Genesis 11:26 When Terah had lived seventy years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. 31 Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sar′ai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chal′deans to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran, they settled there.
Genesis 12
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves.”
Terah began to take the family to Canaan but stopped and never made it. Then God called Abraham to go the rest of the way and he obeyed God. God promised to bless Abraham and to make him a blessing and all the families of the earth would bless themselves. Robert Spencer, in his book Not Peace But a Sword points out that when Abraham is put forth as a model of behavior for Muslims it is disturbing.
We are quit of you and that you serve, apart from God. We disbelieve in you, and between us and you enmity has shown itself, and hatred forever, until you believe in God alone. (60:4)
- Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
- Luke 6:27“But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
An interior struggle we all must wage is against giving in to this very human and Muslim tenent of hating those who hate us. It is easy to hate those who hate, persecute or oppose our points of view. It is difficult and virtuous to love our enemy; to love those who hate us, to love those who persecute us; to love those who disagree with us. But this is not true of Islam.
In the same passage the reader of the Qur’an is cautioned against emulating Abraham when he forgave his pagan father.
Except that Abraham said unto his father, ‘Certainly I shall ask pardon for thee, but i have no power to do aught for thee against God.’ (60:4)
Abraham’s hatred and enmity towards pagans is to be emulated but not praying for forgiveness and pardon for pagans, even when it is your own father. No doubt there is disagreement on the interpretation of this passage among Muslims. But Spencer quotes the Tafsir al-Jalalayn a venerable and respected commentary on the passage:
This is “an exception where the excellent example (of Abraham) is concerned, meaning that you should not imitate him by asking for forgiveness for unbelievers.”
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