Abraham was born in UR of the Chal-dees, a city of ancient Sumer in the South of Babylonia kingdom. The capital of the kingdom was the celebrated ancient city called, BABYLON on the Euphrates river bank about 55 miles South of Baghdad. The city first assumed great importance under HAMURÄBI (C.1728ِ1686 B.C.)who was the greatest king of the first dynasty of Babylon who made it the capital of his Empire.
Babylon was famous for such structures as the HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. NEBUCHADNEZAR, during whose reign the gardens were rebuilt, is prominent in the Bible because of his conquest of JUDAH, and his deportation of the Jews. The history of Babylonia starts from before 2000 B.C. upto its conquest by Persian king CYRUS in 539 B.C. BABYLON remaind a great city under Persian rule. Alexander the great died there. Its decline was rapid in the SELUCIDE period and soon it became only a series of ruins never to rebuilt.
When ABRAHAM was born, NIMRUD the son of KANAAN; a cruel tyrant was the dictator of Babylonia, who had established a godship among his people deifying, himself as the greatest of the gods!
The chaldean's main religion was idolatry. Besides the image of their dictator king; they worshipped many other idols, large or small, some being the symbols of the celestial bodies like the sun, moon, and the brighter stars. Nimrud, very seriously supported the idols and idolatry for being the best means of holding people in ignorance and unawareness! In their society, the least abuse or despise of an idol was greatest of sins who would be condemned to death without any trial by the priests.
The Chaldeans, also had some knowledge of the stars and the celestial bodies, and therefore the worship of sun, moon and some of the stars was one of the prevailing forms of religion there.
Astronomers and diviners had predicted of the advent of a wonderful apostle who would come to defeat Nimrud in all respects. So the tyrant did his best to prevent the child birth, or if he born, to slay him; but he failed. The case of ABRAHAM'S birth was like that of Moses to some extent. Abraham was grown and nourished in a cave for the fear of Nimrud according to some Islamic narrations. When he was at the beginning of his teenages, he came out of his hiding place.
The boy's first challenge was against the astronomers superstitious ideals and creed, who thought the celestial bodies like jupiter and venus to be the Lord of heaven or the god or godess of beauty and love and other false ideas.
In the dark of the night ABRAHAM stared at the bright star which his people had taken it for a god, and said:ِ ``Is this my Lord, the One who has created me? But a little while elapsed when the star disappeared!'' Abraham said:ِ ``I can't love something that dies away.'' He did the same thing to the moon which was brighter than the star, and came to the same conclusion. Next day he gazed at the glory of the sun rise, and said:ِ ``Is this my Lord? This is greater than the stars and the moon, which my people have taken for god. But very soon he saw the sunset!'' He then exclaimed:ِ``My people! I am quit of your guilt of ascribing partners to Allah. What a folly to worship the creatures, when it is possible to worship their creator? Let us then leave aside all these follies, and get rid of so much superstitions, and grasp our Lord who is the only one true God, without whose will nothing can happen.''
Abraham's second conflict was with idols and idolaters. His father or his uncle was an idol maker and idol seller, and Abraham began his combat with idolatry in his own house! He said to his father:ِ ``Do you really take these idols for gods? I see you and your people in a manifest error. What are these inanimate carved stones, before which you bow down!?'' They were struck with astonishment to hear that from the youth whom they expected to support! So they said to him:ِ
``O, ABRAHAM! Are you jesting, or you are serious in your assertion?'' In answer to his father he said:ِ ``Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth who has created All. I sincerely testify that as a witness.'' He then decided to show them practically, that their gods were powerless, and could do nothing of harm or benefit. Soon after he boldly did something curious to make the Chaldeans ashamed of worshipping some dead pieces of stones carved to an idol:
It was a general holiday in which according to their customs everybody had to go out of the town to enjoy the beauties of nature. In that very day in which the town was empty of people and population, ABRAHAM took an axe and went to the main temple. After taunting the idols with scornful critical remarks, he raised up his axe and smashed all the idols except the biggest of them on whose shoulder he fixed the axe! It seemed as if a fight had taken place among the idols!
When reports of the incident revealed and spread out in the town, there was a vehement out burst of excitement, anger, and anxiety! Some of the laymen were afraid that the wrath of the gods could destroy them all! The general topic of conversations was; he who has done this to our gods, he is a real oppressor. Then some people informed the authorities that; We heard a youth speak against our gods. He is called ABRAHAM. He is the son of AZAR, the famous idol maker.
