83وَتِلكَ حُجَّتُنا آتَيناها إِبراهيمَ عَلىٰ قَومِهِ ۚ نَرفَعُ دَرَجاتٍ مَن نَشاءُ ۗ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ حَكيمٌ عَليمٌMuhammad AsadAnd this was Our argument1 which We vouchsafed unto Abraham against his people: [for] We do raise by degrees whom We will.2 Verily, thy Sustainer is wise, all-knowing.The description of Abraham's reasoning as God's own argument implies that it was divinely inspired, and is therefore valid for the followers of the Qur'an as well.This is evidently an allusion to Abraham's gradual grasp of the truth, symbolized by his intuitive progress from an adoration of celestial bodies - stars, moon and sun - to a full realization of God's transcendental, all-embracing existence. Alternatively, the expression "by degrees" may be taken to mean "by many degrees", signifying the great spiritual dignity to which this forerunner of a long line of prophets was ultimately raised (see 4:125).