told the eight evildoers that a boy would be born at whose hands they would be destroyed , they said , " What do you command us? " He said, "I command you to kill them " [ that is, their male children). So they killed them except for one. When it reached the turn of  that boy they said, " If we had not killed our sons, each one of us would have had one like this . This is the doing of Salih!" So they plotted among themselves to slay him , saying, " Let us pretend to go forth on a journey and let the people see us doing so. Then we will come back on a certain night of a certain month, and lie in wait for him at his praying place and kill him. People will think only that we had gone off on a journey [and will not suspect us]." They went to a large rock and lay in wait for him underneath it. God made that rock fall down on them, and it crushed them to death . Some men who had learned of their plan went out to them and found them crushed, and they went back to the city shouting, " 0 servants of God! It was not enough for Salih to order them to kill their children, so he killed them themselves." The people of the city then gathered to hamstring the camel, but could not make themselves do it, except for that son of the tenth one.

  According to Abu Ja'far-the Messenger of God: They wanted to trick Salih so they went to a hole in the path of Salih and eight of them hid in it, saying, "When he comes out toward us we will kill him. Then we will come to his family and attack them by night." But God gave a command to the soil and the hole caved in on them. Then others gathered and went to the she-camel while she was standing at her water-tank and the culprit said to one of them, "Bring her and I will hamstring her." So they brought her to him, but he found the job too hard and refused to do it. So they sent another, but he also found it too difficult. Whoever the culprit sent considered the matter too difficult until he himself went to her, stretched himself up, and struck her tendons, and she fell as she ran.

  One of the people came to Salih and said, "Hurry, go to your camel, it has been hamstrung." At this he went to them, and they came forth to meet him and sought his forgiveness, saying, "0 prophet of God, only so-and-so hamstrung her, so it is not a sin of ours." He said, "See if you can overtake her young. If you overtake him, perhaps God will remove the punishment from you." So they went forth seeking him. But when the young camel saw his mother upset, he went to a low mountain called al-Qarah and ascended it. They went to seize him, but God gave a command to the mountain and it grew so tall in the sky that not even the birds could reach it. Salih entered the city, and when the young camel saw him, he wept until his tears flowed. Then he approached Salih and grumbled once, then again, then again. Salih said, "Each grumble is the term of one day. Enjoy yourselves in your homes for these three days. This is no false promise. The sign of the punishment is that on the first day your faces will become yellow in the morning, on the second day they will become red, and on the third day black."

  When they awoke in the morning, their faces were yellow as if daubed with saffron-young and old, male and female. When evening came they all shouted togehter, "Woe! One day of the term has passed and the punishment has come upon us." When the second day dawned, their faces were red as if dyed with blood. They shouted and clamored and wept, and knew that this was their punishment. When the evening came they all cried out together, "Two days of the term have passed and the punishment had befallen us." When they rose on the third morning, their faces were black as if painted with pitch. They all shouted, "Woe! The punishment has befallen us!" They wrapped themselves in shrouds and embalmed themselves for the grave. Their embalming consisted of aloes and acid, while their shrouds were leather mats." [127. A1- anta`, used as dining cloths, game boards, and-more significantly-in executions . See Lane , VIII:3034. ] Then they threw themselves to the ground and began looking back and forth between heaven and earth, not knowing from whence their punishment would come to them-whether from above them in the heavens or from beneath their feet , from the ground, humbled and separated.

  When they awoke on the fourth day, they heard a clamor from heaven which was as loud as every thunderbolt and the noise of everything on earth that makes a sound all together. Their hearts stopped in their breasts and they fell down prostrate in their homes.

  According to al-Qasim-al-Husayn-Hajjaj -Ibn Jurayj : I have been told that when the great clamor overcame them, God destroyed all of them between sunrise and sunset. He spared only one man who was at the sanctuary of God, whom the sanctuary preserved from God's punishment. The question was asked, "Who was he, 0 Messenger of God?" He (Muhammad s.a.w) replied, "Abu Righal." When he came to the city of Thamud, the Messenger of God said to his companions, "Let none of you enter the city nor drink of their water." And he showed them the place where the young camel had gone up to al-Qarah.

