Surah 6:78
"When he saw the sun rising, he said, ‘This is my Lord – this is greater!’ But when it set, he said, ‘My people! Surely I am free of what you associate."
Abraham's Monotheism
Supporting Verses
Surah 6:76 → "When night descended on him, he saw a star. He said, ‘This is my Lord.’ But when it set, he said, ‘I do not love what vanishes.’"
Surah 6:77 → "When he saw the moon rising, he said, ‘This is my Lord.’ But when it set, he said, ‘Surely if my Lord does not guide me, I shall indeed be one of the people who go astray.’"
Opposing Verses
Surah 2:135 → "They say, ‘Be Jews or Christians, (and then) you will be (rightly) guided.’ Say: ‘No! The creed of Abraham the Ḥanīf. He was not one of the idolaters.’"
Surah 3:67 → "Abraham was not a Jew, nor a Christian, but he was a Ḥanīf, a Muslim. He was not one of the idolaters."
This topic explores whether the Quran states that Abraham was always a monotheist or if he was ever an idolater. Some verses state that he was never an idolater, while other verses describe him observing a star, the moon, and the sun, and calling each of them his Lord before turning away from them.