سورة الأنبياء

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Friday is the day on which Allah said to the fire: يا نارُ كُونِي بَرْداً وَ سَلاماً عَلى إِبْرَاهِيمَ [O fire! Be a comfort and peace to Ibrahim].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) that a Syrian man in the Jami' Mosque of Kufa asked Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him): "O Amir al-Mu'minin! Inform me why Wednesday is regarded as a bad omen and considered a heavy day, and which Wednesday is meant?" He (peace be upon him) said: "The last Wednesday of the month, which is the muhaq [when the moon is not visible at night]. On such a day Qabil killed his brother Habil, and on a Wednesday Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was cast into the fire, and on a Wednesday they set up the catapult."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Until the day of the burning arrived. At that time Nimrod, for whom a structure had been built so that he could watch the scene of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) catching fire, entered along with his soldiers. They placed Ibrahim (peace be upon him) in the catapult, and the earth said: "My Lord! There is no one on my back other than him to worship You; must he be burned in the fire?" Allah said: "Whenever he calls upon Me, I shall suffice him."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Umar al-Zuhri, through a chain of narrators, narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) concerning the words of Allah the Exalted: قُلْنا يا نارُ كُونِي بَرْداً وَ سَلاماً عَلى إِبْراهِيمَ [We said: O fire! Be a comfort and peace to Ibrahim], that he said: "The first catapult that was made in the world is the catapult that was made for Ibrahim (peace be upon him) at the wall of Kufa, on the rivers called 'Kutha' and in a village called 'Qantana.' Iblis made the catapult, and Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was seated in it, and they wished to hurl him into the fire. Jibra'il came and said: 'Peace be upon you, O Ibrahim, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Do you have any need?' He said: 'After this I have no need of you.' Allah the Exalted said: قُلْنا يا نارُ كُونِي بَرْداً وَ سَلاماً عَلى إِبْراهِيمَ [We said: O fire! Be a comfort and peace to Ibrahim]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was cast into the fire by [the people of Nimrod], Allah the Mighty and Majestic revealed to the fire: "By My Might and Majesty, if you harm Ibrahim, I shall surely punish you." When Allah the Exalted revealed: یا نارُ کُونِی بَرْداً وَ سَلاماً عَلی إِبْرَاهِیمَ [O fire! be a comfort and peace to Ibrahim], for three days the fire had no warmth or heat at all, such that no water could be heated by fire.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): When Allah revealed the verse: کُونِی بَرْداً وَ سَلاماً [Be a comfort and peace], the fire turned cold for three days.

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): When Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was placed in the catapult, Jibril became angry. A revelation came from Allah: "Why are you angry?" He said: "My Lord, Your friend, who alone worships You on the entire face of the earth, has been placed under the power of Your enemy and his enemy." The reply came: "Be silent. A servant such as you fears that the opportunity may be lost, but as for Me, I will save him whenever I wish." Jibril became joyful; then he turned to Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and said: "Do you have any need?" He said: "Yes, but not from you." Then Allah sent down for him a ring on which six words were written: لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللهِ لَا حَوْلَ وَ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللهِ فَوَّضْتُ أَمْرِی إِلَی اللهِ أَسْنَدْتُ ظَهْرِی إِلَی اللهِ [There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, there is no power and no strength save in Allah, I have entrusted my affair to Allah, I have leaned my back on Allah]; I have entrusted my affair to Allah, Allah is sufficient for me. It was revealed: "Wear this ring, for I will make the fire cool and safe for you."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Mufaddal said: "I heard Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) say: 'Do you know what the shirt of Yusuf (peace be upon him) was?' I said: 'No.' He said: 'When the fire was kindled for Ibrahim (peace be upon him), Jibril descended to him with a garment [from the garments of Paradise] and clothed him in it; as a result, with it upon him, neither heat nor cold could harm him.'"

