Nimrod: Difference between revisions

Nimrod b. Canaan was the king of Babylon at the time of Prophet Abraham (a). In the Qur’an, the name of Nimrod is not mentioned, but he is mentioned in sura al-Baqara and sura al-Anbiya’. He was idol-worshipper and idol-worshipping was common in his kingdom. Since priests had foretold that a boy would born anmed Abraham (a) and would fight idol-worshipping and conquer Nimrod’s kingdom, Nimrod, fearing the birth of Abraham (a), ordered to kill every boy born thereafter, but Abraham (a) was born secretly.

Nimrod judged and debated with Abraham (a) with the charge of insulting the idols and breaking them. After he was defeated by Abraham (a) in debate, casted him into the fire; but, after he found that Abraham (a) was not harmed, released him and made sacrifice for God; however, he did not accept to believe in Abraham (a).

Nimrod b. Canaan b. Cush b. Sam b. Noah (a) was the king of Babylon at the time of the Prophet Abraham (a). Some sources mentioned Nimrod, grandson of Ham, another son of Noah (a). Nimrod was the cousin of Azar, the uncle of Abraham (a). In some sources, he was mentioned as the Pharaoh of Abraham (a). The name of Nimrod has been mentioned together with Nebuchadnezzar as the only polytheist kings ruled on earth.

There are different reports about the period of Nimrod’s kingdom, the longest of which is 400 years and less periods of 270, 70 and 69 years.  

One of the measures made during the kingdom of Nimrod was the killing of male infants. After astrologists and priests foretold that a boy would be born in Babylon at a certain time and would fight idol-worshipping and conquer Nimrod’s kingdom, Nimrod ordered to gather all pregnant women and kill their babies if they were boys. Based on some reports, Nimrod killed seven thousand boys in 40 years, fearing that one of them would be Abraham (a).

Prophet Abraham (a) was born secretly. When the birth pangs of Abraham’s (a) mother began, she secretly went out of the city and gave birth in a cave; then, she covered the entrance of the cave and returned to the city. She went to the cave secretly to see her son everyday.

Nimrod who had spread idol-worshipping in his kingdom, fought Abraham’s (a) invitation to monotheism. There were golden and precious idols in the kingdom of Nimrod. In addition to believing in idols, he claimed the ownership of the earth and Lordship. Through different approaches, Prophet Abraham (a) invited people to monotheism and worshipping One God.

== Nimrod’s Debate with Abraham (a) ==

After the Prophet Abraham (a) broke the idols away from people’s eyes, they took him to Nimrod. Abraham (a) debated with Nimrod to prove One God and to reject nimrod’s claim of Lordship. This debate was made in the presence of people. The debate between the Prophet Abraham (a) and Nimrod is mentioned in sura al-Baqara. In this debate, Abraham (a) said, “my God brings death and gives life.” Nimrod said, “I too give life and bring death.” To prove his claim, Nimrod summoned two prisoners and ordered to kill one of them and free the other. Then, the Prophet Abraham (a) said, “my God brings the sun from the east; now, you bring it from the west.” Nimrod failed to answer this request of Abraham (a). The Qur’an used the expression “the faithless one was dumbfounded” to show Nimrod’s reaction.

Exegetes considered the first answer of Nimrod, a fallacy using which he tried to deceive people. But, Abraham (a) mentioned the second request to make Nimrod’s plot ineffective and reject his claim.

After Nimrod was defeated in debate with Abraham (a) in the presence of Babylonians, Nimrod decided to punish Abraham (a) with fire for breaking and insulting their gods. The decision of Nimrod and the idol-worshippers is mentioned in verse 68 of sura al-Anbiya’. Nimrod ordered all people to bring firewood in one place. After they set fire to the woods, casted Abraham (a) into the fire using a catapult as no one could approach the fire. After they casted Abraham (a) into the fire, the Qur’an says that it turned cold and harmless by the order of God.

Some days later, Nimrod was passing by the fire which was still ablaze. He astonishingly found Abraham (a) sitting in the middle of fire. To become sure about the condition of Abraham (a), he ordered to build a tower so that he could see inside the fire. After Nimrod became sure that Abraham (a) was not harmed, told him “your God is Great Who protected you from the fire. Can you come out of the fire?” Abraham (a) said, “yes.” Nimrod asked again, “Does the fire harm you if you stay there?” Abraham (a) said, “no.” After Nimrod asked Abraham (a) to go out of the fire, he (a) went out of the fire while it was ablaze.  

In historical sources, it is mentioned that in order to find Abraham’s (s) God and fight with Him, Nimrod used trained eagles, tied a box to them and flew to sky. In some historical reports, it is mentioned that in order to go to the sky and fight with God, Nimrod built a tall tower. This building was known as the tower of Babylon which was destroyed later by the order of God. Some exegetes considered verse 26 of sura al-Nahl about this story. Based on this verse, God razed their edifice of the faithless who sought deception from the foundations and the roof collapsed upon them from above.