What Made Ibrahim's Judgment Sound?
Tafseer Surat Al-Anbiya (21:51) - Prophet Ibrahim's Sound Judgment and Refutation of Astrology
Summary
This episode provides a detailed Quranic analysis of verses from Surat Al-Anbiya, focusing on Allah's statement about giving Prophet Ibrahim sound judgment. The scholar explains the linguistic nuances of the word "before" (qablu) and its two meanings: before Ibrahim reached adulthood and before other prophets came after him. The lecture discusses the etymological origins of Ibrahim's name from Aramaic, explaining how foreign words are integrated into Arabic with Arabic letters and pronunciations. Sh. Ali Mashhour also clarifies Ibrahim's significance as the father of prophets, with all subsequent prophets descending from his lineage through Ismail and Isaac.
The second part of the lecture addresses the historical context of Ibrahim's people in Ur, who practiced astrology and celestial worship. Sh. Ali Mashhour explains the connection between ancient idol worship and astrology, detailing how people believed stars could reveal the future. This leads to a strong Islamic ruling against astrology in all its forms, including horoscopes, which are classified as a type of magic and shirk (polytheism). The scholar warns that consulting fortune tellers or soothsayers results in Allah not accepting one's prayers for 40 days, emphasizing that matters of religion and worship should not be treated lightly.
Note: This transcript was generated using YouTube's automatic captioning, with AI-assisted cleanup for readability. It may contain inaccuracies due to background noise, audio quality, or limitations of the transcription software — particularly during Arabic recitation. Listener discretion is advised; please refer to the original video for precise wording.
And we had certainly given Ibrahim his sound judgment before and we were of him well knowing. What is meant by before Yet certainly given Ibrahim his sound judgment. before. This word before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala did not mention any particular time attached to this before what? It's open ended. and when something is left open ended in the Quran, it's done that way for a reason. done that way in order to be more general, more inclusive statement of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala before is meant two main things. Number one, before before he was a grown man, while he was still a child, before he grew up, For two, before, meaning before other main prophets and messengers who came after him. Such as Musa Alaihi Salam, Naisa, Muhammad, before all of these messengers, was the messenger of Allah Ibrahim Alaihi Salam. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says and we were of him well knowing When he said to his father and his people. Ibrahim Alaihi Salam referred to is an Arabicized word from Aramaic. What does that mean? when a word is brought in from another language. and it is transferred onto a different language. Usually, that word is kept intact. However, it will be given that languages letters and it will be given that language is based on that language's scales, right? So, there are many words in the Quran which originate from other languages. There are many words in the Quran that originate from other languages. However, they are placed, they are mentioned in the Quran, with Arabic letters and Arabic pronunciations So, for instance, Ibrahim is not an Arabic name. This is a name which is taken from Aramaic. Likewise, Asa is not an Arabic name. No, it's not an Arabic name. Ibrahim is hack. Jacob These are not Arabic names. Star, foreign names which have been given Arabic, letters, and Arabic pronunciations. and this process is common to every language. Every language in which its people import and export aspects of their culture. This process will happen. So, for instance, when we come from overseas, in English, when we import names from Arabic, we give them English letters and we give them English pronunciations. So, instead of saying, Mohammed, we say, Mohammed. Instead of saying, Ibrahim, we say, Abraham, This is? Common. And it happened in the opposite way as well. Ibrahim is not an Arabic name. It's an Arabic Arabic name. Aramaic is the is the language that Arabic is originally derived from. those original Semitic languages, Hebrew, Arabic, they are derived from Arabic. As a matter of fact, the letters the shape of the letters in the Arabic language are taken from Aramaic originally. And this is why these shapes have very strong ties to Aramaic culture. Because the shapes of these letters are taken from Aramaic. and so Ibrahim is an Aramaic name. It's been given Arabic letters, Arabic pronunciation, and the Quran as Ibrahim and there are many different ways to recite this. Ibrahim, Ibrahim, etcetera. There are few different ways. All of them are correct recitations. And the of this word Ibrahim is actually a composition of two words and that is the father of all. That is the meaning of Ibrahim. Other scholars mention a merciful father. And this is a befitting name for Ibrahim. Is Ibrahim Alaihi Salam is known as the father of the prophets. because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent all prophets and messengers after him from from his lineage. All prophethood is in the lineage of Ibrahim. All revelation from Allah after Ibrahim resides in the lineage of Ibrahim Alaihi Salam. All prophets and messengers after Ibrahim come from Ismael and Isaac. All prophets and messengers come from except for Ismael and Muhammad They are the only two prophets outside of that lineage. Ibrahim says to his father and his people. course Ibrahim is from from Alach originally. and his people worshiped celestial bodies. They were very engrossed in astrology We're very engrossed in neurology and reading the stars and worshiping these celestial bodies as god's along with Allah wa ta'ala. It didn't believe that these things created the heavens and the earth necessarily It believed that these things were to be worshiped along with Allah as saints or symbols of the saints. Etcetera. And they did as well believe that these things articulated what the future held for this world. They believe that the stars and the heavens manifest visually what is held in the future for this for this earth. And so they would look into the stars and they would try to read each other's future and try to tell what is going to happen. And this is where the science of astrology really comes from. This is where? It sprouts from. These beliefs. For this reason, the prophet said, Musnadil Imam Ahmed. said.
[Silence]
This is a denunciation of learning astrology in any of its forms. We're speaking not just about worshiping or looking into the future or also white are referred to as horoscopes horoscopes, you find them in most newspapers and most probably even have apps now. newspapers and magazines and so forth. Popular culture Person will look at their horoscope reading. See. Have a good day. You're going to have a good week. Month, this is your year. It's always positive things. It's never anything terrible. is a type of magic in the general sense Which is referred to in the Quran, in the diction of the Quran. This is considered to be a major sin in Islam. Matter of fact, it's considered to be a type of shirk. Prophet said, Yeah. Whoever goes to a soothsayer or a fortune teller then Allah will not accept this person's salah for 40 days. That's elsewhere.
[Silence]
In what Allah has sent down to.
[Arabic recitation]
Very detrimental to a person's religion They attend such gatherings or read such periodicals. may just be fun. It's just for fun. It's not With Allah, it is a big deal. There is no fun to be had and issues of religion and issues of the worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and the names and attributes of Allah. These are not issues to play and poke fun at. Look, this is a type of cohort. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said,.
[Silence]
Allah or his signs or verses or his messenger.
[Silence]
And his people. We will continue this narrative tomorrow inshallah.