Ali 'Imran · Madani · ayah 67 of 200

Ali 'Imran 3:67

مَا كَانَ إِبْرَٰهِيمُ يَهُودِيًّا وَلَا نَصْرَانِيًّا وَلَـٰكِن كَانَ حَنِيفًا مُّسْلِمًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ

“Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was one inclining toward truth, a Muslim [submitting to Allāh]. And he was not of the polytheists.[129]”

Saheeh International

Essence

Ibrāhīm belonged to no later faction; he leaned wholly towards Allah, submitted to Him, and never joined anything to Him.

A reflection

The seeker who was sent to Ibrāhīm

Sahih al-Bukhari preserves the story of a man in Makkah before Islam who refused to bow to idols. His name was Zayd ibn ʿAmr ibn Nufayl. He travelled north to Syria, asking about religion, looking for something to follow.

He met a Jewish scholar and asked about his faith. The scholar answered honestly. You will not be on our religion until you take your share of Allah's anger. Zayd said he was fleeing precisely from Allah's anger. Was there another way? The scholar said he knew of none, unless it was to be ḥanīf. And what is that? The religion of Ibrāhīm, he said. He was neither Jew nor Christian, and he worshipped none but Allah.

Zayd then met a Christian scholar, who gave almost the same reply, and pointed him to the same place. Zayd went out, raised his hands and said: 'O Allah, I bear witness that I am on the religion of Ibrāhīm'.

The scene answers a worry some readers have about this ayah. Is it dismissive of Judaism and Christianity? Here, two scholars of those faiths themselves describe Ibrāhīm's way in the very words of the ayah. The Quran is not inventing a rival Ibrāhīm. It is naming the one both traditions remember at their root.

Zayd is also a portrait of every honest seeker. He did not want a team. He wanted the truth, and the safety of being near Allah. When he found Ibrāhīm's way, he did not need anyone's permission to take it. He simply lifted his hands.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.