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Obeying Forefathers in Disobedience of Allah

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When it is said to them, "Follow the Commands that Allah has sent
down," they reply, "We will follow only what we found our
forefathers practising. Well, will they go on following their
forefathers even though they did not use common sense and did not
find the right way?

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And when such people commit an indecent act they say: 'We found
our fathers doing that, and Allah has enjoined it on us. Say: 'Surely
Allah never enjoins any indecency. Do you say things regarding Allah
that you do not know?'

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Nay; they simply claim: "We found our forefathers on a way, and we
continue to find guidance in their footsteps." And thus it is:
whenever We sent any warner to a city its affluent ones said: "We
found our forefathers on a way and we continue to follow in their
footsteps." Each Prophet asked them: "Will you do so even if we
were to show you a way better than the way of your forefathers?"
They answered: "We disbelieve in the religion with which you have
been sent." Then We exacted retribution from them. So do consider
the end of those who gave the lie (to the Prophets).

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u
When they are told: "Follow what Allah has revealed," they say:
"We will rather follow that which we have found our forefathers
following." (Will they follow that) even though Satan might invite
them to the chastisement of the Blazing Fire?
Those whom you serve beside Allah are merely idle names
that you and your fathers have fabricated.

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Joseph said: "I have renounced the way of those who do not believe
in Allah, and who deny the Hereafter, and I have adopted the way of
my forefathers - Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. It is not for us to
associate any with Allah in His Divinity. It is out of Allah's grace upon
us and upon mankind (that He did not require of us to serve any
other than Allah), and yet most people do not give thanks. Fellowprisoners! Is it better that there be diverse lords, or just Allah, the
One, the Irresistible? Those whom you serve beside Him are merely
idle names that you and your fathers have fabricated, without Allah
sending down any sanction for them. All authority to govern rests
only with Allah. He has commanded that you serve none but Him.
This is the Right Way of life, though most people are altogether unaware.

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Have you ever thought about al-Lat and al-Uzza, and about the third
deity, al-Manat? Are the males for you and for Him the females?
That is indeed an unfair division! These are nothing but names that
you and your forefathers have invented, for which Allah has sent

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down no authority. They are merely following their conjectures and

their carnal desires although guidance has come to them from their Lord.

Response of many nations to the call of some great prophets:

They referred that they obey their forefathers & would continue.
The Response of Prophet Noah's Nation

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We sent Noah to his people, and he said: "My people! Serve Allah;
you have no god other than He. Do you have no fear?" But the chiefs
among his people who refused to believe, said: "This is none other
than a human being like you who desires to attain superiority over
you. Had Allah wanted (to send any Messengers) He would have
sent down angels. We have heard nothing like this in the time of our
ancestors of old (that humans were sent as Messengers). He is a
person who has been seized with a little madness; so wait for a
while (perhaps he will improve)."
The Response of Prophet Hud's Nation

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And to 'Ad We sent forth their brother Hud. He said: ' my people!
Serve Allah; you have no other god than Him. Will you, then, not
avoid evil? 'The unbelievers among the leading men of his people
said: 'Indeed we see you in folly, and consider you to be liars. 'He
said: ' My people! There is no folly in me; rather I am a Messenger
from the Lord of the universe. I convey to you the messages of my
Lord, and I give you sincere advice. Do you wonder that an
exhortation has come to you from your Lord through a man from
amongst yourselves that he may warn you? And do call to mind
when He made you successors after the people of Noah and
increasingly endowed you with great physical strength. Remember
then the wondrous bounties of Allah, that you may prosper. ' They
said: 'Have you come to us that we should worship none other than
Allah and forsake all whom our forefathers used to worship? Then
bring upon us the scourge with which you have threatened us if you
are truthful?' Hud warned them: 'Surely punishment and wrath from
your Lord have befallen upon you. Do you dispute with me about
mere names that you and your forefathers have concocted and for
which Allah has sent down no sanction? Wait, then, and I too am
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with you among those who wait.' Then We delivered Hud and his
companions by Our mercy, and We utterly cut off the last remnant
of those who called the lie to Our signs and would not believe.
The Response of Prophet Saleh's Nation

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And to Thamud We sent their brother Sali'h. He said: 'My people!

Serve Allah; you have no god other than Him. He brought you into
being out of the earth, and has made you dwell in it. So ask Him to
forgive you, and do turn towards Him in repentance. Indeed My Lord
is near, responsive to prayers. They said: 'O Salih! Until now you
were one of those among us on whom we placed great hopes. Now,
would you forbid us to worship what our forefathers used to
worship? Indeed we are in disquieting doubt about what you are
calling us to.
The Response of Prophet Abraham's Nation

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Surely We had bestowed wisdom upon Abraham even earlier, and We

knew him well. Recall, when he said to his father and his people: "What
are these statues to which you are devoutly clinging?" They answered:
"We found our fathers worshipping them." He said: "Certainly you and
your fathers have all been in manifest error." They said: "Are you
expressing your true ideas before us or are you jesting?" He said: "Nay,
but your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth which He created
and to that I bear witness before you.

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And recount to them the story of Abraham: when he asked his father
and his people: "What do you worship?" They answered: "There are
some idols that we worship and are devoted to them with constancy."
He asked: "Do they hear you when you call them or do they cause you
any benefit or harm?" They answered: "No; but we found our
forefathers doing so." Thereupon, Abraham said: "Have you seen (with
your eyes) those whom you have been worshipping, you and your
forefathers of yore? They are all enemies to me; all, except the Lord of
the Universe Who created me and Who guides me; Who gives me food

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and drink, and Who, when I am ill, heals me; Who will cause me to die
and then will again restore me to life; Who, I hope, will forgive my sins
on the Day of Judgement."

