Surah Al-Anbya 21:69

How Ibrahim was thrown into the Fire and how Allah controlled it

When their arguments were refuted and their incapability became clear, when truth was made manifest and falsehood was defeated, they resorted to using their power and strength, and said:

حَرِّقُوهُ وَانصُرُواْ ءَالِهَتَكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ فَـعِلِينَ

("Burn him and help your gods, if you will be doing.") So they gathered together a huge amount of wood. As-Suddi said, "I if a woman was sick, she would make a vow that if she recovered she would bring wood to burn Ibrahim. Then they made a hole in the ground and set it aflame, and it burned with huge sparks and immense flames. There had never been a fire like it. They put Ibrahim, peace be upon him, into a catapult, at the suggestion of a nomadic Kurdish man from Persia." Shu`ayb Al-Jaba'i said, "His name was Hayzan, and Allah caused the earth to swallow him up, and he will remain sinking into it until the Day of Resurrection. When they threw him he said, `Sufficient for me is Allah, and He is the best disposer of affairs.' " This is similar to what Al-Bukhari recorded from Ibn `Abbas that Ibrahim said, "`Sufficient for me is Allah, and He is the best disposer of affairs," when he was thrown into the fire, and Muhammad ﷺ said it when they said:

إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُواْ لَكُمْ فَاخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَـناً وَقَالُواْ حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ

(Verily, the people have gathered against you, therefore, fear them. But it increased them in faith, and they said: "Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs.") 3:173. Sa`id bin Jubayr reported that Ibn `Abbas said: "When Ibrahim was thrown into the fire, the keeper (angel) of the rain said: `When will I be commanded to send rain' But the command of Allah was more swift. Allah said:

ينَارُ كُونِى بَرْداً وَسَلَـمَا عَلَى إِبْرَهِيمَ

(O fire! Be you cool and safety for Ibrahim!), and there was no fire left on earth that was not extinguished." Ibn `Abbas and Abu Al-`Aliyah said: "Were it not for the fact that Allah said,

وَسَلَـماً

(and safety), Ibrahim would have been harmed by its coldness." Qatadah said: "On that day there was no creature that did not try to extinguish the fire for Ibrahim, except for the gecko." Az-Zuhri said: "The Prophet commanded that it should be killed, and called it a harmful vermin."

وَأَرَادُواْ بِهِ كَيْداً فَجَعَلْنَـهُمُ الاٌّخْسَرِينَ

(And they wanted to harm him, but We made them the worst losers.) they were defeated and humiliated, because they wanted to plot against the Prophet of Allah, but Allah planned against them and saved him from the fire, and thus they were defeated.

Dalam ayat ini dijelaskan tindakan Allah untuk melindungi dan menolong Ibrahim dari kekejaman kaumnya, yaitu membakar Ibrahim dalam api yang sedang berkobar-kobar.

Sebagaimana diketahui bahwa Allah telah memberikan sifat-sifat tertentu bagi setiap mahluk-Nya. Sifat itu tetap berlaku baginya sebagai Sunnah Allah di dunia. Antara lain ialah api, yang bersifat panas dan membakar, sehingga logam-logam yang amat kuat pun dapat dicairkan dengan api, apalagi tubuh manusia. Maka Allah melindungi Ibrahim dari panas api tersebut dengan cara mencabut sifat panas dan membakar, dari api yang sedang menyala sehingga Ibrahim tidak merasa panas ketika dibakar dan tidak terbakar dalam api unggun yang menyala-nyala.

Allah berfirman, "Hai api, jadilah engkau dingin, dan memberi keselamatan bagi Ibrahim." Dengan adanya perintah Allah kepada api tersebut, maka sifatnya berubah dari panas menjadi dingin, dan tidak merusak terhadap Ibrahim sampai api itu padam. Ini menambah bukti tentang kekuasaan Allah yang seharusnya disadari oleh orang-orang kafir.

Dalam suatu hadis yang diriwayatkan oleh al-Bukhari dari Ibnu 'Abbas disebutkan bahwa ketika Nabi Ibrahim dilemparkan ke dalam api, ia membaca:

"Cukuplah Allah (menjadi penolong) bagi kami dan Dia sebaik-baik pelindung." (Riwayat al-Bukhari)

Demikianlah pertolongan dan perlindungan yang biasa diberikan Allah kepada para nabi, wali-wali dan hamba-hamba-Nya yang saleh. Walaupun pada waktu itu Ibrahim belum menjadi nabi dan rasul, namun ia tetap merupakan seorang hamba Allah yang saleh.

Patut kiranya diingat bahwa Nabi Muhammad juga mengalami makar dari kaum kafir Quraisy yang berusaha untuk membinasakannya, seperti peristiwa sebelum dan sesudah hijrah. Akan tetapi walaupun mereka telah membuat rencana yang rapi untuk mencapai maksud tertentu, namun pelaksanaannya tidaklah membawa hasil seperti yang mereka harapkan, karena Allah telah memberikan pertolongan dan perlindungan-Nya kepada Rasul-Nya, sebagai pelaksanaan dari janji-Nya:

Dan Allah memelihara engkau dari (gangguan) manusia. (al-Ma'idah/5: 67)