  According to Ibn jurayj-Musa b. 'Ugbah-`Abdallah b. Dinar-Ibn 'Imran : When the Prophet came to the city of Thamud he said, "Verily do not visit these punished ones unless you are weeping. If you are not weeping then do not go to them, lest'what happened to them happen to you."

  According to Ibn Jurayj-Jabir b. 'Abdallah: When the Prophet came to al-Hijr he praised and lauded God. After praising God, etc., he said, "Do not ask your Messenger for signs. These people of Salih asked their messenger for a sign, and God sent the she - camel to them . She would return from this pass and go forth from this pass, and she drank their water on the day of her share."

  According to Ismail b. al-Mutawwakil al-Ashja'iMuhammad b. Kathir-`Abdallah b. Wagid-`Abdallah b.'Uthman b. Kuthaym-Abu al-Tufayl: When the Messenger of God went on the expedition to raid Tabuk he camped at al-Hijr and said, "0 people! Do not ask your Prophet for signs! These folk of Salih asked their prophet to send them a sign and God sent them the she-camel as a sign. On the day of her turn to drink she entered among them from this pass and drank their water. On the day when it was their turn they would be supplied with it (water) and would take as much milk from her as they had taken water previously. Then she would go forth from the pass. But they became disobedient to their Lord's command and hamstrung her, so God promised them punishment after three days . It was a promise from God and was not false. So God destroyed all of them, in the East and the West, except for one man who was at God's sanctuary. God's sanctuary protected him from God's punishment. They said, "And who was that man, 0 Messenger of God?" He said, "Abu Righal."

  The people of the Torah claim that there is no mention of `Ad and Thamud, nor of Hud and Salih, in the Torah; but their repute among the Arabs of the Jahiliyyah and of Islam was like the repute of Abraham and his people.

  Were it not for (my) dislike of making the book too long and  getting off the subject, I would quote poetry by poets of the Jahiliyyah which mentions some of what I have said about `Ad and Thamud and their affairs. From this, those who do not admit how well-known they were would learn the truth about their fame. Some sages claim that Salih died in Mecca when he was fifty-eight years old, and that he had remained among his people for twenty years.

  As Abu Ja'far said, now let us return to the discussion of Abraham, the Friend of God.




Discussion of Abraham,
the Friend of the Merciful  [128. The patriarch Abraham , progenitor of both Jews and Arabs , is called  "God's friend " in two passages of the Bible , Is 41:8 and II Chron 20 : 7. There are many parallels to these Muslim tales in Jewish aggadic literature , and considerable scholarly disagreement as to the direction of influence. See Ginzberg, Legends, V:2o9ff .; Encyc. /udaica, 2 : 11 Iff]



