Is There A Contradiction between These Two Verses: "...do not say to them "Fie on you!"..." (17:23) "Fie on you!..." (21:67)?

Published in February 11, 2018

Translated by: Ahmed Fathy

Introduction:

 We have received this good question, in English, via email from a Quranist lady: (... The word (Fie!) is mentioned in the Quran twice ... in 17:23 when God commands one never to speak disrespectfully to one's parents and in 21:67 when Abraham uttered this word to his father and other people around him ... Is there a contradiction between the two verses 17:23 and 21:67? Could you please explain this to me? ... Thank you ...).

OUR REPLY:

Firstly: Quranic stories are never the sources of Quranic sharia legislations:

1- Quranic sharia legislations are found in verses that contain commands and prohibitions, as within the following context: "Do not set up another god with Allah, lest you become condemned and damned. Your Lord has commanded that you worship none but Him, and that you be good to your parents. If either of them or both of them reach old age with you, do not say to them "Fie on you!", nor scold them, but say to them kind words. And lower to them the wing of humility, out of mercy, and say, "My Lord, have mercy on them, as they raised me when I was a child." Your Lord knows best what is in your minds. If you are righteous - He is Forgiving to the obedient. And give the relative his rights, and the poor, and the wayfarer, and do not squander wastefully. The extravagant are brethren of the devils, and the Devil is ever disbelieving in his Lord. But if you turn away from them, seeking mercy from your Lord which you hope for, then say to them words of comfort. And do not keep your hand tied to your neck, nor spread it out fully, lest you end up liable and regretful. Your Lord expands the provision for whomever He wills, and restricts it. He is fully Informed, Observant of His servants. And do not kill your children for fear of poverty. We provide for them, and for you. Killing them is a grave sin. And do not come near adultery. It is immoral, and an evil way. And do not kill the soul which God has made sacred, except in the course of justice. If someone is killed unjustly, We have given his next of kin certain authority. But he should not be excessive in killing, for he will be supported. And do not go near the orphan's property, except with the best of intentions, until he has reached his maturity. And honor your pledge, because the pledge involves responsibility. And give full measure when you measure, and weigh with accurate scales. That is fair, and the best determination. And do not occupy yourself with what you have no knowledge of. The hearing, and the sight, and the brains-all these will be questioned. And do not walk proudly on earth. You can neither pierce the earth, nor can you match the mountains in height." (17:22-37).

2- The question we have received is concerning the commands coming in this context: "Your Lord has commanded that you worship none but Him, and that you be good to your parents. If either of them or both of them reach old age with you, do not say to them "Fie on you!", nor scold them, but say to them kind words. And lower to them the wing of humility, out of mercy, and say, "My Lord, have mercy on them, as they raised me when I was a child."" (17:23-24).

3- Quranic stories are never the sources of Quranic sharia legislations at all; we have written extensively before about this fact.

4- Among the Quranic stories is this one about Abraham who smashed pagan idols and deified statues of his people and rebuked them for their polytheism: "We gave Abraham his guidance formerly, and We knew him well. When he said to his father and his people, "What are these statues to which you are devoted?" They said, "We found our parents worshiping them." He said, "You and your parents are in evident error." They said, "Are you telling us the truth, or are you just playing?" He said, "Your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, the One who created them, and I bear witness to that. "By God, I will have a plan for your statues after you have gone away." So he reduced them into pieces, except for their biggest, that they may return to it. They said, "Who did this to our gods? He is certainly one of the unjust ones." They said, "We heard a youth mentioning them. He is called Abraham." They said, "Bring him before the eyes of the people, so that they may witness." They said, "Are you the one who did this to our gods, O Abraham?" He said, "But it was this biggest of them that did it. Ask them, if they can speak."Then they turned to one another, and said, "You yourselves are the unjust ones." But they reverted to their old ideas: "You certainly know that these do not speak." He said, "Do you worship, instead of God, what can neither benefit you in anything, nor harm you? Fie on you! And fie on what you worship alongside with God. Do you not understand?" They said, "Burn him and support your gods, if you are going to act." We said, "O fire, be coolness and safety upon Abraham." They planned to harm him, but We made them the worst losers." (21:51-70).

5- This Quranic story in the verses 21:51-70 with its stances, deeds, and dialogue (and, in fact, this applies to all Quranic stories) is never part of Quranic sharia laws and legislations. The context of the word (Fie!) in this Quranic story is as follows: "He said, "Do you worship, instead of God, what can neither benefit you in anything, nor harm you? Fie on you! And fie on what you worship alongside with God. Do you not understand?"" (21:66-67).

6- We infer the following points from the context of 21:51-70 within this Quranic story:

6/1: As per this verse: "They said, "We heard a youth mentioning them. He is called Abraham."" (21:60), we conclude that Abraham was an unknown youth when he smashed the pagan idols/statues; when his people returned from their pagan festival, they were horrified to see their gods broken in pieces.

6/2: At the time, Abraham's father was a strong man and never in his old age; thus, the verse "...If either of them or both of them reach old age with you, do not say to them "Fie on you!", nor scold them, but say to them kind words." (17:23) does NOT apply to Abraham's father who was not old or senile when Abraham smashed the statues they worshiped.

6/3: Besides, Abraham did not utter the word (Fie!) to his father in private or particularly to him; rather, he uttered it to all his polytheistic people when they held a public trial for him. 

