In the Form of a Hyena

There is a hadith mentioned in al-Bukhārī that on the Day of Judgement, Allah (swt) will tell Ibrāhīm: I will fulfil My promises to you, and I will not dishonour you. Because Ibrāhīm had made a duʿāʾ: O Allah, do not dishonour me on the Day of Resurrection. And Allah (swt) accepted the duʿāʾ of Ibrāhīm, so He will not dishonour Ibrāhīm on the Day of Judgement.

So Ibrāhīm said: what is a greater dishonour than punishing my father? Because the father of Ibrāhīm will come to him on the Day of Judgement — and this is mentioned in al-Bukhārī. The father of Ibrāhīm will come to Ibrāhīm on the Day of Judgement and tell him: today I will not disobey you; today I will follow you. On the Day of Judgement, the father of Ibrāhīm will come and say: on this day, I will do whatever you want.

At that moment Ibrāhīm will tell Allah (swt): how come my father could be punished? This is a dishonour to me. So Allah (swt) will tell Ibrāhīm: look at your father. So Ibrāhīm will look at his father, and will find him in the form of a dhīkh — ḍabʿ — a hyena. Ibrāhīm was talking with his father, and then he made duʿāʾ to Allah. Allah told him: look at your father. So Ibrāhīm will look at his father and find him in the form of a hyena. And then Ibrāhīm will walk away from him, and the father will be thrown in the Hellfire.

Ibrāhīm — when he was seeing his father in his physical form, it was difficult for him to have his father go to the Hellfire. But when the veils were lifted, and Allah (swt) showed him the truth — that this man is not your father; this man does not belong to you; this man is different — and his father even came in a different physical form, at that moment Ibrāhīm walked away from his father, and disassociated himself from him.