  And of those Persian kings who were contemporary with him, for we have mentioned the line of descendants leading to him from Noah as well as the history of the era before that. He was Abraham b . Terah b. Nahor b . Serug b . Reu b . Peleg b . Eber b. Shelah b . Qaynan b . Arpachshad b. Shem b. Noah . There is disagreement about where he came from and where he was born. Some say his birthplace was al – Sus [129. Biblical Shushan , for Susa, an ancient Elamite capital and later capital of the Achaemenid Empire . Known in Islam as the burial place of the prophet Daniel, in Judaism it is best known as the setting of the book of Esther. Located in the southwestern Iranian province of Khuzestin near the town of Ahwaz. See Yaqut, Mu'jam, III, 188-90.] in the province of alAhwaz, while others say it was Babylon in the land of the Sawad, while still others say it was in the Sawad but in the region of Kutha . [130. An area in southern Iraq between Kufah and Basrah-or including Basrah. See Yaqut, Mu'jam, IV, 274 - 75. A Talmudic passage uses this name for the birthplace of Abraham . See Ginzberg, Legends, V, 21 1, n. 20.] Others say that his birthplace was in al- Warka' [131. Biblical Erech , mentioned in Gen. Io:1o as a mainstay of the kingdom of Nimrod. Sumerian Unuq , Akkadian Uruk, it is in southern Iraq about 40 miles northwest of ancient Ur. See Encyc. ludaica, 6, 838 also Yaqut, Mu'jam, IV, 922 , where it is mentioned as the birthplace of Abraham.] in the region of al-Zawabi [132. According to Yaqut , Mu'jam, II, 953, this term refers to the four rivers named Zib in Iraq, two of which lie above Baghdad and two below . Here, then, the term refers to the southern rivers of that name] on the borders of Kaskar [133. A place in the area of Babylon , the exact location of which is the subject of dispute. See Yiqut, Mu'jam, N, 317- 18.] and that after his birth his father took him to where Nimrod lived in the region of Kutha. Others say that he was born in Harran but that his father took him to the land of Babylon. [134. Thus reversing the biblical account in Gen 11 of Abraham's birth in Ur and his father's taking him to Harran.] Most of the earlier sages have said that Abraham was born during the era of Nimrod b. Cush, while most historians say that Nimrod was an official of al-Azdahaq. Some have asserted that Noah was sent to this Nimrod against the land of Babylon and its environs. One group of ancient sages says that there was a king over him, whose name was Zarha b. Tahmasfan. [ 135. An unknown figure . Although the latter name is a Persian clan or a gentilic, it does not occur in the Shdhnameh . In Persian epic literature, Cush was a relative of Zahhik ( al-Dahhak ) and was sent by king Fereydoun (Afaridhun) to pacify the realm of Mazandaran . Hence the further connection of Nimrod to the al-Dahhak story.]

  According to Ibn Humayd-Salamah-Muhammad b. Ishaq: According to what has been said to us-and God knows best-there was an inhabitant of Kutha named Azar from a town in the Sawad, in the environs of al-Kufah. [136. Lit. Sawid al-KUfah. Although the Sawad generally was used synonymously with al-'Iraq as a name for the alluvial plain of southern Mesopotamia, in a secondary sense it came to mean a " district " around a city; hence this refers to the environs of al-Kufah . See LeStrange, Lands, 24, n. I.] At that time Nimrod the Sinner was the ruler of the East. He was called the Lion, and it is said that his rule encompassed the East and West of the earth, and that his capital was Babylon. His domain and that of his people was in the East before the rule of the Persians. It is said that there were only three kings (in all of history) who ruled over the entire earth and all its people: Nimrod b. Arghu, [137. Or biblical Reu, see n . 5 4, above. Nimrod is normally referred to as the son of Canaan b. Cush ( see below ), but note that he is also referred to as a son of Cush b. Ham (Tabari, I, 217). In the version below , the number of kings is increased to four.] Dhu al-Qamayn, and Sulaiman a.s b. Daud a.s.

  One source claims that Nimrod was al-Dahhik himself. Hishim b. Muhammad said: We have been told-though God knows best-that al-Dahhak was Nimrod, that Ibrahim a.s, the Friend of the Merciful, was born during his days, and that Nimrod was his master who wanted to bum him.

  According to Masi b. Hiran-`Amr b. HammidAsbat-al-Suddi-Aba Salih and Abu Malik-Ibn `Abbas and Murrah al-Hamdani-Ibn Masud and some of the companions of the Prophet: The first king who ruled over all the earth, east and west, was Nimrod b. Canaan b. Cush b. Shem b. Noah.

  There were four such kings who ruled all the earth: Nimrod, Sulaiman a.s b. Daud a.s, Dha al-Qamayn, and Nebuchadnezzar-two believers and two infidels.

