The Call of the Quran
1. Divine Planning
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detaching them from the sphere of polytheistic
influence, so that they would find it easier to accept
the message of monotheism. Then people so
conditioned were to be used, as per the divine plan,
to encounter and rout out the forces of polytheism
in order to change the course of history.
Accordingly, Abraham was commanded to leave
populated areas like Iraq, Egypt, Syria and Palestine
for the desert land of ancient Makkah and settle his
wife and little child Isma’il there. Being an
uncultivable valley, this area was totally devoid of
human population, hence completely free from
ancient polytheistic culture. This is what is meant
by Abraham’s prayer: “Lord, I have settled some of
my offspring in a barren valley near Your Sacred
House, so that they may observe the prayer” (14:37).
That is to say, Abraham consciously chose a place
which was beyond the influence of polytheism, so
that there might arise a generation, nurtured in an
environment free from polytheistic influences, who
would become true worshippers of the one God.
The effect of such detachment from a cultural
continuity is illustrated by an example from the life