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): When Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was cast into the fire, Jibril descended with a shirt from Paradise and brought a carpet from Paradise for Ibrahim (peace be upon him), and clothed him in that garment and seated him on the carpet of Paradise, and sat with him in the fire and engaged in conversation.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When Ibrahim (peace be upon him) broke the idols of Nimrod, Nimrod ordered that he be shackled and thrown into prison, and a pit was made for him and firewood was gathered in it and fire was kindled in it, and Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was cast into that fire to burn him. When they threw him into it, they moved aside and waited until the fire died down, and when they looked into that pit they saw Ibrahim (peace be upon him) safe and freed from his bonds, and they reported his condition to Nimrod.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) that a man of Syria asked Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) in the Grand Mosque of Kufa: "Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was cast into the fire by his people and he was patient, and Allah made the fire cool and safe for him. Has anything like this been done for Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)?" Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said: "That is correct. When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) entered Khaybar, a Khaybari woman poisoned him, and Allah made the poison cool and safe inside his body until the time of his appointed term. Poison, when it settles inside the body, burns."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Isma'il ibn Fadl said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about Musa ibn Imran (peace be upon him): "How did Musa (peace be upon him) feel fear within himself upon seeing their ropes and staves move in the form of serpents, whereas Ibrahim (peace be upon him), when he was placed in the catapult and hurled into the fire, felt no fear at all?" He answered: "When Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was placed in the catapult and hurled toward the fire, he was leaning upon the lights of the proofs of Allah the Mighty and Majestic that were in his loins, but Musa (peace be upon him) was not like that. For this reason he felt fear, and Ibrahim (peace be upon him) felt no fear within himself."

The Messenger (peace be upon him and his family): Umar ibn Ibrahim al-Awsi said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said to Jibra'il: "O Jibra'il! Have you, with all this ability and strength of yours, ever experienced weariness and hardship?" He said: "Yes, O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! This has happened to me three times. On the day Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was cast into the fire, Allah the Blessed and Exalted commanded me to reach him, and He swore by His might and majesty that if he entered the fire before you, I would erase your name from the register of the angels. So I hastened toward him and reached him between the fire and the air, and I said: 'O Ibrahim (peace be upon him)! Do you have any need?' He said: 'Yes, but from Allah, not from you.' The second time was when Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was commanded to sacrifice his son Isma'il (peace be upon him). Allah ordered me to reach him and swore by His might and majesty that if he placed the knife upon his throat, I would erase your name from the register of the angels. So I quickly descended and turned the knife over and placed it in his hand in the opposite direction, and I brought him the ransom for the sacrifice of Isma'il (peace be upon him). The third was when Yusuf (peace be upon him) was thrown into the well. At that time Allah ordered me to reach him and swore by His might and majesty that if he reached the bottom of the well before you, I would erase your name from the register of the angels. So I hastened to him and caught him in mid-air and set him upon a rock which was at the bottom of the well, and I brought him down safely upon it, and from this I became weary. The well was also a dwelling place of snakes and vipers. When they became aware of this, each of them said to the other: 'Beware that you move, indeed a noble prophet has come to us and has settled in our midst.' None of them left their dens except the vipers. The vipers wanted to bite Yusuf (peace be upon him), but I let out such a cry at them that it deafened their ears until the Day of Resurrection."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Aban ibn Taghlib said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "... And when [the Qa'im (may Allah hasten his noble relief)] unfurls the banner of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), thirteen thousand and thirteen angels will descend from the heaven upon him, and all of them will gaze upon the Qa'im. They are those who were with Nuh (peace be upon him) in the ship and who were with Ibrahim al-Khalil (peace be upon him) when he was cast into the fire."