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Cooling of the Fire for Abraham

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Miniature painting Abraham in the Garden by Mahmoud Farshchian

Cooling of the fire for Abraham refers to the miraculous salvation of Abraham (a) from the fire prepared by Nimrod, the king of Babylon, and the idol-worshippers due to Abraham’s destruction of their idols.[1] The Quran references this event in verses 51-70 of Quran 21, verses 85-98 of Quran 37, and verse 24 of Quran 29.[2] According to verse 69 of the Quran 21, God commanded the fire to be cool and safe for Abraham (a).[3] Quranic exegetes interpret this command as an existential (takwini) decree directed at the fire.[4] Exegetes have proposed various interpretations regarding how God’s will caused the fire to become cool.[5] Some of their views include the following:

  • The nature of the fire was transformed, turning it into a garden.[6]
  • God placed a barrier between the fire and Abraham (a), preventing it from burning him.[7]
  • The heat was simply removed from the fire, as heat is not an inherent part of its essence.[8]
  • God instilled a quality in Abraham’s body that rendered the fire ineffective against him, similar to the bodies of the guardians of Hell.[9]
  • This event is a divine miracle, and we are unable to explain it fully.[10]

Exegetical Interpretations

According to some Quranic exegeses, the story is as follows: At around the age of sixteen,[11] when the people had left the city for their annual festival, Abraham (a) took an axe and smashed the idols to pieces, then placed the axe on the shoulder of the largest idol.[12] Someone aware of Abraham’s opposition to the idols revealed his name. A trial was held for Abraham, during which he mockingly attributed the act to the large idol, ridiculing the idol-worshippers’ beliefs, but they did not accept his claim. Ultimately, they sentenced him to be burned at the fire as punishment. The polytheists encouraged the people to participate in this act, believing that the burning of Abraham (a) was an act of devotion to their gods.[13] Some even pledged firewood to fulfill their wishes, while others, nearing death or afflicted with illness, bequeathed portions of their wealth to purchase firewood for burning Abraham (a).[14] The fire grew so intense that no one could approach to throw Abraham (a) into it. At this point, Satan suggested using a catapult. They placed Abraham (a) in the catapult and hurled him toward the fire.[15]

Accounts in Hadith Literature

According to certain hadiths, as Abraham (a) was being hurled toward the fire, a conversation took place between him and some divine angels.[16] These hadiths state that the angels sought God’s permission to save Abraham (a), and God granted them leave to assist. However, Abraham (a) expressed that he had no need for their help. Ultimately, the angel Gabriel suggested that he seek aid from God. In response, Abraham (a) declared that God was fully aware of his condition and refrained from making such a request.[17] Some hadiths also attribute specific supplications to Abraham (a), such as: “O Allah, O One, O Unique, O the All-Embracing, O He who neither begets nor is begotten, nor has any equal.” Another reported supplication is: “O Allah, I beseech You by the right of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad to grant me safety from this fire, and make it cool and safe for me.” And so, God made the fire cool and safe for him.[18]

Notes

  1. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 13, p. 433-446.
  2. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tarjuma-yi Quran, p. 326, 327, 399, 449.
  3. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tarjuma-yi Quran, p. 327.
  4. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 14, p. 303; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 13, p. 446.
  5. ↑ Sajjādīzada and Mīrzāʾī, Naqd wa barrisī-yi tafsīr-i Āya-yi sard-shudan-i ātash bar Ibrāhīm, p. 158.
  6. ↑ Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-bayān, vol. 9, p. 208.
  7. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 7, p. 263.
  8. ↑ Irāqī, al-Qurān was al-ʿaql, vol. 3, p. 227; Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 7, p. 263.
  9. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr, vol. 22, p. 159.
  10. ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Tafsīr min waḥy al-Qurʾān, vol. 15, p. 241.
  11. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 13, p. 436.
  12. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 13, p. 436-7.
  13. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tarjuma-yi Quran, p. 327.
  14. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 13, p. 444; Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 7, p. 87.
  15. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 7, p. 85-87; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 13, p. 436, 446.
  16. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 12, p. 24; Ṭabrisī, al-Iḥtijāj, vol. 1, p. 48.
  17. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 68, p. 155.
  18. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 12, p. 24; Ṭabrisī, al-Iḥtijāj, vol. 1, p. 48.

References

  • Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. al-ʿUmar al-. Al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr. Third edition. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1420 AH.
  • Faḍl Allāh, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Tafsīr min waḥy al-Qurʾān. 1st edition. Beirut: Dār al-Milāk li-Ṭabāʿat wa al-Nashr, 1419 AH.
  • Irāqī, Sayyid Nūr al-Dīn. Al-Qurān was al-ʿaql. Qom: Bunyād-i Farhang-i Islāmī Hāj Muḥammad Ḥusayn Kūshānpūr, 1362 Sh.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403 AH.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. 10th edition. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1371 Sh.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tarjuma-yi Quran. 2nd edition. Qom: Daftar-i Muṭāliʿat-i Tārīkh wa Maʿārif-i Islāmī, 1373 Sh.
  • Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. 2nd edition. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Nāṣir Khusraw, 1372 Sh.
  • Ṭabrisī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-. Al-Iḥtijāj ʿalā ahl al-lijāj. Mashhad: Nashr-i Murtaḍā, 1403 AH.
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. 2nd Edition. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1390 AH.
  • Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. Al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. 1st edition. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, [n.d].
  • Ṭayyib, ʿAbd al-Ḥusayn. Aṭyab al-bayān fi tafsīr al-Qurʾān. 2nd ed. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Islām, 1369 Sh.
  • Sajjādīzada, Sayyid ʿAlī and Mīrzāʾī, Muṣṭafā. Naqd wa barrisī-yi tafsīr-i Āya-yi sard-shudan-i ātash bar Ibrāhīm. Du-faṣlnāma-yi Āmūza-hā-yi Qurʾānī. No, 1396.
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