48 Preface وَأَعتَزِلُكُم وَما تَدعونَ مِن دونِ اللَّهِ وَأَدعو رَبّي عَسىٰ أَلّا أَكونَ بِدُعاءِ رَبّي شَقِيًّاYusuf Ali“And I will turn away from you (all) and from those whom ye invoke besides God. I will call on my Lord: perhaps, by my prayer to my Lord, I shall be not unblest.”1Abraham left his father and the home of his fathers (Ur of the Chaldees) and never returned. He left because he was turned out, and because it was not possible for him to make any compromise with what was false in religion. In return for abuse, he spoke gentle words. And he expressed his fervent hope that at least he (Abraham) would have God’s blessing in reply to his prayers. Here was a prefigurement of another Hijrat many centuries later! In both cases the prayer was abundantly fulfilled.