Question 654 - The Enlightening Answer Across the Ether, Vol 7

Ahmed al-Hasan Response:

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, the Imams and the Mahdis, and grant them peace. The name of Abraham’s (a) father was Terah, not Azar. Calling the maternal grandfather ‘father’ is natural. ‘He said, “Do you reject my gods, O Abraham? If you do not desist, I will surely stone you, so leave me for a long while.” He said, “Peace be upon you. I will seek forgiveness for you from my Lord; indeed, He has always been gracious to me”’ [Maryam 19:46–47]. Abraham (a) promised him that he would seek forgiveness for him. Abraham (a) fulfilled his promise and sought forgiveness for Azar, but when he died upon misguidance, Abraham knew that he was an enemy of Allah and did not seek forgiveness for him after his death: ‘But when it became clear to him that he was an enemy of Allah, he disavowed him.’