Imamat, the Climax of Abraham's (a.s.) Honour

Imamat, the Climax of Abraham's (a.s.) Honour

From this verse on, the toimages of discussion are Abraham (a.s.), the honourable prophet of Allah and the hero of monotheism, the structure of the ka'bah, the sacred site of worship, and the importance of this great monotheistic center. these subjects are referred to in the next eighteen verses. three main ideas were the objectives of these verses:

The first aim was that they might provide people with the necessary preparation for the change of the direction of the Qiblah and to inform muslims that the ka'bah is a legacy of Abraham (a.s.), the idol-breaker. if pagans and idol-worshippers used it as an idol temple, it was only temporarily and it did not decrease the glorious high rank of the ka'bah at all.

The second goal was to address the problem of the jews and christians who were claiming to be the heirs of Abraham (a.s.) and his religion. these verses, reflecting back on the numerous former verses about the jews, clarify how very unfamiliar they were with the creed of Abraham (a.s.).

The third purpose was that arab pagans believed in a special incessant ancestral link between them and Abraham (a.s.). they, too, had to be made to understand that their belief systems and codes of behavior had no similarity with that of Abraham (a.s.), the iconoclastic prophet. In this verse, at first, it says:

" And (remember) when his lord tested Abraham with words (of command) which he fulfilled. ..."

Yes, this verse speaks about the important occurrences in Abraham's life, i.e. his great tests and how he passed them successfully, which illustrates his high rank and superior personality and manifests the worthiness of his being.

When Abraham (a.s.) passed these trials successfully, Allah saw fit to give him a gift as a prize. therefore, addressing him:

"...He said:' verily, I have appointed you an Imam (leader) for mankind.'..."

In order that this divine gift would continue in his seed, and prophethood and ' Imamat ' would not come to an end with his death:

"... (Abraham) pleaded: ' and of my offspring? '..."

The answer to this question was :

"...He (Allah) said: ' my covenant does not include the unjust '."

That is, i accepted your plea, but only for those of your offspring who are doers of righteous deeds and are pure and sinless i.e. those who are worthy of this rank.