The morning today is hot and humid. Air is thick and heavy. Weather in the nineties Fahrenheit and pollution in a city of more than fifteen million further contaminates the environment representing the trailer of hell that provides a taste of perdition. On a break of dawn like that I am headed towards the golf course, sentenced to scorch in pursuit of inebriety of the sport. Intoxication of all sorts is harmful to human health but golf on the contrary is a great physical and cerebral activity. Of course it is an addiction yet an adorable one. The craving of friendship is hilarious and the affection of the supernatural makes one act beyond comprehension and contention. It carries something that only ancestors' wisdom can narrate.
Today, I strive to explore a worldly view of a great story of submission and sacrifice. I do not intend to offend anyone; it is only a humble attempt to learn something from this unique parable. My upbringing teaches me a holy aspect of these biblical happenings. My quest on the other hand instigates me to look deep inside the lines in order to go beyond grandma’s version. Such a sacred description is full of attraction and demands attention. Why nations after nations have faith in this unbelievable fable and the holiest of holy narrates it proudly? Most sacred scriptures further emphasize it with zeal and respect.
A sixteen years old boy denounced by his father and community due to his radical belief that challenged theirs, faced the wrath of a ruthless ruler of the land who declared him as his archenemy. What saved Abraham from Nimrod's pit of fire? Instead of fear, he fell in the fire holding firmly to his belief, in a state of gratefulness and walked out of it without a bead of sweat upon his skin. He held his head high while his enemies stared at him with eyes widened. My lesson from this is that the saviour is mightier than the oppressor. Belief at times can prove to be stronger than reason.
He had to migrate from the lands of his ancestors and adopt a life of nomads.The test of Abraham’s commitment didn’t end there. It further led him to put a dagger on the throat of his dearest son. Abraham never hesitated; he held the knife on his son’s throat piercing it with full force. His son neither showed any reluctance in his obedience to God nor displayed a sign of deterrence.
The ultimate belief of the father and son is revered to this date. The ram came later. It is not the fire and the knife that matters, it’s the discussion with the angel and later with his son that amazes me.
Abraham said: “My dear son, I have seen a vision from God in which you are to be offered in sacrifice by me. Now tell me what is your view?” His son replied: “Oh my father, do as you are commanded, you will find me, God willing, one of the loyal!”
He was shackled, his hand and feet tied with a chain and fitted in a giant catapult in front of a furnace. An angel approached him and asked him what he wished? He replied,
“I want my God to be happy with me.”
He did not ask for help and rescue. He had accepted it as God’s will. Both events have set the greatest example of obedience and consent throughout history.
Abraheem is the father of many monotheistic religions. There are a bunch of differences among Judaism, Christianity and Islam but their Abraheem is the same except the spellings. The story of Abraham or Ibrahim is a story of complete submission. I will spell him ‘Abraheem’ to take an individual and temporal ground.
Abraheem, the son of a sculptor who didn’t like his father’s work much and submitted to the unseen and unknown. He further accepted to burn in fire at the age of sixteen and was ready to sacrifice his son when he was a hundred year old. According to Islamic belief Ibrahim’s test continued, he received a command to take his wife and infant child to a desolate place in the middle of the Arabian desert and leave them there only in the care of God. There was nothing except sand and stone there. Later on a house of God called Kaba was built at this place. Today millions go there to perform pilgrimage. All upcoming prophets came from Abraheem’s bloodline. What a primordial role he plays in human development and what a reward for his faith and sacrifice. Billions believe in the teachings of his children and remember him in a tone of great gratitude in their prayers. The story of Abraheem flickers at the earthly mind that trusts reason, doubt and rebellion. It proclaims the importance of faith, belief and obedience. Let the brain explore and allow your heart to choose.
Credits:
Encyclopedia Britannica
Wikipedia
By
Ahsan Jamil
Golfer, Author, Poet, Blogger, Entrepreneur, Wanderer
Email: Golfaij@gmail.com
Website: Golfaij.com