https://www.khutbah.info/virtues-of-ibrahim/ Al Tabari (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the majority of the scholars among the predecessors said: Ibrahim was born in the era of Nimrood, a king who was an unjust and very oppressive tyrant. He depicted himself as a god to be worshipped and compelled the people in this regard. Ibrahim was born and lived within this corrupt environment in which shrines, idols and even people were worshipped. There were no traces of monotheism or tawhid because people had deviated at that time. Ibrahim was sent to pull them out of the darkness of ignorance and clutches of shirk into the light of the truth, justice, tawhid and Islam.
Allah the Exalted said in His Great Book:
[An Nahl 120] Verily, Ibrahim was an Ummah, or a nation
In this verse, Allah the Exalted described the Prophet Ibrahim (ﷺ) as an ummah. Let us look at some of the virtues of this Prophet whom Allah the Exalted called a nation on to himself.
Ibrahim (ﷺ) was born, most likely, in the land of Babel and it is the land of the Chaldeans as mentioned by the Muslim historians. His father’s name was Aazar as Allah said:
Al Anam (74)- And when Abraham said to his father Azar”
Al Tabari (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the majority of the scholars among the predecessors said: Ibrahim was born in the era of Nimrood, a king who was an unjust and very oppressive tyrant. He depicted himself as a god to be worshipped and compelled the people in this regard. Ibrahim was born and lived within this corrupt environment in which shrines, idols and even people were worshipped. There were no traces of monotheism or tawhid because people had deviated at that time. Ibrahim was sent to pull them out of the darkness of ignorance and clutches of shirk into the light of the truth, justice, tawhid and Islam.
He was the first to be granted Rush’d (sound judgement) by Allah to help him bear the consequences of calling others to Allah.
Al Anbiya 51- And We had certainly given Abraham his sound judgement before, and We were of him well-Knowing.
What does Rush’d mean? It is guiding the mind to the complete righteousness and the maximum goodness to the extent that it is righteousness that is not followed by corruption and goodness that is not followed by evil. This characterized all of Ibrahim’s behaviors after that.
It is enough that Allah witnessed for him that he fulfilled his pact as in surah An Najm:
An Najm 37 – And of Abraham, who fulfilled his obligations
That is, he fulfilled all that Allah commanded him patiently and accounting for the reward. And Allah described him:
Hud 75 – Verily, Ibrahim was forbearing, used to invoke Allah with humility, and was repentant
And He the Exalted witnessed for him in another verse:
And [mention, O Muhammad], when Abraham was tried by his Lord with commands that he fulfilled. [Al Baqarah 124]
This verse indicates that he did not hesitate and did not slacken in bearing the trial. Rather he fulfilled the responsibility given to him by his Lord in the best possible fashion as indicated in the verse:
[ Allah ] said, “Indeed, I will make you a leader for the people.” [Al Baqarah 124]
In this manner, high levels are only attained by striving. So whomsoever wishes to be a role model for people to follow, must strive to obey Allah and comply with His commands.
And an indication of his high rank is that Allah took him as a close friend as Allah said:
An Nisa 125- And who is better in religion than one who submits himself to Allah while being a doer of good and follows the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth? And Allah took Abraham as an close friend.
And no other creation shared this attribute with him except our Prophet Mohammad (ﷺ)
Jundub reported: I heard from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) five days before his death and he said: I stand acquitted before Allah that I took any one of you as friend, for Allah has taken me as His friend, as he took Ibrahim as His friend. Had I taken any one of my Ummah as a friend, I would have taken Abu Bakr as a friend. [Muslim]
Next, Ibrahim attained a high praise from Allah when He decreed that he is an Ummah onto himself:
[An Nahl 120-122] 120 Verily, Ibrahim was an Ummah, or a nation, obedient to Allah, Hanifa, and he was not one of those who associate others with Allah. 121 He was grateful for His favors. Allah chose him and guided him to a straight path. 122 And We gave him good in this world, and indeed, in the Hereafter he will be among the righteous.
In these verses, Allah the Exalted described Ibrahim having all types of good righteous qualities, praiseworthy traits and virtuous attributes. Allah described him as an ummah, meaning an aggregate of good and a leader who is followed and emulated in obedience of Allah. And Allah described him as devoutly obedient to Him. Safeguarding His commands and prohibitions. Allah described him as Hanifah, that is turning away from the incorrect beliefs to the true religion. Also, Allah described him as free from shirk. Additionally, Allah described him as acknowledging and being thankful for His favors. And Allah described him as among those whom He selected to carry His message. And Allah described him as among those whom were guided to the straight path. And Allah described him as among those who are pleased in this life and the next.
