Well, what I wanted to know is, what did Hazrat Ibrahim look like? What did he look like? You see, he waged a war against idols and images and everything. So, his image is not preserved. The person who broke and shattered to pieces all the models and images, how could he permit his own image to be created? That is why we know him from his attributes.
And that is the important lesson we must draw from the study of Holy Quran and we must understand fully. It is not the apparent bodily image which is important. Even if someone is beautiful to look at, if he is bad in his conduct and character, then he is not worthy to be loved. So, all that matters is the person inside, his character, the image of his moral being which is contained in his body. So, what Allah has done, he has preserved that moral image of all, not all, but all the important prophets which he wanted to be bequeathed to posterity so that he could, well maybe it is a difficult word for you, the images of those prophets have been preserved in the Holy Quran which according to God could serve as good models for the future generations.
So, specimens from here and specimens from there are selected by God and if you look at the portraiture of different prophets found in the Holy Quran, you will find that portrait or the sum total of that portraiture to be perfect in every respect. You can draw some lessons from Abraham, some from Lot, some from Shoaib, some from Saleh and so on and so forth. Some from Noah and of course those who followed them or rebelled against them.
So, all the important things regarding the persons, holy persons of the past have been preserved in the Holy Quran and that is what matters. So, when you think of Abraham, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, do not think of him as what bodily form did he have. Think of him as an upright man, brave person who sacrificed or was ready to sacrifice all that he had for the sake of Allah and for the sake of truth. The one who broke the idol worship, who rebelled against idol worship and kept the flag of unity of God aloft and prayed to Allah in such a manner that even today our hearts are moved when we listen to those prayers and we are deeply influenced by the holiness of that man.
That is what you should have known and that is what the Holy Quran has preserved for us. You understand the point or no? Forget about the images. You see, if images were important, the most important image was not that of Abraham but that was Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. And even his image is not preserved. Right?
