Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged)

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

The People's admission of their gods' incapability, and Ibrahim's preaching Allah tells us that when Ibrahim said what he said, his people فَرَجَعُواْ إِلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ (turned to themselves) meaning, they blamed themselves for not taking precautions and protecting their gods. They said: إِنَّكُمْ أَنتُمُ الظَّـلِمُونَ (Verily, you are the wrongdoers) i.e., because you neglected them and did not guard them. ثُمَّ نُكِسُواْ عَلَى رُءُوسِهِمْ (Then they turned to themselves) means, they looked at the ground, and said: لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَا هَـؤُلاءِ يَنطِقُونَ (Indeed you (Ibrahim) know well that these speak not!) Qatadah said: "The people admitted their guilt and confusion, and said, لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَا هَـؤُلاءِ يَنطِقُونَ ("Indeed you know well that these speak not!") `So how can you tell us to ask them, if they cannot speak and you know that they cannot speak' At this point, when they admitted that, Ibrahim said to them: أَفَتَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لاَ يَنفَعُكُمْ شَيْئاً وَلاَ يَضُرُّكُمْ (Do you then worship besides Allah, things that can neither profit you nor harm you) meaning, if they can- not speak and they can neither benefit you nor harm you, then why do you worship them instead of Allah أُفٍّ لَّكُمْ وَلِمَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ أَفَلاَ تَعْقِلُونَ (Fie upon you, and upon that which you worship besides Allah! Have you then no sense) `Do you not realize the extent of the mis- guidance and extreme disbelief which you are following, which no one could accept but one who is an igno- rant and evil wrong- doer' He defeated them in argument and left them with no way out. Allah said: وَتِلْكَ حُجَّتُنَآ ءَاتَيْنَـهَآ إِبْرَهِيمَ عَلَى قَوْمِهِ e(And that was Our proof which We gave Ibrahim against his people) 6:83

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

The People's admission of their gods' incapability, and Ibrahim's preaching Allah tells us that when Ibrahim said what he said, his people فَرَجَعُواْ إِلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ (turned to themselves) meaning, they blamed themselves for not taking precautions and protecting their gods. They said: إِنَّكُمْ أَنتُمُ الظَّـلِمُونَ (Verily, you are the wrongdoers) i.e., because you neglected them and did not guard them. ثُمَّ نُكِسُواْ عَلَى رُءُوسِهِمْ (Then they turned to themselves) means, they looked at the ground, and said: لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَا هَـؤُلاءِ يَنطِقُونَ (Indeed you (Ibrahim) know well that these speak not!) Qatadah said: "The people admitted their guilt and confusion, and said, لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَا هَـؤُلاءِ يَنطِقُونَ ("Indeed you know well that these speak not!") `So how can you tell us to ask them, if they cannot speak and you know that they cannot speak' At this point, when they admitted that, Ibrahim said to them: أَفَتَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لاَ يَنفَعُكُمْ شَيْئاً وَلاَ يَضُرُّكُمْ (Do you then worship besides Allah, things that can neither profit you nor harm you) meaning, if they can- not speak and they can neither benefit you nor harm you, then why do you worship them instead of Allah أُفٍّ لَّكُمْ وَلِمَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ أَفَلاَ تَعْقِلُونَ (Fie upon you, and upon that which you worship besides Allah! Have you then no sense) `Do you not realize the extent of the mis- guidance and extreme disbelief which you are following, which no one could accept but one who is an igno- rant and evil wrong- doer' He defeated them in argument and left them with no way out. Allah said: وَتِلْكَ حُجَّتُنَآ ءَاتَيْنَـهَآ إِبْرَهِيمَ عَلَى قَوْمِهِ e(And that was Our proof which We gave Ibrahim against his people) 6:83

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

How Ibrahim was thrown into the Fire and how Allah controlled it When their arguments were refuted and their incapability became clear, when truth was made manifest and falsehood was defeated, they resorted to using their power and strength, and said: حَرِّقُوهُ وَانصُرُواْ ءَالِهَتَكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ فَـعِلِينَ ("Burn him and help your gods, if you will be doing.") So they gathered together a huge amount of wood. As-Suddi said, "I if a woman was sick, she would make a vow that if she recovered she would bring wood to burn Ibrahim. Then they made a hole in the ground and set it aflame, and it burned with huge sparks and immense flames. There had never been a fire like it. They put Ibrahim, peace be upon him, into a catapult, at the suggestion of a nomadic Kurdish man from Persia." Shu`ayb Al-Jaba'i said, "His name was Hayzan, and Allah caused the earth to swallow him up, and he will remain sinking into it until the Day of Resurrection. When they threw him he said, `Sufficient for me is Allah, and He is the best disposer of affairs.' " This is similar to what Al-Bukhari recorded from Ibn `Abbas that Ibrahim said, "`Sufficient for me is Allah, and He is the best disposer of affairs," when he was thrown into the fire, and Muhammad ﷺ said it when they said: إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُواْ لَكُمْ فَاخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَـناً وَقَالُواْ حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ (Verily, the people have gathered against you, therefore, fear them. But it increased them in faith, and they said: "Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs.") 3:173. Sa`id bin Jubayr reported that Ibn `Abbas said: "When Ibrahim was thrown into the fire, the keeper (angel) of the rain said: `When will I be commanded to send rain' But the command of Allah was more swift. Allah said: ينَارُ كُونِى بَرْداً وَسَلَـمَا عَلَى إِبْرَهِيمَ (O fire! Be you cool and safety for Ibrahim!), and there was no fire left on earth that was not extinguished." Ibn `Abbas and Abu Al-`Aliyah said: "Were it not for the fact that Allah said, وَسَلَـماً (and safety), Ibrahim would have been harmed by its coldness." Qatadah said: "On that day there was no creature that did not try to extinguish the fire for Ibrahim, except for the gecko." Az-Zuhri said: "The Prophet commanded that it should be killed, and called it a harmful vermin." وَأَرَادُواْ بِهِ كَيْداً فَجَعَلْنَـهُمُ الاٌّخْسَرِينَ (And they wanted to harm him, but We made them the worst losers.) they were defeated and humiliated, because they wanted to plot against the Prophet of Allah, but Allah planned against them and saved him from the fire, and thus they were defeated.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

