Tafsir of Al-Anbiya' 21:69

"We said, 'O fire, be coolness and safety upon Abraham.'"

When he (peace be upon him) reached the enclosure, Allah the Exalted, through the blessing of His saying, made it a garden. That is the meaning of His, the Sublime and Exalted's, saying: "We said, 'O fire, be coolness and safety upon Abraham.'"

Meaning: "Be a thing possessing coolness and safety," that is, be cool with a coolness that causes no harm. Thus, Ali (may Allah exalt his countenance) said, as reported by Ahmad and others: "Had He (Sublime is He) not said 'and safety,' the coldness of it would have killed him." In this, there are rhetorically elevated figures: turning the fire—which is subservient to His power—into something shackled and compliant; substituting "be a thing of coolness" for "be cool"; the omission of the genitive (the attribute) and replacing it with its possessor. It is also said that "safety" (salaman) is in the accusative case (mansub) as an object of its verb, meaning: "And We granted him safety." This sentence would then be a conjunction to "We said," though this contradicts the apparent meaning which the historical reports support.

It is reported that the angels (peace be upon them) took hold of Abraham's arms and seated him upon the earth, where a spring of fresh water appeared, along with red roses and narcissi. The fire burned nothing but his bonds, as reported by Ka'b. It is also related that he remained therein for forty or fifty days, and he (peace be upon him) said: "I have never enjoyed a more pleasant life than when I was in it." Ibn Ishaq said: Allah the Exalted sent the Angel of Shade in the image of Abraham (peace be upon him) to comfort him. They say: Allah (Mighty and Majestic is He) sent Gabriel (peace be upon him) with a shirt from the silk of Paradise and a mat; he clothed him in the shirt, seated him on the mat, and sat with him, conversing. Gabriel (peace be upon him) said: "O Abraham, your Lord says: 'Did you not know that fire does not harm My beloveds?'"

Then Nimrod looked down from his tower and saw him sitting in a garden, with the angel sitting beside him and the fire surrounding him. He shouted: "O Abraham, how great is your God, whose power has reached the point of intervening between you and what I see! O Abraham, are you able to come out of it?" Abraham (peace be upon him) said: "Yes." He asked: "Do you fear that if you sleep in it, it will harm you?" He replied: "No." He said: "Then stand and come out of it." So he (peace be upon him) stood and walked through it until he emerged. Nimrod met him, showed him honor, and said: "O Abraham, who is the man I saw with you, in your image, sitting beside you?" He replied: "That is the Angel of Shade, sent by my Lord to comfort me within it." Nimrod then said: "O Abraham, I am going to offer a sacrifice to your God, because of what I have seen of His power and might in what He did for you, since you refused anything but His worship and oneness. I am going to slaughter four thousand cows for Him." Abraham (peace be upon him) said to him: "Allah the Exalted will not accept from you while you remain on your religion; you must leave it and return to my religion." He replied: "I cannot abandon my kingdom, but I will slaughter them for Him." He slaughtered them and refrained from molesting Abraham (peace be upon him). Abraham (peace be upon him) was sixteen years old at that time.

In some reports, it is said that when they saw him (peace be upon him) unburned, they said: "He has bewitched the fire," so they threw one of their elders into it, and he burned. In others, it is said that when they saw him unscathed and without his bonds, Haran, the father of Lot (peace be upon him), said: "The fire does not burn him because he bewitched it; place him on something and kindle a fire beneath him, for the smoke will kill him." They placed him on straw and kindled fire beneath it, but a spark flew onto Haran’s beard and burned him. Abd ibn Humid reported from Sulaiman ibn Surad—who had met the Prophet (peace be upon him)—that the father of Lot (who was his paternal uncle) said: "The fire did not burn him because of his kinship to me," so Allah the Exalted sent a tongue of fire that consumed him.

The reports regarding this story are numerous, but the author of al-Bahr said: "People have spoken excessively in recounting what happened to Abraham (peace be upon him). What is authentic is what the Exalted mentioned: that he was cast into the fire, and Allah the Exalted made it for him coolness and safety."

Furthermore, the apparent meaning is that Allah the Exalted Himself is the one who said to it, "Be coolness," and so forth, and that there is no literal speaker other than Him. It is also said that the speaker was Gabriel (peace be upon him) by His command. It is also said that the command is a metaphor for Allah’s act of making it cool.

