KHUTAB IV: 5. THE WORD “FATHER” IN THE QUR’AN AND IN THE BIBLE

5. THE WORD “FATHER” IN THE QUR’AN

AND IN THE BIBLE (ANUMA, 23 JAN. 09)

The word “father” in Arabic is ab (أَب), but this word in Arabic could have wider meanings. Originally, it means any person who is the cause of the existence, appearance or the maintenance of something. A person who takes care of his guests is called “the father of the guests” (أَبُو اْلأَضْيَافِ لِتَفَقُّدِهِ إِيَّاهثْم) , and a person who stirs up war is called “the father of war” (أَبُو الْحَرْبِ لِمُهَيِّجِهَا) . It could also mean “the forefather”, as in the following verse,

وَجَاهِدُوا فِي اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ هُوَ اجْتَبَاكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ

فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ مِلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ ...(الحج ٧٨)

And strive hard in Allah’s Cause as you ought to strive. He

 has chosen you (to convey His Message of Islamic Monotheism

to mankind by inviting them  to Islam), and has not laid upon

 you inreligion any hardship: it is the religion of your father

[i.e., forefather] Abraham…(Q. 22:78)

In dual form (أَبَوَان), it could mean in Arabic language: father and mother, father and uncle, and father and grand-father, whereas in plural آبَاء it means “forefathers.”  The examples from the Qur’an where the dual أَبَوَان    means “father and mother” are as follows:

يَا بَنِي آَدَمَ لَا يَفْتِنَنَّكُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ كَمَا أَخْرَجَ أَبَوَيْكُمْ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ ... (الأعراف  ٢٧)

O Children of Adam! Let not Satan deceive you, as he got

your parents (Adam and Eve) out of Paradise… (Q. 7:27)

وَأَمَّا الْغُلَامُ فَكَانَ أَبَوَاهُ مُؤْمِنَيْنِ فَخَشِينَا أَنْ يُرْهِقَهُمَا طُغْيَانًا وَكُفْرًا  (الكهف ٨٠)

  And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared lest

 he should oppress them by rebellion and disbelief.  (Q. 18:80)

          This was when the wise man called Khid.r whom Allah had given knowledge directly (عِلْمٌ لَدُنِّي) killed an apparently innocent boy. Allah informed him that if the boy grew up he would rebel and became disbeliever, and Allah would replace the parents with a pious child.

أَمْ كُنْتُمْ شُهَدَاءَ إِذْ حَضَرَ يَعْقُوبَ الْمَوْتُ إِذْ قَالَ لِبَنِيهِ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ بَعْدِي

قَالُوا نَعْبُدُ إِلَهَكَ وَإِلَهَ آَبَائِكَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ إِلَهًا وَاحِدًا

 وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ (البقرة ١٣٣)

Or were you witness when death approached Ya‘qūb (Jacob)?

When he said to his sons, “What will you worship after me?” They

said, ”We shall worship your God (Allah), the God of your fathers,

Ibrāhīm (Abraham), Ismā‘īl (Ishmael), Ish.āq (Isaac). One God

and to Him we submit in Islam (Q. 2:133)

Here Prophet Ibrāhīm was Prophet Ya‘qub’s grand-father, Prophet Ismā‘īl was  his uncle, and Prophet  Ish.āq  was his father, all are addressed as his “fathers”, namely, fore-fathers.

It is our religion and culture that require us to respect our elders, and address them in a respectful way, such as calling them “father, mother, uncle, aunt,” and to those who have approximately the same age as we have, we call them “brother, sister,” for example, “Uncle Salīm,” “Sister Maryam”, etc. The wives of the Prophet, Muhammad s.a.w. are called “mothers of the believers,” and no one was allowed to marry any of them after him. Allah said,

النَّبِيُّ أَوْلَى بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَأَزْوَاجُهُ أُمَّهَاتُهُمْ ... (الأحزاب ٦)

The Prophet is closer to believers than their own selves,

 and his wives are their (believers’) mothers (as regards

 respect and marriage) (Q. 33:6)