Secondly: Abraham was lenient with his polytheistic, hard-hearted father: 

1- Abraham was never foul-mouthed or harsh with his polytheistic father; rather, he was lenient with him. God describes Abraham here: "Abraham was gentle, kind, penitent." (11:75).

2- This is manifested when Abraham adhered to the Truth and stood against his father and his people; Abraham insisted on preaching the Truth and he bore patiently with persecution inflicted on him (his polytheistic people threw him into a bonfire, but God has saved him), and his people schemed against him as we infer from these verses: "They said, "Burn him and support your gods, if you are going to act." We said, "O fire, be coolness and safety upon Abraham." They planned to harm him, but We made them the worst losers." (21:68-70). For the sake of God and of the monotheistic faith, Abraham immigrated from his birthplace, leaving his polytheistic father and people, and he never stopped praying for his father so that he might be guided, but eventually, when Abraham realized that his father is an enemy of the Lord God, he disowned him.  

3- We know how Abraham was lenient, gentle, and polite when he talked to his father from these verses: "And mention in the Book Abraham. He was a man of truth, a prophet. He said to his father, "O my father, why do you worship what can neither hear, nor see, nor benefit you in any way? O my father, there has come to me knowledge that never came to you. So follow me, and I will guide you along a Straight Path. O my father, do not worship the Devil. The Devil is disobedient to the Dominant Lord. O my father, I fear that a torment from the Dominant Lord will afflict you, and you become an ally of the Devil."" (19:41-45). We notice here how Abraham loved his father and feared for him; yet, his hard-hearted father threatened him with being stoned and expelled: "He said, "Are you renouncing my gods, O Abraham? If you do not desist, I will stone you. So leave me alone for a while."" (19:46). Abraham was kind-hearted and uttered the word of peace and moved away from his father, while promising to implore God to forgive his father: "He said, "Peace be upon you. I will ask my Lord to forgive you; He has been Kind to me. And I will withdraw from you, and from what you pray to instead of God. And I will pray to my Lord, and I hope I will not be disappointed in my prayer to my Lord."" (19:47-48). Thus, the polytheistic people of Abraham – like the Muhammadans, past and present – worshiped God and imaginary, fabricated deities alongside with Him, and they insisted to adhere to such gods. In contrast, Abraham adhered to monotheism as he worshiped only God; the Quranists follow this sincere monotheism of Abraham, even if the Muhammadans hate them for it!  

4- The cruel, harsh father of Abraham lived a long life; he was alive when Abraham grew old and begot Ishmael and Isaac. Proof: Abraham, even after he became a father of two sons, spent many years praying to the Lord God to guide and pardon his father and mother: ""Praise be to God, Who has given me, in my old age, Ishmael and Isaac. My Lord is the Hearer of Prayers." "My Lord, make me one who performs the prayer, and from my offspring. Our Lord, accept my supplication." "Our Lord, forgive me, and my parents, and the believers, on the Day the Judgment takes place."" (14:39-41). 

5- As per the promise made by Abraham, he never ceased to pray for his harsh, hard-hearted father and to implore God to guide and forgive him, until God has informed him that his polytheistic father is an enemy of Him; Abraham disowned his father at once: "Abraham asked forgiveness for his father only because of a promise he had made to him. But when it became clear to him that he was an enemy of God, he disowned him. Abraham was kind and clement." (9:114).

6- In the first place, Abraham disowned all the imaginary, fabricated gods of his father and his people – the Muhammadans have committed the same sin of polytheism as they have been worshiping many deities alongside with Allah. Abraham adhered to sincere monotheism; God says the following about him: "When Abraham said to his father and his people, "I am innocent of what you worship. Except for He who created me, for He will guide me."" (43:26-27). Thus, Abraham did not disown his people; rather, he disowned their fabricated deities.

7- Later on, because of the persecution inflicted on him by his people, Abraham and monotheistic believers with him disowned their people, and God has made them examples to be followed by Muhammad and the early believers with him: "You have had an excellent example in Abraham and those with him; when they said to their people, "We are quit of you, and what you worship apart from God. We denounce you. Enmity and hatred has surfaced between us and you, forever, until you believe in God alone." Except for the words of Abraham to his father, "I will ask forgiveness for you, though I have no power from God to do anything for you." "Our Lord, in You we trust, and to You we repent, and to You is the ultimate resort." (60:4). Thus, even during his old-age, Abraham kept his promise to his father – when this polytheistic father was still alive – by imploring God to forgive and guide him. Abraham disowned his father when God told him that this father is an enemy of the Lord God.

Lastly:

1- Abraham is described here: "And mention in the Book Abraham. He was a man of truth, a prophet." (19:41). The Muhammadans disbelieve in this verse about how truthful Abraham was all his life, because they adhere instead to the lies/falsehoods of Al-Bokhary as he mentions in his book of false hadiths that Abraham told three lies! Al-Bokhary was an enemy of the Lord God and he intentionally contradicted the Quran in his attempts to undermine God's Word.

2- Quran-believing persons must disbelieve in Al-Bokhary book and all Sunnite books of Taghut and all types of Taghut deified and sanctified by those who stick to the earthly, man-made, fabricated religions. One cannot combine simultaneously in one's heart/soul the belief in God and in His Word; i.e., the Quran, and the belief in Taghut.