  According to Ibn Ishaq-Ibn Humayd-Salamah-Ibn Ishaq: God desired to send Abraham, the Friend of the Merciful, as an argument against his people and as a messenger to His worshippers, since there had been no such messengers between Noah and Abraham except Had and Silih. As the time when God desired to do this drew near , the astrologers came to Nimrod and said to him, "Know that we have learned from our lore that a boy will be born in this city of yours who will be called Abraham. He will abandon your religion and break your idols in such and such a month of such and such a year." When the year which the astrologers described to Nimrod began, Nimrod had every pregnant woman in his city imprisoned except for Azar's wife, the mother of Abraham, for he did not know she was pregnant. That was because she was a young maiden and her pregnancy was not very visible. During that month of the year, whenever a woman bore a boy, Nimrod commanded that he be killed. When the mother of Abraham found that she was in labor, she went out by night to a cave near her home and bore Abraham there. She took care of his needs as one does for a newborn , then shut the cave up on him and returned home. Later she went to look at him in the cave to see what he would do and found him alive, sucking his thumb. It is said-and God knows best-that God had placed Abraham ' s sustenance in it , and that is what came to him from his sucking. [138. See the parallel aggadic tales in Ginzberg , Legends, I, 188-89 . According to V, 210, n . 14, there were two spouts, one yielding honey and the other milk. In Tha'labi, Qisas, 64, there were four, one yielding milk, another honey, another clarified butter, and the fourth water.]

  According to the story, Azar asked Abraham's mother what had happened with her pregnancy and she said, "I gave birth to a boy and he died." He believed her and remained silent about it.

  For Abraham , one day of growing up was like a month, and a month was like a year. [139. See the story of $a1ih for a similar account in Tabari, 1, 247, and again with Abraham, Tabari, I, 257.] Abraham had been in the cave for only fifteen months when he said to his mother, "Take me out that I may look around ." So she took him out one evening and he looked about and thought about the creation of the heavens and the earth and said, "Verily the One who created me and sustained me, who fed me and gave me drink, is my Lord-I have no god but Him." He looked out at the sky and saw a star, and said, "This is my Lord." Then he followed it with his eyes, watching it until it disappeared . When it had set he said, "I do not like things that set." Then he saw the moon rising and said, "This is my Lord." And he followed it with his eyes until it disappeared, and when it had set, he said, "If my Lord did not guide me, verily I would be one of those who go astray." [140. See Qur'an, 6:77-78]

  When day came upon him and the sun rose , he saw the greatness of the sun and saw that here was something with more light than he had ever seen before. He said, "This is my Lord! This is greater!" And when it, too, set he exclaimed, "O my people! I am free from all the things which ye associate (with Him). I have turned my face toward Him that created the heavens and the earth, as one upright by nature; I am not an idolator." [141. Ibid ., 6:79-80. Although Kisa i lacks the tales of Abraham ' s miraculous growth and maturation , as well as of his finding God through the observation of nature, Tha'labi, Qisas, 64- 65, has similar accounts, as does the Jewish aggadic literature . See Ginzberg , Legends, V, 210, nn . 15-16.]

 Then Abraham returned to his father Azar, having seen the right course. He had recognized his Lord and he was free of the religion of his people, but he did not tell them that. He informed Azar that he was his son, and the mother of Abraham agreed that it was true and told Azar what she had done when Abraham was born. Azar was happy about that and rejoiced greatly.

  Azar made his living by making the idols which his people worshipped, and he employed Abraham to sell them. It is said that Abraham would take them and would call out to people, "Who will buy what will harm him and be of no use to him?" So no one would buy them from him, and when they became unsellable, he would take them to the river and point their heads at it and say, "Drink!" mocking his people and their erroneous ways. At length his disrespect for them and his mocking of them spread about among his people and the inhabitants of his town, although Nimrod the king did not hear of it. Then, when the time seemed right to Abraham to reveal to his people the error of what they were doing, and to tell them of God's command and of how to pray to Him, he glanced up at the stars, and said, "I feel sick [142. This is based on Qur ' an, 37 : 83-89.] God said, "And they turned their backs on him and left him." [143. Ibid ., 37:90.]

  His saying "I am sick" meant he was attacked by illness. They fled from him when they heard it, but Abraham had only said it to make them go away so that he could do what he wanted with their idols. When they left him he went to the idols whom they worshipped instead of God, and he brought them food. He said, "Will you not eat? What is the matter? Why do you not speak?" reproaching their falsely elevated position and mocking them.

