“The people (of Abraham) had no other answer than to say: ‘Kill him or burn him.’ But Allah delivered him from the fire. There are many Signs in this for those who believe.”
(Al Qur’ān – 29:24)
The Prophet Abraham’s people had no reasonable response to his weighty arguments. Their only answer was: ‘Kill him or burn him’. They said this because they were not ready to listen to the person who spoke the truth, who pointed out their errors, and asked them to distance themselves from them. It is clear from their response that they were all united about putting the Prophet Abraham to death. They differed only as regards the mode of killing. Some suggested that he be murdered while others preferred that he be burnt alive.
The wording of the ayah implies that they finally decided to burn the Prophet Abraham alive and that he was hurled into a fire. The Qur’ān, however, bears witness to the fact that he was rescued.
The truth that emerges from this incident is that all things owe their properties to God’s command. He may alter the property of a thing as and when He wills. In the normal course of things, fire’s property is to burn and when a combustible object is cast into it, it is reduced to ashes. This fact does not, however, prevent God from ever issuing a command in violation of the normal pattern that He has devised. Being the Lord of fire, as of everything else, He can command fire to cease burning.