How Ibrahim was thrown into the Fire and how Allah controlled it When their arguments were refuted and their incapability became clear, when truth was made manifest and falsehood was defeated, they resorted to using their power and strength, and said: حَرِّقُوهُ وَانصُرُواْ ءَالِهَتَكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ فَـعِلِينَ ("Burn him and help your gods, if you will be doing.") So they gathered together a huge amount of wood. As-Suddi said, "I if a woman was sick, she would make a vow that if she recovered she would bring wood to burn Ibrahim. Then they made a hole in the ground and set it aflame, and it burned with huge sparks and immense flames. There had never been a fire like it. They put Ibrahim, peace be upon him, into a catapult, at the suggestion of a nomadic Kurdish man from Persia." Shu`ayb Al-Jaba'i said, "His name was Hayzan, and Allah caused the earth to swallow him up, and he will remain sinking into it until the Day of Resurrection. When they threw him he said, `Sufficient for me is Allah, and He is the best disposer of affairs.' " This is similar to what Al-Bukhari recorded from Ibn `Abbas that Ibrahim said, "`Sufficient for me is Allah, and He is the best disposer of affairs," when he was thrown into the fire, and Muhammad ﷺ said it when they said: إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُواْ لَكُمْ فَاخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَـناً وَقَالُواْ حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ (Verily, the people have gathered against you, therefore, fear them. But it increased them in faith, and they said: "Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs.") 3:173. Sa`id bin Jubayr reported that Ibn `Abbas said: "When Ibrahim was thrown into the fire, the keeper (angel) of the rain said: `When will I be commanded to send rain' But the command of Allah was more swift. Allah said: ينَارُ كُونِى بَرْداً وَسَلَـمَا عَلَى إِبْرَهِيمَ (O fire! Be you cool and safety for Ibrahim!), and there was no fire left on earth that was not extinguished." Ibn `Abbas and Abu Al-`Aliyah said: "Were it not for the fact that Allah said, وَسَلَـماً (and safety), Ibrahim would have been harmed by its coldness." Qatadah said: "On that day there was no creature that did not try to extinguish the fire for Ibrahim, except for the gecko." Az-Zuhri said: "The Prophet commanded that it should be killed, and called it a harmful vermin." وَأَرَادُواْ بِهِ كَيْداً فَجَعَلْنَـهُمُ الاٌّخْسَرِينَ (And they wanted to harm him, but We made them the worst losers.) they were defeated and humiliated, because they wanted to plot against the Prophet of Allah, but Allah planned against them and saved him from the fire, and thus they were defeated.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

How Ibrahim was thrown into the Fire and how Allah controlled it When their arguments were refuted and their incapability became clear, when truth was made manifest and falsehood was defeated, they resorted to using their power and strength, and said: حَرِّقُوهُ وَانصُرُواْ ءَالِهَتَكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ فَـعِلِينَ ("Burn him and help your gods, if you will be doing.") So they gathered together a huge amount of wood. As-Suddi said, "I if a woman was sick, she would make a vow that if she recovered she would bring wood to burn Ibrahim. Then they made a hole in the ground and set it aflame, and it burned with huge sparks and immense flames. There had never been a fire like it. They put Ibrahim, peace be upon him, into a catapult, at the suggestion of a nomadic Kurdish man from Persia." Shu`ayb Al-Jaba'i said, "His name was Hayzan, and Allah caused the earth to swallow him up, and he will remain sinking into it until the Day of Resurrection. When they threw him he said, `Sufficient for me is Allah, and He is the best disposer of affairs.' " This is similar to what Al-Bukhari recorded from Ibn `Abbas that Ibrahim said, "`Sufficient for me is Allah, and He is the best disposer of affairs," when he was thrown into the fire, and Muhammad ﷺ said it when they said: إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُواْ لَكُمْ فَاخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَـناً وَقَالُواْ حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ (Verily, the people have gathered against you, therefore, fear them. But it increased them in faith, and they said: "Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs.") 3:173. Sa`id bin Jubayr reported that Ibn `Abbas said: "When Ibrahim was thrown into the fire, the keeper (angel) of the rain said: `When will I be commanded to send rain' But the command of Allah was more swift. Allah said: ينَارُ كُونِى بَرْداً وَسَلَـمَا عَلَى إِبْرَهِيمَ (O fire! Be you cool and safety for Ibrahim!), and there was no fire left on earth that was not extinguished." Ibn `Abbas and Abu Al-`Aliyah said: "Were it not for the fact that Allah said, وَسَلَـماً (and safety), Ibrahim would have been harmed by its coldness." Qatadah said: "On that day there was no creature that did not try to extinguish the fire for Ibrahim, except for the gecko." Az-Zuhri said: "The Prophet commanded that it should be killed, and called it a harmful vermin." وَأَرَادُواْ بِهِ كَيْداً فَجَعَلْنَـهُمُ الاٌّخْسَرِينَ (And they wanted to harm him, but We made them the worst losers.) they were defeated and humiliated, because they wanted to plot against the Prophet of Allah, but Allah planned against them and saved him from the fire, and thus they were defeated.