  On this same subject, scholars other than Ibn Ishaq quoted Musa b. H&un-'Amr b. Hammad--Asbat-al-Suddi-Abu Salih and Abu Malik-Ibn 'Abbas and Murrah alHamdani-Ibn Masud and some of the companions of the Prophet: Another story about Abraham is that a star arose over Nimrod so bright that it blotted out the light of the sun and the moon. He became very frightened about this and called upon the magicians and soothsayers, the prognosticators and physiognomists, to ask them about it. They said, "A man will arise in your domain whose destiny is to destroy you and your rule." At this time Nimrod lived in Babylon near al -Kufah. He left his town and moved to another town, forcing all the men to leave with him but leaving the women. He ordered that any male child who was born should be slain, and he slew their children. [144. See Kisai, 136-37; Tha 'labi, Qisas, 63-64.]

  Then, however, some task in Babylon came up for which he could trust only Azar, the father of Abraham. He called Azar and sent him to do the job, saying, "See that you do not have intercourse with your wife." Azar said to him, "I am too tenacious in my religion for that." But when he entered Babylon he visited his wife and could not control himself; he had intercourse with her and fled with her to a town called Ur between al - Kufah and al- Basrah . He placed her in a cavern there, promising to bring her food and drink and whatever else she needed. [145. In Kisa'i's account , the wife of Terah- foreshadowing the future fate of Abraham's wife Sarah-begins to menstruate after having ceased being fertile. The remainder of the account of the conception of Abraham is lacking there, however. Kisa'i, 136. But see Tha'labi, Qisas, 64, for an account parallel to this one]

  As for the king, after a long time went by and nothing happened he decided the astrologers had been wrong and told everyone , " It was the speech of lying magicians ; return to your lands! " So they returned . Soon Abraham was born. He grew so fast that each day that passed was like a week, and each week like a month, and each month like a year. Meanwhile the king had forgotten the whole incident. Abraham grew up without ever seeing that there was anyone in creation besides him, his father, and his mother. Abraham's father said to his companions, "I have a son whom I have hidden. Do you fear the king on his account if I bring him out?" They said, "No, bring him!" So he went and brought him forth. When the boy came forth from the cavern, he looked at the beasts and cattle and creatures and began asking his father what they were. So his father told him that "this is a camel," "this is a cow," and "this is a horse," and "this is a sheep." Then Abraham said, "These creatures must have a master."

  When he came out of the cavern it was after sundown. He raised his head toward the sky and saw a star -it was Jupiter -and he said, "This is my Lord!" But presently it disappeared, and he said, "I do not like things that set." [146. See Qur'an, 6:77.] That is to say, "I do not like a lord who disappears."

  According to Ibn `Abbas: He went forth from the cavern at the end of the month and for that reason he did not see the moon before he saw the stars . But when it was the end of the night he saw the moon rising and he said, "This is my Lord!" But when it set-he (Ibn 'Abbas) says "disappeared"-he said, "If my Lord does not guide me, I shall indeed be one of those who go astray." When dawn came and he saw the sun rising, he said, "This is my Lord! This is greater!" [147. Ibid., 6:79.] But when it too disappeared, God said, "Surrender yourself!" And Abraham replied, "I have already surrendered myself to the Lord of the Worlds!" He went to his people and called out to them, saying, "0 my people! I am free of all the false partners which you associate with Him. I have turned my face toward Him Who created the heavens and the earth, as one upright by nature" [148. Ibid., 6:79-80] he (Ibn `Abbas) says "one who is sincere." And he began to preach to his people and to warn them.