Likewise, Allah the Exalted made him among the Messengers with firm resolve so that he could bear the difficulty that he encountered in the way of calling to Allah as stated in the Quran:
Al Ahzab 7 – And [mention, O Muhammad], when We took from the prophets their covenant and from you and from Noah and Abraham and Moses and Jesus, the son of Mary; and We took from them a solemn covenant.
And the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) informed us of Prophet Ibrahim’s virtues in a number of Hadith:
Anas bin Malik narrated that: A man said to the Prophet (ﷺ): “O best of creation!” So he (ﷺ) said: “That is Ibrahim.”
Meaning this description of “best of creation” is for Ibrahim. The Prophet (ﷺ) said this in humbleness to his Lord and in respect for Ibrahim. Otherwise, our Prophet (ﷺ) is superior as he (ﷺ) said:
I am the leader of the sons of Adam
He (ﷺ) did not say it out of pride or to disrespect those who came before him. Rather, he (ﷺ) said it to explain as he (ﷺ) was commanded to clarify and inform. For this reason he (ﷺ) said “no bragging” to dispel any misunderstandings.
It related in Al Bukhari and Muslim that Ibn Abbas narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “The first one to be clothed on the Day of Judgement will be Ibrahim.” The scholars mentioned that Ibrahim being the first one to be clothed on the Day of Judgement is because there is no one from those before or after who were more fearful of Allah than him. Accordingly, he will be clothed to reassure his heart. And it could possibly be because he was the first to wear pants when he prayed out of modesty. He did as he was commanded and he was rewarded for that by being the first person to be clothed on the day of judgement. And it could possibly be because the ones who threw him in the fire removed his clothing in front of the people. For this, he was recompensed by being the first to be clothed on the day of judgement in front of all.
And during the trip of Al Isra and Al Miraj the Prophet (ﷺ) met Ibrahim in the seventh heaven and he was reclining his back against the Bait-ul-Ma’mur (the Frequented House) as Narrated by Anas that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
Then I was taken up to the seventh heaven. Gabriel asked the (gate) to be opened. It was said: Who is he? He said: Gabriel It was said. Who is with thee? He replied: Muhammad (ﷺ) It was said: Has he been sent for? He replied: He has indeed been sent for. (The gate) was opened for us and there I found Ibrahim reclining against the Bait-ul-Ma’mur and there enter into it seventy thousand angels every day, never to visit again. [Muslim]
Also, he is the only Prophet that we mention in the tashahud of every prayer when we say:
O Allah, exalt the mention of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as you exalted the mention of Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. You are Praised and Glorious. O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as You blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. You are Praised and Glorious
It is said that is because he was the only Prophet to convey a greeting and an important message to the ummah of Mohammad (ﷺ) during the trip of Isra and Miraj. The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
“I met Ibrahim (ﷺ) on the Night of Ascension (Al-Asra), and he said to me: ‘O Muhammad, convey my greetings to your Ummah, and tell them that Jannah has a vast plain of pure soil and sweet water. It is a plain levelled land. The plants grow there by uttering: Subhan-Allah, Al-hamdu lillah, La ilaha illallah and Allahu Akbar.”
The Prophet (ﷺ) used to love Ibrahim greatly to the point that he named his son after him:
A boy was born to me at night and I named him with the name of his father Ibrahim.
And Ibrahim (ﷺ) was the closest in resemblance to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as Jabir bin Abdallah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“The Prophets were shown to me. I saw Musa (ﷺ), he resembles the people from the tribe of Shanu’ah. I saw Esa (ﷺ). From among all those whom I have seen, he somewhat resembled Urwah bin Masud. I saw Ibrahim (ﷺ). From among all those that I have seen, I resemble him. In the same manner I saw Jibreel (Alahi asalaam). From among all those whom I have seen, he most resembles Dahyah.”
Second Khutbah
Oh Muslims:
After we highlighted some of the virtues of the father of the Prophets, the leader of those with pure faith, the Prophet Ibrahim (ﷺ) it is necessary for us to know that the high status and rank that he attained was because of the great effort that he exerted in spreading the message of tawhid, the perfect sincerity in conveying the message from his Lord and his full submission to the commands of his Creator.
We ask Allah to bestow upon us the love of our Prophet (ﷺ) and the love of Ibrahim (ﷺ) and the love of all the Prophets and Messengers and the righteous people and to resurrect us with them and to make our place close to them in the everlasting gardens of paradise.