The apparent meaning is also that Allah (Mighty and Majestic is He) stripped the fire of its characteristic of heat and burning, while retaining its illumination and radiance. It is said that it transformed into pleasant air; being in this state is among the greatest of miracles. It is also said that it remained in its state, but He (the Sublime, whose power is majestic) repelled its harm, as one sees with the salamander, which is hinted at by His saying "upon Abraham." This is because what was mentioned is contrary to the habit (of nature) and is therefore specific to the one for whom it was intended, remaining according to the original nature for others—this is not by considering the "concept of the title" (mafhum al-laqab), for the majority do not consider it valid. Some of the aforementioned reports support this.

Regardless, it is a great sign. Its like may occur for some righteous individuals of the Muhammadan nation as a grace (karamah) granted to them for their following of the beloved Prophet (peace be upon him). As for what is witnessed from some of those affiliated with the presence of the perfect saint, Sheikh Ahmad al-Rifa'i (may his secret be sanctified)—among the corrupt, who, due to their excessive corruption, are almost like disbelievers—it is said that this is a type of magic, regarding which there is disagreement as to whether its practitioner is an unbeliever and should be executed. For they have names of unknown meaning which they recite when entering fire or striking themselves with weapons. It is not far-fetched that this constitutes disbelief, even if it contains things that do not. Some have mentioned that they recite during this: Talsaf, Hayf, Hayf, I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from the evil of what He created; I adjure you, O fire or O weapon, by the right of the Living, the Enduring, the Light, the Glorious, and Muhammad (peace be upon him), that you do not harm me or the servant of the order.

This was not present in the time of Sheikh al-Rifa'i (may his secret be sanctified); he was the most followed of people in the Sunnah and the most avoiding of the sources of innovation. His companions followed his path, clinging to the hem of his adherence to the Sunnah. Later, some of those affiliated with him fell into what they fell into. It is said in al-'Ibar: "Corruption has become widespread among the companions of the Sheikh, and satanic states have been renewed for them since the Tatars took Iraq, such as entering fires, riding lions, and playing with snakes." The Sheikh and the righteous among his companions had no knowledge of this. We seek refuge in Allah the Exalted from the accursed Satan.

The truth is that the recitation of anything is not a condition for remaining unaffected by fire and the like. Many of them, when fire is kindled for them and drums are beaten, call out: "O Sheikh Ahmad, O Rifa'i," or "O Sheikh so-and-so," referring to the sheikh from whom they took the order, and they enter the fire and remain unaffected without reciting anything at all. Most of the time, if they recite the names over the fire and drums are not beaten, and no change of state occurs, they are unable to touch a burning coal. Sometimes, one of them recites the names, drums are beaten, and the sheikhs are called upon; he enters and is affected. The conclusion is that we have seen no established rule for them; however, it is mostly the case that when drums are beaten, they call out to their sheikhs, and they become agitated, they do what they do and are not affected. I have seen one of them take a skin of wine, call out to whom he calls out, enter a large oven blazing with fire, sit in the fire, drink the wine, and remain until the fire dies down; he emerges, and nothing of his clothes or body has burned.

The closest explanation for such a thing is that it is a istidraj (a gradual drawing toward destruction) and a trial. As for saying that Allah (Mighty and Majestic is He) honored Sheikh Ahmad al-Rifa'i (may his secret be sanctified) by allowing those affiliated with him to be unaffected by fire, weapons, and the like—no matter how they behave—if they call upon his name or the name of someone affiliated with him in certain states, this is far-fetched. Indeed, I am almost hearing you say it is impermissible. Sometimes this happens to some believers in certain situations as an aid to them. Sometimes, a person might take fire in his hand and remain unaffected due to substances applied to his hand, the property of which is to prevent fire from harming the body; the performer of this misleads people into thinking it is a miracle.

In this context, the verse is used as evidence by those who say that Allah the Exalted deposited in every thing a specific nature according to what His wisdom (the Sublime) required. Thus, the difference between water and fire, for example, is not merely that it is the habit of Allah to create burning upon the presence of fire and quenching upon the presence of water; rather, He deposited in the water, for example, the property of quenching, and in the fire the property of burning. However, the fire does not burn and the water does not quench except by His permission (the Mighty and Majestic). For had He not deposited heat and burning in the fire, He would not have said to it what He said, and there is no one who would argue for a distinction otherwise. So, reflect upon this.