  His father made his living by making idols, and he gave them to his sons to sell them. He would give them to Abraham, but when selling them Abraham would call out, "Who will buy that which will harm him and will not benefit him?" His brothers would come back having sold all their idols, while Abraham would come back with all of his still unsold. Then he called upon his father, saying, "0 my father! Why do you worship that which neither hears nor sees, nor can in any way help you?" [149. Ibid ., 19:42.] His father said, "Do you reject my gods, 0 Abraham? If you do not cease this, I• shall surely stone you . Leave me for a long while" [150. Ibid., 19:46 . This tale of Abraham selling idols for his father is paralleled in the aggadic accounts . See Ginzberg, Legends, I, 195] he (Ibn 'Abbas said, "forever".

  His father told him, "Abraham, we have a festival. If you go to it with us, you would learn to like our religion." The day of the festival came, and they went to it . Abraham also went along with them, but on the way he threw himself down and said, "I am sick" [151. Ibid.37:89. See nn. 132, 133 , above. Both Kisa i, 146, and Tha'labi, Qisas, 66, have this story of the festival . The former account places it in the city of Cuthah- Rabba (transliteration of Thackston).] he (Ibn 'Abbas says, "My foot is in pain." They sat down by his feet while he was lying down. When they went away he called at the last of them-for two of the people had remained-"By God, I shall deal with your idols after you have gone away and turned your backs." [152. Qur'an, 21:57] They heard him say it. Then Abraham went back to the house of the gods, which was in a great hall. Opposite the entrance to the hall was a great idol, and at his side a smaller one, and next to him a smaller one, and so on down to the entrance to the hall. The people had prepared food and placed it before the gods, saying, "When we come back the gods will have blessed our food, and we will eat." When Abraham saw them with the food in front of them, he said, "Will you not eat?" And when they did not answer him, he said, "What ails you that you do not speak?" Then he attacked them, stiking them with his right hand.  [153. Ibid., 37:91-93.] He took a piece of iron and cut off each idol ' s extremities, then suspended the axe from the neck of the largest idol and went out . When the people came to get their food and saw their gods in this state , they said, " Who has done this to our gods? It must be some evildoer ." Those who had overheard Abraham' s earlier remark said , " We heard a youth make mention of them, one called Abraham." [154. Ibid., 21:59 - 60. See Kisa'i, 146; Tha' labi, Qisas, 66]

  abu Ja`far gives Ibn Ishaq's version of the story as follows: Abraham approached them, "striking with his right hand," as God described it. Then he began breaking them up with an axe. When only the largest of the idols remained, he tied the axe to that idol's hand and left them. When his people returned they saw what he had done to their idols, and it frightened and distressed them. They said, "Who has done this to our gods? Surely it must be some evildoer." [155. Qur'an, 21:59.] Then they remembered and said, "We heard a youth make mention of them, one called Abraham.” [156. Ibid., 21:60] They meant a youth who reviled, dishonored,  and mocked them. "We have never heard anyone else say that, and we think he must be the one who did this to them."

  Word of this reached Nimrod and the nobles of his people, and they said, "Then bring him before the people so that they may testify" [157. Ibid., 21:61.] that is, testify about what should be done to him.

  Some interpreters of the text, among them Qatadah and alSuddi, give this (phrase) as follows: That they may testify against him, for he was the one who had done it, and they (Nimrod and the nobles) said that they did not want to seize him without proof.

  Returning to Ibn Ishaq's account: When he was brought in with his people before their king Nimrod, they said, "Are you the one who did this to our gods, 0 Abraham?" He said, "But it was this one, their chief-that is, the biggest idol-who did it. So question them, if they can speak. [158. Ibid ., 21:62-63.] He became angry because you worshipped these little ones together with him while he is greater than they are, so he broke them." Then they left him alone and stopped telling each other that he had broken them. They said, "We have wronged him. We think it happened as he said." But then, knowing that the idols really could neither cause harm nor cause benefit nor commit physical violence , they demanded, "You know well that these do not speak" [159. mid., 21:65] meaning, they do not utter sounds -"so tell us who did this to them, for they do not strike with the hands.Then we will believe you."

