O My Father

From verse 41 the sūrah turns to Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him). Mention and praise of him occur throughout the Qur'an; what is given here is another of his exchanges with his father:

"O my father" — an address of marked courtesy — do not worship the Shayṭān, for the Shayṭān is disobedient to the Most Merciful. His father, however, did not receive it:

Are you turning away from my gods, my deities, O Ibrāhīm? If you do not desist — if you will not abandon this notion of worshipping another — I shall stone you. Now leave me for a while.

Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) departed. It was no easy course: one may remain and endure, and he chose instead to leave. There is a lesson in it, that leaving a place of hardship is sometimes the means by which Allah opens matters up. One need not remain in a place and suffer there. Many have made such a migration, particularly for the sake of the dīn, and Allah has eased their affairs considerably — provided always that what is being done is right.

He then says:

I shall seek forgiveness for you from my Lord. As another passage has already shown, he did so at the outset; and when it became clear that forgiveness would not be granted, he ceased.