Enter Abraham…
Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob
& Joseph
Abraham’s Story
• Gazes at the sky and grasps truth of God
• Confronts father Azar: rejects idols
– “’What are these idols that you worship?’ They
said, ‘We found our fathers worshiping them.’
He said, ‘Indeed you and your forefathers
have clearly gone astray.’” (21:51-4)
– Destroys all idols except the biggest, he
blames it so they will admit that idols cannot
speak
– Abraham is saved from the fire.
• Promise of a son…and destruction
Abraham
• Quran describes his as “the one who fulfilled”:
– He “fulfilled” his duties to God (2:124), like in Genesis he founds
sacred shrines… this time in Mecca
• He is made “a leader (imam)” for mankind: his legacy is
David, Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Zachariah,
John, Jesus, Elijah, Ishmael, Elisha, Jonah, Lot,
“everyone of them we favored about the worlds.” (6:86)
• Established the ‘House’ of God for pilgrimage (and purify
it) with his son
• He prays that God make this land safe and prosperous
for the believers (Mecca as the ‘sacred land’)
• Abraham and Ishmael invoke God to make them
“Muslims” to him, and to raise from their descendents a
“Muslim nation” (2:128)
Warning to the People of
the Book
• God tells Abraham “submit (aslim)” and he
submits, saying “I’ve submitted to the Lord of all
the worlds”, and then Abraham and Jacob tell
their descendents “not to die except as muslims.”
(2:132)
• Remember the Audience!: Jacob’s children
promise him to worship the one God of
Abraham, but “Now those people have passed
away”… when people urge you to be Christians
or Jews say that you follow the God of Abraham
Sacrifice
• “And he said: ‘Lo! I am going unto my Lord who will guide me.
My Lord, grant me of the righteous.’ So We gave him tidings of a
noble son. And when the son was old enough to strive with him,
he said, ‘O my dear son, I have seen in a dream that I sacrifice
thee. So what thinkest thou?’ He said, ‘O my father, do that
which thou are commanded, God willing you shall find me one of
the patient (sabirin).’ Then, when they had both surrendered to
God and he had flung him down upon his face, We called unto
him, ‘O Abraham! Thou hast already fulfilled the village. Lo, thus
do we reward the good. Lo, verily that was a clear test (al-bala’
al-mubin). Then We ransomed him with a tremendous victim.
And We left for him among the later folk: peace unto Abraham!”
(37:99-110).. And We gave him Isaac…
• Who was almost sacrificed?:
– the Quran never mentions who the son was
– early Muslim exegetes thought the son was Isaac (attributed to Ibn
Umar and others), after the 10th century the prevailing opinion was
that it was Ishmael (Ibn Abbas).
• Why? One answer is that Abraham had been given certainty of
God…:
Ismail vs. Isaac in the Quran
• Abraham thanks God for bestowing Isaac and
Ismail on him in his old age as he settles his
descendents in a “uncultivated valley”
• Isaac (Ishaq):
– mentioned 17 times (mostly in lists of other prophets)
– promised to Abraham and his wife (11:71)
• Ishmael (Isma’il):
– mentioned 12 times, once as “truthful of promise
(sadiq al-wa’d)”
– he is mentioned with Abraham raising the foundation
of the Kaba
The Best of Stories - Joseph
• Dream and the Envy of brothers
• Advances of Zulaykha: Joseph’s beauty
• ‘Interpretation of things’:
– Jacob is able to interpret dreams because his Lord
taught him… “this is the bounty of God unto us and
unto mankind, but most men give not thanks.”  true
faith has tangible fruit
– Vs. falseness: “O my fellow prisoners, are many lords
better or the one God, the almighty? Those whom you
worship beside Him are but names you have named,
you and your fathers. God has revealed no sanction
for them.”
Morals
• Sabr (patience) and steadfast faith: Jacob
knows what the brothers know not… a
dream fulfilled
• Faith and Gratitude: “O my Lord, thou
hast given me sovereignty and taught me
the interpretation of events – Creator of
the heavens and the earth! Thou art my
Protecting Friend in this world and the
hereafter: make me die submissive unto
thee, and join me among the righteous!”
(12:101)
Joseph and Muhammad
“This is the tidings of the Unseen with
which we inspire thee. Thou wast not
present with them when they fixed their
plans and schemed. And thou thou tryest
much, most men will not believe. Thou
asketh them no fee for it. It is naught else
but a reminder unto thy people. How
many a sign is there in the heavens and in
the earth, which they pass by with face
averted. And most of them believe not in
God without attributing partners to Him.”
“And We sent not messengers before thee except
men that We inspired from amongst their folk of
the townships. Have they not traveled in the
land and seen the nature of the consequences of
those before them? And verily the best abode is
the Hereafter, for those who ward off evil – Have
you then no sense? Till, when the messengers
despaired and thought that they were denied,
then came unto them Our help, and whom We
willed was saved. And Our wrath cannot be
warded off from the guilty. In this story verily
there is a lesson for men of understanding. It is
no invented story, but a confirmation of the
scripture, and a detailed explanation of
everything and a guidance and mercy unto those
who believe.” (12 final verses)
Compared to Bible
• Omissions: ex. Benjamin as brother, “a
brother of yours from your father”
• Details: in the Quran, he is found and sold
“for a few silver coins”, in Genesis the
brothers sell him for 20 silver coins
• Jacob and the Dream: here Jacob knows
the meaning and berates Joseph
• Cause of Joseph’s Imprisonment: king
does not believe his wife
• Jacob’s Reaction: despair vs. Sabr