The Star Worshippers of Ḥarrān

On the way, he passed through a land called Ḥarrān, in al-Shām. And the people of Ḥarrān used to worship the stars. They had a very, pretty flexible religion. They would go out at night, at night-time, and they would look at the sky, and everyone would make a choice and pick a star, and they would worship it. That was their ʿibādah. Somebody would worship Venus; someone else would worship another star. And that's how their religion was. It's not very different from what we think of as modern religions today.

Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) had his own way of daʿwah. Subḥān Allāh, Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) had his style of daʿwah. You remember how he made his daʿwah to his people: he went and destroyed all of the idols, and then he hung the axe on the biggest idol. Ibrāhīm, over here — how is he making daʿwah to these people? He went out with them at night. They went out to worship.

The first star that comes up is not a star; it's a planet, and that is Venus. It's the first star that shines in the sky after sunset. It looks like a star, but it's not; it's Venus, the planet Venus. Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) said: this is my god.

When the night covered him over with darkness, he saw a star. He said: this is my lord. In front of everyone, he said: this is my lord. And then the planet set. He said: I do not like those that set. This cannot be my god, because it sets.

And then he saw the moon. The next day, he said: the moon is my lord. When he saw the moon, he said: this is my lord. And then the moon set. So he said: fa-lammā afala qāla laʾin lam yahdinī rabbī la-akūnanna min al-qawmi al-ḍāllīn — unless my Lord guides me, I shall surely be among the erring people. So he said in front of everyone: if Allah does not guide me, I'm going to be one of those who are misguided.

And then the sun came up. This is my lord; it's the biggest. And he pretended that he's worshipping the sun. And then the sun set. And then finally Sayyidunā Ibrāhīm said: I am indeed free from all that you join as partners in worship with Allah. Verily, I have turned my face towards Him who has created the heavens and the earth, ḥanīfan — ḥanīf is on the straight path — and I am not of those who are mushrikīn, the ones who associate other gods with Allah. So Ibrāhīm is doing this presentation in front of everyone.