How Ibrahim broke the Idols

Then Ibrahim swore an oath, which some of his people heard, to plot against their idols, i.e., to break them and destroy them after they had gone away and turned their backs, when they went out to their festival. They had a festival which they would go out to celebrate. Abu Ishaq reported from Abu Al-Ahwas from `Abdullah Ibn Mas`ud, "When the people of Ibrahim went out to celebrate their festival, they passed by him and said, `O Ibrahim, are you not coming out with us' He said, `I am sick.' " It was only the day before that he had said,

وَتَاللَّهِ لأَكِيدَنَّ أَصْنَـمَكُمْ بَعْدَ أَن تُوَلُّواْ مُدْبِرِينَ

فَجَعَلَهُمْ جُذَاذًا (21:58) The word جُذَاذً is the plural for جُذَ. which means fragment or piece. Thus its meaning is that Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) broke the idols into small pieces.

إِلَّا كَبِيرً‌ا لَّهُمْ (Save the big one of them - 21:58) That is, only the biggest idol was left intact and all the rest were broken. It is possible that the one which was left unbroken was either bigger in size or higher in esteem with the unbelievers.