The Story of a Birth of Light: The Birth of Ibrahim, the Friend of God


A long, long time ago, in a warm, sandy land called Babylon, there was a magnificent and wealthy city named Ur. The people of this city lived in luxury, but their hearts were drowned in darkness. Instead of worshipping the One God, they worshipped idols made of stone and wood that they had carved with their own hands. A tyrannical and arrogant king named Nimrod ruled over them. He was not just their ruler; he claimed to be a god himself and forced people to worship him.


Nimrod, like all tyrants in history, was afraid of one thing: the rise of a greater power that would threaten his throne. One day, his astrologers and priests came to him with worrying news from reading the stars. They said, "O King! Soon, a boy will be born in this land who will destroy your religion and raise the flag of belief in One God. His name will be Ibrahim, and he will destroy your throne."


Nimrod was furious when he heard this. Fear and hatred filled his heart. He immediately ordered that all men be separated from women, and no man was allowed to go near his wife. Then, he commanded that every baby boy born that year be killed. His soldiers, merciless and cruel, raided homes, snatching baby boys from their mothers' arms and sending them to their deaths. The city of Ur was drowned in weeping and mourning. The sound of mothers crying filled the air.


Amid this chaos and oppression, there was a mother named Nuna (based on some accounts) who was pregnant. She and her husband, Azar (also called Terah in some accounts), who was a famous idol-maker in the city, were terrified of Nimrod's order. Although Azar was an idol-worshipper himself, his heart beat for his son. They had to find a way to save their child's life.


A Secret Birth


Months passed, and the time for Nuna to give birth drew near. They could not stay in the city. On a dark, moonless night, Nuna, feeling the pains of childbirth, secretly left the city with Azar. The fear of being caught by Nimrod's soldiers added to her labor pains. They searched for shelter until they found a large cave outside the city. They deemed it safe.


Inside that cold, dark cave, in a silence broken only by the sound of the wind, Nuna gave birth to her son. When the newborn cried out his first sound of life, fear gripped the parents. What if someone had heard him! But a miracle happened. The baby became quiet and rested calmly in his mother's arms. It was as if he knew he had survived for a great mission and had to grow up in secrecy and silence.


Nuna and Azar looked at the luminous face of their baby and realized this child was not ordinary. A light shone from his face that broke the darkness of the cave. They named him Ibrahim (Abraham), which means "Compassionate Father" or "Exalted Father." They knew they could not return to the city with the newborn. So, they made the difficult decision to leave him in that cave! But how? The mother, with a heart full of pain and hope, left her son in the cave, praying and begging the unseen God to protect him. They returned to the city, keeping the secret of the cave to themselves.


Growing Up in a Cave, Worshipping in Heart


The mother, missing her son terribly, would secretly visit the cave to bring him food. Every time she went, she saw a greater miracle. The child was not only alive but thriving in perfect health. Islamic narrations mention that God had placed the baby Ibrahim's fingers in such a way that when he sucked them, milk would flow and nourish him. Also, by God's command, his eyes grew quickly so he could see light in the cave's darkness.


The mother witnessed these signs and knew the hand of divine power was at work. With greater reassurance, she continued her visits until Ibrahim was old enough to be left alone. Ibrahim grew up in the solitude of the cave, but he never felt lonely.

His heart and soul were constantly connected to the unseen God who guided him from the darkness of the cave to the light of guidance. Even as a child, without anyone teaching him, he had realized the Oneness of God. He would look at the stars, the sun, and the moon, reflecting on their greatness, and he knew they were creations, not the Creator.


Return to the City of Idol-Worshippers


Years passed. Ibrahim became a lively and inquisitive boy. The cave was now too small for him. The time had come for him to return to the city and begin his mission. His mother took him to his father, Azar. Azar, who had been apart from his son for years, looked in amazement at the radiant youth staring back at him. He took Ibrahim home and tried to introduce him to the family business: idol-making.


Azar taught Ibrahim how to use a chisel and hammer to shape pieces of stone and wood into figures that people worshipped. But Ibrahim, whose heart was filled with faith in the One God, hated this work. He looked at the idols with critical eyes and thought to himself: "How can a sensible person worship something they made with their own hands? How can these mute, deaf idols that cannot see, hear, bring any benefit, or cause any harm be worthy of worship?"


Ibrahim's questions angered his father. Azar warned him, "If you say such things in the city, you will be stoned not only by Nimrod but by everyone." But the young Ibrahim was calm and steadfast. His faith was as firm as a mountain. He knew the truth was only one: the worship of the One God.


First Questions and First Conflicts


Ibrahim slowly began to ask his questions to those around him. One day he said to his father, "Father! Why do you worship what does not hear, does not see, and cannot help you at all?" Azar replied angrily, "Do you reject my gods, O my son? If you do not stop, I will surely stone you. So leave me alone for good."


