The Qur’ān relates the stories of earlier Prophets just to guide the reader onto the Straight Path. Among those great Prophets is Prophet Ibrahim (peace be to him). It presents Prophet Ibrahim in many Sūrahs or Chapters as the standard-bearer of Monotheism. He was in fact the epitome of sacrifice. In SūrahMumtahanah, it presents this glorious Prophet as ‘a good example’: “You have a good example in Ibrahim(Abraham) and his companions.”
Why was Prophet Ibrahim cited as a good example or role model? It is because he practised Monotheism in letter and spirit even at the cost of bearing the wrath of his people or the powers-that-be. Prophet Ibrahim and his companions said to their pagan people: “We totally dissociate ourselves from you, and from the deities that you worship instead of Allah.”The Qur’ān (60:4)
The Qur’ān furthermore says: “We renounce you and there has come to be enmity and hatred between us and you until you believe in Allah, the One True God.”
This is outright rejection of taghut(Satan) or batil (any being or thing other than One True God). Prophet Ibrahim and his companions meant to say that they considered neither their pagan people in the right nor the religion they had been following. This is in fact the inevitable demand of the Iman or faith in God that the believer denies taghut or batil: “The Right Way stands clearly distinguished from the wrong. Hence he who rejects the evil ones and believes in Allah has indeed taken hold of the firm, unbreakable handle. And Allah (Whom he has held for support) is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.”The Qur’ān (2:256)
That is, there is an excellent example for believers in Prophet Ibrahim’s conduct in that he expressed disapproval and rejection of his pagan people and broke off all connections with them.Yet Prophet Ibrahim’s praying to God for the forgiveness of his pagan father is not worth following, for the believers should not have even this much relationship of love and sympathy with the disbelievers.
As regards to the prayer of Prophet Ibrahim for his father, it was only to fulfil a promise he had made to him when his father had expelled him from the house. The Qur’ān says that he prayed to God for the forgiveness of his father twice. But when he realised that the father for whose forgiveness he was praying, was an enemy of God, he excused himself from it and broke off even this relationship of love and sympathy with him.A close study of these verses makes it manifest that only that act of a Prophet is worth following, which he persistently practised till the end of his life. Thus, what is important is realisation of the Truth and acting upon it without any delay.