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Abraham's Breaking of Idols

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An image of the miniature painting of the breaking of the idol by Prophet Abraham (a), created by Mahmud Farshchian.

Prophet Abraham's breaking of idols refers to the event where the Prophet Abraham (a) broke the idols of the polytheists. This incident is mentioned in the Qur'an, in the Suras of al-Anbiya' and al-Saffat. According to the story, when the people had gone out of the city, Abraham (a) entered the idol house and broke all the idols except for the largest one. When the people returned and asked him about the reason for breaking the idols, he rhetorically attributed the act to the large idol, saying, "Ask the idols themselves", so that the people of the city would realize the impotence of the idols.

According to the Qur'anic exegetes, Abraham (a) aimed to show that idols, since they neither can speak nor are capable of bringing benefit or harm to anyone, are unworthy of worship. It is also said that Abraham's goal was not merely to break a few idols, so that the act would be seen as an insult to others' beliefs; rather, as a prophet, he intended to use this act to confront the culture of idol worship.

Story of Breaking the Idols

The story of Prophet Abraham (a) breaking the idols is mentioned in Qur'an 21:52-70 and Qur'an 37:89-98. In Sura al-Anbiya', the story is recounted as follows:

One day, when the people of the city went out, Abraham broke all the idols except the largest one. When they returned and saw the broken idols, they called him because Abraham had previously spoken ill of the idols. They asked him, "Did you do this to our gods?" He replied, "Rather, the biggest one must have done this. Ask them." With this question, they came to their senses and realized that they themselves were the wrongdoers. However, to punish Abraham, they made a fire and threw him into it. But by God's command, the fire became cool.

Some exegetes have said that, during this event, certain individuals came to believe in Abraham (a).[1]

Abraham's Purpose in Breaking the Idols: Proving Monotheism

It is believed that Abraham's reason for breaking the idols and attributing the act to the largest idol was to engage in a debate with the idolaters, proving the falsehood of the divinity of the idols. The shattering of the idols was meant to awaken the people to the reality that their gods were not divine.[2]

Abraham's reasoning is presented as questioning how something that cannot bring benefit or harm could be worshipped.[3] According to 'Allama Tabataba'i, Abraham (a) attributed the act of breaking the idols to the largest idol so that the people would admit that the idols do not speak.[4] He writes that the very fact that the idols are mute implies they have neither knowledge nor power, and thus, they are incapable of providing any benefit or harm. Therefore, it is absurd to worship them, because worship is either done in hope of good or out of fear of harm, but the idols neither offer any hope of good nor invoke any fear of harm.[5] Tafsir al-Kashif states that if these idols cannot defend themselves, how could they protect others from disasters?[6]

Morteza Motahhari believes that Abraham (a) attributed the act of breaking the idols to the largest idol to signify that the idols had fought amongst themselves. By doing so, he awakened the dormant innate nature of the people, as they innately understand that inanimate objects cannot engage in conflict with one another.[7]

Did Abraham (a) Tell a Lie?

In the Qur'anic account of Abraham's breaking of the idols, it is mentioned that when the people were about to leave the city, Abraham (a) claimed to be sick so that he would not have to go with them.[8] When they later asked him who had broken the idols, he replied that it was the large idol.[9] These two points have led Qur'anic exegetes to discuss whether Abraham (a) spoke truthfully, told a white lie, or practiced dissimulation (tawriya).

Muslim exegetes agree that Abraham (a) did not tell a lie regarding his illness.[10] However, they offer various explanations and possibilities regarding his statement. Al-Tabrisi and 'Allama Tabataba'i suggest that Abraham (a) knew he would soon become ill, and thus, his statement was truthful.[11] Al-Alusi, a Sunni exegete, argues that since every human will eventually fall ill, Abraham (a) said he was sick with the intention that he would become ill one day, thus using tawriya (dissimulation or ambiguous speech) so that the polytheists would think he was already ill.[12] Another interpretation is that Abraham (a) meant his heart had been sick from their disbelief, and employed tawriya (deliberate ambiguity) to express this in a way that the polytheists would assume he was physically ill.[13]

It is also said that Abraham's attribution of the breaking of the idols to the large idol was not a lie. Given the contextual evidence, he did not intend his words to be taken literally; rather, he used them ironically to highlight the absurdity of the polytheists' beliefs.[14] It is noted that ironic speech is common in debates.[15] Some have also suggested that Abraham (a) may have framed his statement as a conditional sentence, saying that if the idols could speak, they would have done such a thing.[16] In fact, Abraham (a) made his statement contingent upon an impossible condition (a reductio ad absurdum) to demonstrate to the polytheists the falsehood of their claim.[17]

Abraham's Breaking of the Idols and Freedom of Belief

According to some researchers, there are claims that Abraham's breaking of the idols was an insult to the beliefs of others. As a result, some argue that this action could be interpreted by Muslims as a justification for destroying the religious artifacts associated with polytheism.[18] In response to this claim, it has been stated that the life and property of all human beings should be respected, and one cannot destroy the idols of others, which are their property. Abraham (a), as a prophet fulfilling his mission, took such an action, but others cannot encroach upon the property of other human beings.[19] Some have also argued that freedom of belief and religion is a modern concepts, and it is not appropriate to judge events from the pre-modern era by the standards of the modern age.

According to some Qur'anic exegetes, Abraham's destruction of the idols was intended as a direct refutation of their claimed divinity. His purpose was not merely to break a few idols, but to actively confront and challenge the culture of idol worship.[20]

Notes

  1. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 13, p. 442.
  2. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 14, p. 299.
  3. ↑ Subḥānī, Manshūr-i jāwid, vol. 11, p. 250.
  4. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 14, p. 300, 301.
  5. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 14, p. 302.
  6. ↑ Mughnīya, Tafsīr al-Kāshif, vol. 5, p. 284.
  7. ↑ Muṭahharī, Majmuʿa āthar, vol. 3, p. 319.
  8. ↑ Qur'an 37:89.
  9. ↑ Qur'an 21:63.
  10. ↑ See: Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 17, p. 148; Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 8, p. 702; Ālūsī, Rawḥ al-Maʿānī, vol. 12, p. 98; Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr, vol. 26, p. 341; Qurashī, Tafsīr-i aḥsan al-ḥadīth, vol. 9, p. 159.
  11. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 17, p. 148; Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 8, p. 702.
  12. ↑ Ālūsī, Rawḥ al-Maʿānī, vol. 12, p. 98.
  13. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr, vol. 26, p. 342; Ālūsī, Rawḥ al-Maʿānī, vol. 12, p. 98.
  14. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 13, p. 438; Makārim Shīrāzī, Qahramān-i tawḥīd, p. 87.
  15. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 14, p. 301.
  16. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 13, p. 439.
  17. ↑ Abū l-Futūḥ al-Rāzī, Rawḍ al-Jinān, vol. 13, p. 241; Kāshānī, Manhaj al-ṣādiqīn, vol. 6, p. 74; Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 7, p. 85.
  18. ↑ Was the idol-breaking of Abraham (a) not an insult to the sacred? (Persian)
  19. ↑ Was the idol-breaking of Abraham (a) not an insult to the sacred? (Persian)
  20. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 14, p. 303; Makārim Shīrāzī, Qahramān-i tawḥīd, p. 89.

References

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  • آیا بت‌شکنی ابراهیم توهین به مقدسات نبوده است؟ (Was the idol-breaking of Abraham (a) not an insult to the sacred? (Persian)). Accessed: 2025/07/25.
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