Ibrahim (Abraham)

According to Islamic scriptures, 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. Unlike Islam, neither Judaism nor Christianity teach that 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.

Both the Hajj ritual, one of Islam's Five Pillars, and the Eid al-Adha festival are described by Islamic scriptures as commemorating events from Ibrahim's life.

Historicity

There is no archaeological or historical evidence in support of the Islamic narrative of Ibrahim's life, and it is especially difficult to maintain that he ever set foot in Mecca (let alone built the Kaaba). The oldest stories about Abraham (found in the Torah), however, place Isaac on the sacrificial altar, and not Ishmael, as Islamic scriptures claim.

The Egyptian Professor and foremost authority on Arabic literature, Dr. Taha Husayn, has said regarding the historically problematic, Islamic narrative of Ibrahim's life, "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)

References