Nimrud
Definition
Nimrud — Nimrod — is the tyrant king who claimed divinity and whose encounter with Ibrahim produced one of the Quran's most intellectually charged confrontations. When Ibrahim challenged him with 'My Lord gives life and causes death,' Nimrod claimed he could do the same — producing a condemned prisoner to release and an innocent one to execute. Ibrahim's response cut through the false equivalence: 'Allah brings the sun from the east; bring it from the west.' Nimrod was left speechless. Ibn Kathir uses this exchange to illustrate a principle of prophetic argumentation: when one line of argument is twisted, the prophet shifts to an unanswerable ground. The political tyrant who claims divine authority has no response to the most ordinary miracle in the sky.
As understood in the classical tradition of Ibn Kathir and the scholars of his school.
How the scholars use Nimrud.
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"brought. He realized this was a provision from Allah. Zayd ibn Aslam narrated that Allah sent an angel to Nimrod, commanding him to believe in Allah, but he refused three times. Nimrod then challenged, Gather your forces, and I will gather mine. At sunrise, Nimrod assembled his army, but Allah sent a swarm of mosquitoes that obscured the sun. These mosquitoes consumed the flesh and blood of the people, leaving only bones. One mosquito entered Nimrod's nostril, tormenting him for four hundred years, until Allah destroyed him. The migration of the prophet Abraham, peace be upon him, to the lands of the Levant and his settlement in the Holy Land. Allah said,"
— Ibn Kathir, Volume 1 — From Creation to Mūsā
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"Thus, the disbeliever was confounded. And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people. Scholars and commentators have identified this king as Nimrod, the king of Babylon. Some say he was Nimrod bin Canaan, while others say he was Nimrod bin Fali. It is said that he was one of the four kings who ruled the world, two of whom were believers, Dulqarnain and Solomon, and two were disbelievers, Nimrod and Nebuchadnezzar."
— Ibn Kathir, The Story of Ibrahim · playable in the free preview
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"It is said that he was one of the four kings who ruled the world, two of whom were believers, Dulqarnain and Solomon, and two were disbelievers, Nimrod and Nebuchadnezzar. This king, identified by scholars as Nimrod, was the ruler of Babylon. He was known for his arrogance and rebellion, claiming divine status. When Ibrahim called him to worship Allah alone, Nimrod's ignorance and pride led him to deny the creator."
— Ibn Kathir, The Story of Ibrahim · playable in the free preview
Appears in
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