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Aban, from Muhammad ibn Marwan, from a person, from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) narrates that he said: "The supplication of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) on that day was: يَا أَحَدُ يَا أَحَدُ يَا صَمَدُ يَا صَمَدُ يَا مَنْ لَمْ يَلِدْ وَ لَمْ يُولَدْ وَ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُواً أَحَدٌ [O One, O One, O Eternal Refuge, O Eternal Refuge, O You who has not begotten and was not begotten, and there is none comparable to Him]." Then he said: "I put my trust in Allah." The Exalted Lord said: "I have sufficed you." Then He commanded the fire: كُونِي بَرْداً [Be cool], and with the utterance of this phrase, the teeth of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) began to chatter, until Allah said: وَسَلَامًا عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ [and peace upon Ibrahim]. And Jibra'il (peace be upon him) descended and sat with Ibrahim (peace be upon him) in the fire and began to converse. Nimrud said: "Whoever wishes to choose a god must choose a god like the Allah of Ibrahim (peace be upon him)." Then one of Nimrud's high-ranking men said: "I have resolved that the fire shall not burn him." Nimrud then took a piece of fire and drew it toward him and it burned him, and after this incident, Lut (peace be upon him) believed in him and migrated with him and Sarah to Sham.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) narrates from Jibra'il (peace be upon him) that he said: "When Nimrud seized Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to throw him into the fire, I said: O my Lord! He is Your servant and Your friend; on the face of the earth there is no one other than him who worships You." Allah the Exalted said: "He is My servant, when I wish I will take him." And when Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was cast into the fire, Jibra'il came to meet him in the air as he was falling into the fire and said: "O Ibrahim (peace be upon him)! Do you have any need?" He said: "As for [any need] from you, I have no need." And he said: "يَا أَحَدُ يَا أَحَدُ يَا صَمَدُ يَا صَمَدُ يَا مَنْ لَمْ يَلِدْ وَ لَمْ يُولَدْ وَ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُواً أَحَدٌ [O One, O One, O Eternal Refuge, O Eternal Refuge, O You who has not begotten and was not begotten, and there is none comparable to Him]; by Your mercy, save me from the fire!" As a result, Allah revealed to the fire: "كُونِي بَرْداً وَ سَلاماً عَلى إِبْراهِيمَ [Be a comfort and peace to Ibrahim]."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "When Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was cast into the fire, he said: O Allah! By the right of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and his family (peace be upon them), I ask You to save me from the fire. And Allah made the fire cool and safe for him."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Zurarah narrates: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: "If people knew about the beginning of creation, not even two of them would differ with one another. Indeed, Allah the Mighty and Majestic, before creating creation, said: 'O water, be sweet and pleasant, so that from you I may create My paradise and those who obey Me; O water, be salty and bitter, so that from you I may create My hellfire and those who disobey Me.' Then He commanded them and they mingled together; for this reason a believer gives birth to a disbeliever, and a disbeliever to a believer. Then He took a handful of dust from the surface of the earth and rubbed and kneaded it hard, and suddenly they began moving like ants. Then, addressing the Ashab al-Yamin (people of the right), He said: 'Go in peace towards paradise.' And to the Ashab al-Shimal (people of the left) He said: 'Hasten towards hellfire, for I have no concern about this.' Then He commanded a fire to be kindled, and said to the Ashab al-Shimal: 'Enter it.' But they were afraid of the fire. He said to the Ashab al-Yamin: 'Enter the fire.' And they entered the fire; and He said to the fire: كُونِی بَرْداً وَ سَلاماً [Be coolness and peace]. And it became cool and peaceful. The Ashab al-Shimal said: 'O Lord, take it back from us.' He said: 'I have taken it back from you, so enter the fire.' And they went near the fire but were afraid of it. It was there that the obedience and disobedience of each group was recorded, and from then on, neither can the obedient become disobedient, nor can these become of the obedient."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Imam Husayn (peace be upon him), before he was killed, said to his companions: "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said to me: 'O my dear son! Soon you will be driven toward Iraq. The land of Iraq is the very land in which the prophets (peace be upon them) and the successors of the prophets met one another. That land is called ʿAmura. You will be martyred in that land, and a group will be martyred with you who will not feel the pain of the spear and the sword.' Then he recited this verse: قُلْنا یا نارُ کُونِی بَرْداً وَ سَلاماً عَلی إِبْراهِیمَ [We said: O fire! be a comfort and peace to Ibrahim] — the battle will be cool and safe for you and your companions." Then Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) said to his companions: "Glad tidings to you, for although our enemies will kill us, we shall come upon our Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)."