  Almighty God said, "Then they were utterly confounded [and they said], 'You know well that these do not speak." [160. Id.] The fact is that they exposed the wrongness of their own belief in these idols when they said these words against Abraham. And when the proof appeared against them in the form of their statement that the idols could not speak, Abraham said, "Then why do you worship things which can bring you no profit at all, nor harm you, instead of worshipping God? Fie on you and on all that you worship instead of God! Have you no sense?" [161. Ibid., 21:66-67] His people then argued with him about God, asking him to describe Him and telling him that their gods were better than what he worshipped. He said, "Do you dispute with me concerning God when He has guided me?” [162. Ibid., 6:81.] He used in his argument God's own words, "Which of the two factions has more right to safety? If you have knowledge, answer the question ." [163. Ibid., 6:82.] He told them proverbs and provided examples to make them see that God had more right to be feared and worshipped than anything else that they worshipped besides Him.

  According to Abu Ja`far: Then Nimrod said to Abraham, "Have you seen this God Whom you worship and to Whose worship you call others, and of Whose power you speak, and Whom you glorify above any other? Who is He?" Abraham replied to him, "My Lord, Who gives life and causes death." And Nimrod said, "I, too, give life and cause death." Abraham asked, "How do you give life and death?" He replied, "I shall take two men-two were condemned to death by my orderand I'll kill one of them, so I will have caused him to die, and I'll pardon the other and free him, so I will have made him live." But upon hearing that, Abraham said to him, "God causes the sun to rise in the East, so can you make it rise in the West?" [164. Ibid., 2:258] Knowing that it was as Abraham said, "Thus was ... [Nimrod] abashed ," [165. Id.] and he gave no answer ; he knew  that he was not able to do that. God said, "Thus was the unbeliever abashed "-that is to say, the proof was against him. [166. This argument about Nimrod's divine powers is found in Kisa'i, 142-43, and Tha'labi, Qisas, 66.] Then Nimrod and his people joined against Abraham , saying, "Bum him and stand by your gods , if you will be doing. " [167. Qur an, 21:68 ; that is, "if you want to act."]

 According to Ibn Humayd-Salamah-Muhammad b. Ishaq-al - Hasan b. Dinar-Layth b. Abi Sulaym -Mujahid: I recited this verse before 'Abdallah b. ' Umar, and he said, "Do you know, 0 Mujahid, who it was that advised burning Abraham in fire ?" I answered , " No." He said, " One of the nomads of Persia." I said, "0 'Abd al-Rahman, do the Persians have nomads?" He answered, "Yes, the Kurds are the nomads of Persia, and it was one of them who advised burning Abraham in fire."

  According to Ya'qub-Ibn 'Ulayyah-Layth-Mujahid: Regarding the order "Burn him and stand by your gods," it was a man from the nomads of Persia, meaning the Kurds, who gave it.

  According to al-Qasim-al-Husayn-Hajjaj-Ibn Jurayj -Wahb b. Sulayman-Shu'ayb al-Jaba'i: The name of the man who said "bum him" was Hayzan, and God caused the earth to swallow him up. He will be tossed around therein until the .Day of Resurrection.

  Returning to Ibn Ishaq 's account : Then Nimrod gave orders, and wood was gathered for him. They gathered hard wood of various kinds of trees, and it is said that whenever a woman from Abraham's town was determined to get something done, she would vow that if she got her way she would help gather wood for the fire of Abraham in repayment of her debt. When  they wanted to cast him into the fire, they brought him and lit every comer of the heap of wood which they had gathered for him, until the fire flared up. And they assembled to push him into it. Then heaven and earth and all the creatures therein except humans and jinns shouted to God, "Our Lord! Abraham, the only one on Your earth who worships you, is being burned in fire for Your sake . Permit us to help him !" It is said-and God knows best-that when they said that, God answered, "If he should ask for help from any of you, then you may help him, for I have given permission for that . But if he calls on no one but Me, I am his Friend ; leave it between Me and him. I will protect him." [168. In Kisai, 143-44, and the aggadic accounts . ( See, Ginzberg, Legends ,198). Nimrod 's order to bum Abraham is preceded by Abraham 's imprisonment, during which the latter is sustained by angels.] When they cast Abraham into the fire, God said, " O fire! Be coolness and peace for Abraham ," [169. Qur'an, 21 :69. This verse occurs in some Jewish accounts, undoubtedly translated from the Qur ' an. See Ginzberg, Legends, V, 212, n. 33.] and the fire did as God ordered.