Christians call their patriarchs, their priests, and their church dignitaries as “fathers.” Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997), an Albanian Roman Catholic nun with Indian citizenship won the Nobel Prize for peace in 1979 for her service to children, refugees, and the poor in India. A priest, especially of the Roman Catholic Church, whom the members confess their faults and sins is called “father confessor.” The member of the ancient Roman Senate was also called “father.” In the early seventies, when the activity of Christian missionaries in Indonesia to convert Muslims was at its peak, an Indonesian priest called “Father Adiseputra” studied at the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and made his research on Fakhru’l-Dīn al-Rāzī’s tafsīr, التَّفْسِيْرُ اْلكَبِيْر (The Large Commentary) also called مَفَاتِيْحُ اْلغَيْب  (Keys to the Unknown). He knew Arabic, and this tafsīr was interesting for him. However, some Qur’an commentators said exaggeratingly that you can find everything in Fakhru’l-Razī’s tafsīr, except tafsīr itself.

In the United States, “Brother Jonathan” is referred to its people collectively, and “Uncle Sam” is the personification of these people, and of their government. He is the “uncle” who likes to interfere with other people’s business, and to whom former President Sukarno of Indonesia said, “Leave us alone, leave us alone!” People used to say to this kind of intruder, “Yankee, go home!”

 The word “father” in the Bible is used for different kinds of people, the devil, God, and something to which one is continuously attached.  Here are some examples:

1.  The great vizier as the father of Pharaoh, e.g., “So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of his entire house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.” (Genesis 45:8).

2.  The religious leader, as the father of his followers, e.g., “And Micah said unto him.  Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year…” (Judges 17:10).

3.  Naaman, the army leader, as the father of his servants, e.g., “And his [i.e., Naaman’s] servants came near and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee some great things, wouldst thou not have done it?” (Kings II 5:13).

4.  God, as the father of the Israelites in general, as when Isaiah said: “But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter, and we all are the work of thy hand.” (Isaiah 64:8)

5.  God, as the father of David, as in the verse: “He [i.e., David] shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation” (Psalms 89:26).

6.  God, as the father of Solomon, as in the verse: “I will be his father, and he shall be my son…” (Samuel II 7:14).  See also Job 17:14.

7.  God, as the father of Christian believers, as when Jesus said to his disciples: “And call no man your father upon the earth; for one is your Father, which is in heaven” (Matthew 23:9).  See also Matthew 5:16 and 48, 6:1 and 4, 6:8-9, 6:14-15 and 18, 10:20 and 29; Luke 12:29-32 and 23:9).

8.  God, as the father of the orphans, as when David said: “A father of the fatherless, and a judge, is God in his holy habitation.” (Psalms 68:5).

9.  God, as the father of every righteous servant of His, e.g., when Jesus said to his disciples: “But I say unto you, Love our enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you: That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven…” (Matthew 5:44-45).  See also Ephesians 4:6).

10.  The devil, as the father of evil people.  Jesus said to the Jews: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do” (John 8:44).

11.    God, as the father of Jesus.  Paul said: “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the God of mercies, and the God of all comfort” (Corinthians II 1:3).  See also Ephesians 1:3 and Luke 10:21-22.

12.    Corruption (or pit) as Job’s father.  Job said: “I have said to corruption [the pit, according to the New World Translation], Thou art my father” (Job 17:14).

13.    God, as the father of lights, when James addressed the twelve tribes of Israel, saying: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).

          We Muslims are one very big family in faith, over one billion (milliard) people, one-fifth of world population. Allah said,

إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ... (الحجرات ١٠)

Believers are nothing else than brothers

 (in Islamic religion) (Q. 49:10)

 وَلَا تَهِنُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَنْتُمُ الْأَعْلَوْنَ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ (آل عمران ١٣٩) ،   

 So, do not become weak (against your enemy),

nor be sad, and  you will be superior (in victory)

 in you are (true) believers. (Q.3:139).

 May Allah unite us as true believers, and help us to achieve the final victory, amin! (ANUMA, 23.1.09)