Ibrahim, with politeness and composure but with unwavering firmness, replied, "Peace be upon you. I will ask my Lord to forgive you; indeed, He is ever Merciful to me."


This conversation was the starting point of Ibrahim's separation from his ignorant society. He could no longer remain silent. He had to show the sun of truth to people lost in the darkness of ignorance. He had a plan. A plan to prove the absurd logic of idol-worship to the people themselves.


He went among the people and spoke to them. He asked them, "What are these statues that you worship?" The people answered proudly, "We found our fathers worshipping them." Ibrahim said, "Indeed, you and your fathers have been in clear error."


The people became angry, but Ibrahim promised that at an upcoming festival, he would show them a great secret. He wanted to speak to them in a language everyone would understand: the language of action.


Preparing for a Divine Demonstration


The people of the city went outside for a festival and celebration. Ibrahim, who had pretended to be sick to stay behind, went to the great temple of the idols. There, he saw a scene that was both ridiculous and pitiful to him: dozens of large and small idols, before whom people would bow down and place offerings of food.


Ibrahim looked at the idols mockingly and said, "Will you not eat? Will you not answer? Are you not gods?"


A deathly silence filled the temple. Only the sound of the wind could be heard. Ibrahim picked up a large axe. With a determined look, he approached the largest idol sitting at the head and struck it with all his might. The idol split in half and fell to the ground. Then he went to the smaller idols and smashed them one after another. He left only one large idol untouched. Then, he hung the axe around its neck and left the temple.


When the people returned from the festival and saw the scene of the destroyed temple and shattered idols, shock and horror swept through the city. Cries of anger and astonishment rang out. Everyone asked, "Who has done this to our gods?"

Suddenly, they remembered Ibrahim and his words. They shouted, "It must have been that young Ibrahim who always spoke badly of them!" They found Ibrahim and brought him before them, asking angrily, "O Ibrahim! Was it you who did this to our gods?"


Ibrahim, with complete calm and intelligence, pointed to the one large, untouched idol with the axe around its neck and said: "No, it was this biggest one who did it! Ask them, if they can speak."


In that moment, a heavy silence fell over the crowd. Ibrahim's simple and powerful logic had stunned everyone. For a moment, they came to their senses and looked at each other in astonishment. The truth had struck their slumbering minds like lightning. They screamed inside: "Ibrahim is right! We have been wrong! These idols cannot even defend themselves; how can they be our gods?"


But pride and stubbornness overcame the truth. Instead of admitting their mistake, they grew angrier and shouted, "You know well they do not speak!" and decided to punish Ibrahim in the most severe way.


The Fire That Became a Garden


The news reached Nimrod. He was angrier than anyone. Someone had dared to challenge his system. He ordered that a huge fire be built for Ibrahim and that he be thrown into it to serve as a lesson to all.


The people, on Nimrod's orders, gathered a mountain of firewood and lit the biggest fire anyone had ever seen. The flames were so high that birds would die flying over it. The heat was so intense that no one could go near it.


They placed Ibrahim in a large catapult to launch him from a distance into the heart of the fire. At that moment, an angel came to Ibrahim and said, "O Ibrahim, do you need anything?" But Ibrahim, whose faith was complete, only replied, "My need is only from Him. He is sufficient for me, and He is the best disposer of affairs."


And when they launched Ibrahim into the fire, a divine miracle occurred. God commanded the fire: "O fire! Be coolness and safety upon Ibrahim." (Quran 21:69)


The fire, whose nature is to burn, obeyed the command of its Lord. In the heart of that burning inferno, a green garden and a safe place appeared for Ibrahim. Flowers bloomed, and a cool breeze blew. Ibrahim sat within the fire, as if walking in a heavenly garden, calm and safe. Only the ropes binding him burned away, setting him free.


The people and Nimrod, who were waiting for Ibrahim to turn to ashes, were met with an unbelievable scene. The fire died down after a while, and Ibrahim, with a soot-smudged face but clean clothes, emerged safe and sound from the ashes, as if he had just stepped out of a cool spring.


This was the greatest divine sign. Many people believed in Ibrahim's God at that moment. But Nimrod and his close followers, whose hearts were locked, denied it again, saying, "This is nothing but magic!"


But Ibrahim was the victor. He had proven that the One God, the Lord of all existence, is even the Lord of the fire, and whenever He wills, He breaks the laws of nature to save His believing servant.


The End of Childhood, The Beginning of a Mission


The story of the fire marked the end of Ibrahim's childhood and the beginning of his great mission as "Khalilullah" (the Friend of God). After that, he left his people and, with his wife Sarah and his nephew Lut, began a journey, by God's command, that would take him to different lands and establish him as a great prophet for all the Abrahamic faiths.


His miraculous birth in a cave, his upbringing under God's direct care, and his salvation from Nimrod's fire all showed that this child was, from the very beginning, under the protection and grace of God Almighty, to light the torch of monotheism in a world full of idolatry and darkness.