  According to Musa b. Harun-`Amr b. HammadAsbat-al-Suddi: They said, "Imprison him in a building and cast him into Hell ." They imprisoned him in a house and went to gather wood for him. The job became so all-important that if a woman became ill, she would say, "If God heals me, I will gather wood for Abraham." When they had gathered it for him, and had got so much that a bird passing over it would have been burned by the force of its heat, they brought Abraham and set him on top of the pyre. Then Abraham raised his head to heaven, and heaven and earth and the mountains and the angels all said , "Our Lord, Abraham is burning for Your sake." And He said, " I am most knowledgeable about him . If he calls on you, help him." When he raised his head to heaven, Abraham said, "0 God! You are alone in heaven and I am alone on earth-there is no one besides me who worships You. God is sufficient for me, and how goodly is He in Whom I trust ." When they pushed Abraham into the fire, God called out to it saying, " 0 fire! Be coolness and peace for Abraham," [170. Id.] and it was Gabriel who called out." [171. Jabri 'il or Jibril, an angel and one of the divine messengers . It is his duty to bear God ' s orders to prophets and to reveal His mysteries to them. See Shorter Encyc., 79-80.]

  Ibn `Abbas said: "If its cold had not been followed by peace, Abraham would have died of the cold. Every fire on earth that day went out, thinking that it was the one that was meant."

  When the fire was extinguished, they looked at Abraham and saw that there was another man with him, with Abraham's head in his lap. He was wiping the sweat from his face. It is mentioned that that man was the angel of shade. [172. Lit . till, shade , shadow , shelter, or protection.] God himself had sent down fire to mankind, which had benefitted from it (in general ). They brought forth Abraham and took him to the king, though he had never previously come before him.

  Returning to the story according to Ibn Isliaq: God sent the angel of shade in the form of Abraham and he sat at his side in that form, comforting him. [173. Jewish accounts differ as to whether the angels Gabriel or Michael, or God alone, helped Abraham . See Ginzberg, Legends, loc. cit.] For days Nimrod continued to believe that the fire had consumed Abraham and had finished him. Then one day he rode past it while it was burning all the wood that had been gathered for it, and he looked at it and saw Abraham sitting in it with a man resembling him at his side. Nimrod returned from that ride and said to his people, "I have seen Abraham alive in the fire, but perhaps it was only his image that appeared to me . Build me a tall structure from which I may look down upon the fire so that I can be sure." So they built him a tall structure from which he looked down into the fire. He saw Abraham sitting in it and saw the angel sitting by his side in a form similar to his. Nimrod called out to him, saying, "0 Abraham! Great is your God Whose might and power  even allow Him to prevent what I see from harming you. Will you be able to come out of it?" Abraham answered, "Yes!" Nimrod said, "Are you afraid that if you remain in it, it will harm you?" Abraham answered, "No." Then Nimrod said, "Arise, then, and come out of it!" So Abraham got up and walked through the fire until he had come out of it. When he came out to him, Nimrod said, "0 Abraham! Who was the man whom I saw with you, like you in appearance, sitting at your side?" Abraham said, "That was the angel of shade whom my Lord sent to me to be with me in the fire, to comfort me.

  For me He made the fire coolness and peace." Then Nimrod said, "0 Abraham! I shall offer a sacrifice to your God because of His glory and power which I have seen, and because of what He did for you when you refused to worship or ascribe unity to any but Him. I shall offer up to Him four thousand cattle." Thereupon Abraham said to him, "God will not accept anything from you as long as you keep any vestige of this old religion of yours. You must leave it for my religion." Nimrod answered, "0 Abraham! I cannot abandon my kingship, but I will slaughter the cattle for Him." And he slaughtered them. Then he left Abraham alone, and God held him back from him.