Question:
Was the father of Ibrahim (AS) named AAZAR, and was he a Muslim?
Answer:
Imam Al-Razi states in his Tafsir Asrar al-Tanzil that some scholars have said that Azar was not Ibrahim’s father but his uncle because, among other proofs, the parents of prophets are not unbelievers. (See the SECOND part of Imam as-Suyuti’s Fatwa “Masalik al-Hunafa’ fi walidayy al-Mustafa”, translated by Shaykh Gibril Haddad.
Ibn Kathir in his work on history al-Bidayah wa n-Nihayah, writes:
Ibrahim (as) was the son of Taarah. When Taarah was 75 years of age, Ibrahim (as) was born to him. Imam al-Tabari in his Tafsir also states that Azar was not the father of Ibrahim a.s.
You may watch this video of Shaykh Mutawalli al-Sha’rawi (in Arabic) explaining that Azar was not the father of Prophet Ibrahim a.s. Read this posting for further details regarding this issue and to answer your second question.
Abdul Shakur