The Response of Prophet Shu'ayb's Nation

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And to (the people of) Midian We sent their brother Shu'ayb. He said:
'My people! Serve Allah; you have no god other than Him. And do not
diminish the measure and weight. Indeed I see that you are prospering
now, but I fear for you the chastisement of an encompassing day in the
future. My people! Give full measure and weight with justice, do not
diminish the goods of others, and do not go about creating corruption in
the land. The gains that Allah lets you retain are better for you, if you
indeed believe. In any case, I have not been appointed a keeper over
you. They replied: 'O Shu'ayb! Does your Prayer enjoin upon you that we
should forsake the deities whom our forefathers worshipped, or that we
should give up using our wealth as we please? Do you fancy that you,
and only you, are forbearing and right-directed?'

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The Response of Pharaoh & his Chiefs to Prophet Moses

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Then, after them, We sent forth Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh and
his chiefs with Our signs, but they waxed proud. They were a wicked
people. And when truth came to them from Us, they said: 'Indeed
this is plain magic. Moses said: 'Do you say this about the truth after
it has come to you? Is this magic? You call this magic although
magicians never come to a happy end. They replied: 'Have you come
to turn us away from the way of our forefathers that the two of you
might become supreme in the land? We shall never accept what the
two of you say.'
The Response of many Nations to their Prophets

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Have the accounts of your predecessors not reached you: the people
of Noah, the Ad, the Thamud, and those who came after them - they
whose number is not known to any except Allah? Their Messengers
came to them with Clear Signs, but they thrust their hands in their
mouths, and said: "We do surely reject the Message you have
brought, and we are in disquieting doubt about what you are
summoning us to." Their Messengers said: "Can there be any doubt
about Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth? He invites
you that He may forgive you your sins and grant you respite till an
appointed term." They replied: "You are only human beings like us.
You seek to prevent us from serving those whom our forefathers
have been serving all along. If that is so, produce a clear proof for it."
Their Messengers told them: "Indeed we are only human beings like
yourselves, but Allah bestows His favour on those of His servants
whom He wills. It does not lie in our power to produce any proof
except by the permission of Allah. It is in Allah that the believers
should put their trust .And why should we not put our trust in Allah
when it is indeed He Who has guided us to the ways of our life? We
shall surely continue to remain steadfast in face of your persecution.
All those who have to put trust, should put their trust only in Allah."

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Those who rejected Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) saying

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When they are asked: 'Come to what Allah has revealed, and come
to the Messenger', they reply: 'The way of our forefathers suffices
us.' (Will they continue to follow their forefathers) even though their
forefathers might have known nothing, and might have been on the
wrong way?

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When Our Clear Signs are rehearsed to them they say: "This is a
person who wants to turn you away from the deities whom your
ancestors worshipped." They say: "This is nothing but an invented
falsehood." And when the Truth came to the unbelievers they
declared: "This is nothing but plain magic, "whereas We gave them
no Books that they could study nor sent to them any warner before
you. Those who went before them also denounced (Allah's
Messengers) as liars. They have not attained even a tenth of what
We had given them. But when they rejected My Messengers, calling
them liars, how terrible was My chastisement!
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Our duties towards Allah's are Prior to those

towards our Parents.
Do not worship any but Allah and Be good to your parents.

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Do not set up any other god with Allah lest you are rendered
humiliated and helpless. Your Lord has decreed: (i) Do not
worship any but Him; (ii) Be good to your parents; and if both or
any one of them attain old age with you, do not say to them
even "fie" neither chide them, but speak to them with respect,
and be humble and tender to them and say: "Lord, show mercy
to them as they nurtured me when I was small."

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Say to them (O Muhammad!): 'Come, let me recite what your

Lord has laid down to you: that you associate nothing with Him;
and do good to your parents.

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But if your parents exert pressure on you to associate any

partner with Me that you do not know (to be My associate),
do not obey them.

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We enjoined upon man to be dutiful to his parents. His mother bore him
in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning lasted two years. (We,
therefore, enjoined upon him): "Give thanks to Me and to your parents.
To Me is your ultimate return. But if they press you to associate others
with Me, those regarding whom you have no knowledge (that they are
My associates), do not obey them. And yet treat them well in this world,
and follow the way of him who turns to Me in devotion. Eventually it is
to Me that all of you shall return, and I shall then tell you all that you
did."

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We have enjoined upon man kindness to his parents, but if they exert
pressure on you to associate any partner with Me that you do not know
(to be My associate), do not obey them. To Me is your return, and I shall
let you know all that you have done.

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The Cosequences of Obeying Forefathers who are

disobedient to Allah and are on the wrong way.

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[O Prophet!] Have no doubt about what they worship. For they

worship what their fathers worshipped before. And (yet) We shall
grant them their due portion in full, diminishing of it nothing.

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Is this a better hospitality or the tree of al-Zaqqum? We have made this

tree a trial for the wrong-doers. It is a tree that grows in the nethermost
part of Hell. Its spathes are like the heads of satans. (The people of Hell)
will surely eat of it, filling their bellies with it. Then on top of it they will
have a brew of boiling water. Then their return will be to the same
blazing Hell. These are the ones who found their fathers steeped in error,
and they ran in their footsteps. Before them a multitude of people of
olden times had erred, and We had sent among them Messengers to
warn them. Observe, then, what was the end of those that had been
warned, except for the chosen servants of Allah?

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