Ibrahim (Abraham)

According to Islam, Ibrāhīm (إبراهيم‎, Abraham) was a patriarch of both the Jews and the Arabs, and an ancient prophet of "pure" monotheism also known as a Hanif. Neither the Jews nor the Christians believe Abraham was a prophet.

Although it is not specified in the Qur'an or Hadith, most Muslims believe it was his son Ishmael who he attempted to sacrifice to Allah. Quran 2:125-127 places the two of them in Arabia where they rebuilt the Ka'aba.

There is no archaeological or historical evidence to prove these Islamic claims. The oldest stories about Abraham (found in the Torah) place Isaac on the sacrificial altar, not Ishmael. Also there is no reason to believe that Abraham and Ishmael ever set foot in Mecca let alone rebuilt the Ka'aba.

The Egyptian Professor and foremost authority on Arabic literature, Dr. Taha Husayn, has said "The case for this episode is very obvious because it is of recent date and came into vogue just before the rise of Islam. Islam exploited it for religious reasons."^[1]

See Also

• Pagan Origins of Islam
• Parallelism: The Story of Abraham and the Idols

External Links

• Abraham (Comparative Index to Islam) - Answering Islam

References