His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "So they returned to themselves and said, 'Indeed, you are the wrongdoers.'" "Then they were overturned on their heads; you certainly knew what these were saying." "He said, 'Do you worship, besides Allah, that which does not benefit you at all and does not harm you?" "Woe to you and to what you worship besides Allah! Do you not understand?" "They said, 'Burn him and support your gods if you are to act.'" "We said, 'O fire, be coolness and safety upon Ibrahim.'" "And they intended against him a plan, but We made them the most debased." The meaning: It became clear to them what Ibrahim, peace be upon him, said, that the idols which they had prepared for worship should be asked and inquired about. They said, 'Indeed, you are the wrongdoers' in stopping this man from this act while you have those whom you can ask. Then they persisted in their misguidance and realized by thought and the obviousness of reason that the idols do not speak. This led them until they spoke about him to the point of establishing the proof against them. And His saying: "They were overturned on their heads" is a metaphor for one who falls into his error as if he is turned upside down on his head. It is the ugliest state for a person, and likewise this is in the worst state of consideration. They said to Ibrahim, peace be upon him, when they were turned upside down in their confusion: "You certainly knew what these were saying," meaning: what is wrong with you calling to that? Ibrahim, peace be upon him, found at this statement a place for proof and confronted them, reproaching them for worshiping idols that do not benefit or harm by themselves. Then he belittled their status and scorned it in his saying: "Woe to you." Ibn Kathir read: "Woe to you" with a fatḥa, while Abu Amr, Hamzah, Al-Kisai, and Asim - in the narration of Abu Bakr - read: "Woe to you" with a kasra and left the tanween in both. Nafi and Hafs from Asim read: "Woe to you" with a kasra and tanween. And "Woe" is a term said in the presence of things that are detestable, and that is borrowed for the disliked meanings like this and others. When Ibrahim, peace be upon him, overcame them in terms of reasoning and proof, they lowered their heads and were seized by a pride in sin and turned to the path of oppression and dominance, saying: "Burn him." It has been narrated that the one who said this was a man from the Kurds from the Bedouins of Persia, and Allah caused the earth to swallow him, and he is sinking in it until the Day of Resurrection. And His saying, exalted is He: "If you are to act" is an incitement, as you say: 'Be determined on such and such if you are determined.'

It is narrated that when their opinion gathered on burning him, Nimrod the king imprisoned him. He ordered the collection of firewood, and it was gathered over a period of months. The sick person would make a vow upon himself that if he recovered, he would gather such and such a bundle until a mountain of firewood was collected - from what the people donated and what was brought to the king from the people of the villages - like a mountain of firewood. Then a fire was lit. When they intended to throw Ibrahim, peace be upon him, into it, they could not get close to him. Then Iblis came to them in the form of an old man and said to them: I will make for you a device to throw him into the fire. He taught them the craft of the catapult. Then Ibrahim, peace be upon him, was brought out, tied up, and placed in the basket of the catapult and was thrown into the fire. It was said to the fire: "Be cool and safe upon Ibrahim." Only the rope that he was tied with burned. It is narrated that Jibril, peace be upon him, came to him while he was in the air and said to him: Do you have a need? It is narrated that he said: As for you, no. It is narrated that he said to him: I am a friend, and I only seek my need from my friend, not from His messenger. Allah, glorified and exalted is He, said: O Ibrahim, you have cut off the intermediary between Me and you; I will cut it off between Me and the fire. O fire, be cool and safe. It is narrated that when the fire was addressed, every fire on earth extinguished. It is narrated that the raven was carrying the firewood to the fire of Ibrahim, peace be upon him. It is narrated that the lizard was blowing on him to ignite it, and likewise the mule. It is narrated that the ant, the swallow, and the frog were carrying water to extinguish the fire. Allah preserved this protection and unleashed upon that other calamities and hands. Some scholars said in what has been narrated: If Allah, glorified and exalted is He, had not said: "And safe," Ibrahim would have perished from the cold of the fire.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

Many people have elaborated on the story of the burning of Ibrahim, peace be upon him, and they mentioned the duration of his stay in the fire and the form of his remaining in it, which I have seen summarized due to its lack of authenticity. The authentic account of that is that he was thrown into the fire, and Allah, glorified and exalted is He, made it cool and safe for him, so he emerged from it safe. It was the greatest miracle. It is narrated that they said: It is a bewitched fire that does not burn. They threw an old man from among them into it, and he burned. It is narrated that Ibrahim, peace be upon him, had a spread and food in that fire, all of it from Paradise. It is narrated that the branches blossomed and bore fruit for him there, whose roots were.

And His saying: "And safe" means: and safety. Some of them said: It is a greeting from Allah, glorified and exalted is He, to Ibrahim, peace be upon him.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And this is weak; the correct view is that it should be raised.

'And the 'kayd' (plot) is what they intended by burning him. They were in loss due to their disbelief and the dominance of it over them, and the burning of the sheikh with whom they experimented with fire. It has been narrated that the king built a structure and looked down from it at the fire and saw Ibrahim, peace be upon him, with some people. He was astonished and asked: 'Was anyone thrown in with him?' It was said to him: 'No.' Then he called out to him and said: 'Who are those?' He said: 'They are the angels of my Lord.' (p-181) The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 'And what is narrated in this is much and not authentic.'