Some of His Qualities

We'll finish up with the story of Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) by mentioning some of his qualities. Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) is from ulū al-ʿazmi min al-rusul. Ulū al-ʿazmi min al-rusul: I can't find an exact translation of it, but there are five ulū al-ʿazm, and these are the greatest of the anbiyāʾ of Allah. There are five: Muhammad (peace be upon him), Ibrāhīm, Mūsā, ʿĪsā and Nūḥ. And Ibn Kathīr says that the second greatest among them, after Muhammad (peace be upon him), is Ibrāhīm.

Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) was mentioned in the Qur'an about 73 times in 25 places^*. Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) is the one whom Allah (swt) has called in the Qur'an Khalīl, Khalīlullāh: the friend of Allah (swt). Allah has chosen Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) to be His friend.

Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) lived a lonely life. He would travel from one place to another around the world, making hijrah. He lived in Iraq for a while, in Ḥarrān, in Bayt al-Maqdis, in Egypt. He visited Makkah a few times. All of this is travelling in difficult conditions. And Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) was driven out of his homeland, no believers with him except his nephew, Lūṭ. And then he went all over these other countries, and he didn't have many followers with him. Allah (swt) told Ibrāhīm: I'm your friend. You don't need any friends in this world; I'm your friend.