“Say, [O believers], ‘We have believed in Allah (The Creator) and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.’ “ (Quran 2:136)
Although Muslims don’t deny Prophet Isaac’s Prophecy – the prophecy of Isaac is one of the pillars of their faith- but the Promised Son for them was Prophet Ishmael (the father of Arabs), from whom Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) arose as the last Prophet.
Muslims don’t believe that the Old Testament and the New Testament are the word of God, but they believe that both have a valid source which is the Torah and the Gospel (Original God’s revelations to the Prophets Moses and Jesus Christ, peace be upon them).
Therefore, for Muslims some parts of Old Testament and the New Testament are from God and others no. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament suffered severe changes till the Prophecy of the coming Prophet Muhammad and the importance of the city of Makkah were distorted, and changed.
The following explanation can help many understand what that means.
God made a covenant with Prophet Abraham before both of his sons- Ishmael and Isaac – were born:
“On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham and said, ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.’” (Genesis 15:18)
All the descendants of Prophet Ishmael settled in Arabia, this area is located between the Nile and the Euphrates.
“His descendants (Ishmael) settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur,.. “ (Genesis 25:18)
Havila according to the Bible placed in southwest Arabia, while Shur is located on the north-eastern border of Egypt, and Ashur was the capital of the Old Assyrian Empire (Iraq today).
Therefore, the descendants of Ishmael settled this area extending south of the Hijaz (Arabia) and north, which includes the land of Paran (Makkah according to the Bible), which was inhabited by Ishmael.
Hagar is a legal wife to Prophet Abraham:
“So after Abraham had been living in Canaan ten years, Sara his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.” (Genesis 16:3)
Ismael is a legal son to Prophet Abraham:
Ishmael means ‘God hears.’ That God accepted the supplication of Abraham to give him a son. The name Ishmael was chosen by God. It was never mentioned in the Old Testament that Ishmael was an illegitimate son.
“The angel of the Lord also said to her: ‘You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery.’” (Genesis 16:11)
God promises to make from Ishmael a great nation and honors him:
“ And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. ” (Genesis 17:20)
The Promised Son:
“Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham’ ‘Here I am,’ he replied. Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.’” (Genesis 22:1-2)
A contradiction was found here; it is mentioned that ‘take your only son Isaac’. Ishmael was the only son of Prophet Abraham for fourteen years, till the birth of Prophet Isaac. When Isaac was born, Abraham had two sons. The name of Ishmael was changed to Isaac. But the word ‘only’ preserved by the mercy of God to show us the truth.
According to the biblical verse below Hagar and Ismael were sent a way because of Sara’s jealousy.
In Islam, this incident happened because of God’s plan, and it took place before the birth of Prophet Isaac. By reading the following biblical verses we can understand that the Islamic version of the story is more accurate.
“The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, ‘Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.’” (Genesis 21:8)
“Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put the child upon her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes.” (Genesis 21:14-15)
Abraham was 86 years old when Ishmael was born.
“Abraham was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.” (Genesis 16:16)
And he was one hundred years old when Isaac was born.
“Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.” (Genesis 21:5)
It is concluded that Ishmael was fourteen years old when Isaac was born. This is because as mentioned, the incident happened after Isaac was weaned, and their tradition was that the child is weaned about the age of three.
Therefore, when Hagar and Ishmael moved, Ishmael was a full grown teenager of about seventeen years old. A teenager can’t be lifted up and to be put under the bushes, according to biblical verse Ismael must have been a baby not a teenager. Therefore, according to Muslim’s point of view it is another contradiction in the Old Testament.
The covenant between God, Abraham, and his only son Ishmael was made when Ishmael was supposed to be sacrificed:
“And Abraham was ninety years old and nine when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. In the self-same day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.” (Genesis 17:24-27)
Abraham, Ishmael, and the men of Abraham’s family were circumcised, but Isaac was not born at that time. Isaac was born a year later, and he was circumcised at the age of eight.
“And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.” (Genesis 21:4-5)
So when the covenant was made (circumcision and sacrifice) Abraham was ninety-nine and Ishmael was thirteen. Isaac was born a year later, when Abraham was one hundred years old.
Abraham is a pure monotheist:
Prophet Abraham is the ancestor of Prophet Judah, Prophet Judah whom the Jews came from, is a descendent of Prophet Abraham, so Abraham cannot be a Jew simply because he is not a follower of Judah.
Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was one inclining toward truth, a Muslim [Monotheist]. And he was not of the polytheists. (Quran 3:67)
Prophet Judah taught his people the religion of Prophet Abraham and the religion of all the Prophets who came before him which is Pure Monotheism (believing in One God and worshipping Him alone). Which is The exact definition of the religion of Islam, the religion which started from Prophet Adam and ended with the coming of Prophet Muhammad by shifting the religious leadership to the Arabs and the direction of the prayer to Makkah.
The Valley of Baca was mentioned in the Bible
“How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young—a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They will still be praising You. Selah. Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the VALLEY OF BACA, they make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah O God, behold our shield, and look upon the face of Your anointed. For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than dwell in the tents of wickedness for the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalms 84: 1-11)
Some claim that the verses above refer to the expected Zion and present an argument for its existence. However, the descriptions are more applicable to Makkah as follows.
“And proclaim to the people the pilgrimage; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass -That they may witness benefits for themselves and mention the name of God on known days over what He has provided for them of [sacrificial] animals. So, eat of them and feed the miserable and poor. ” (Qur’an 22:27-28)
Makkah’s gates are open day and night
“And when We made the House (Ka’aba at Makkah) a visitation and a sanctuary for the people (saying) ‘Make the place where Abraham stood a place of prayer. ‘And We made a covenant with Abraham and Ishmael: ‘Purify My House for those who circumambulate around it, and those who cleave to it, to those who bow and prostrate'” (Qur’an 2:125)
In Makkah, violence, devastation, destruction and hunting is forbidden
“Indeed those who have disbelieved and prevent from the way of God and from this Sacred Mosque, which We have appointed for all mankind – its resident and the foreigner have the same rights in it; and whoever wrongfully intends injustice in it – We shall make him taste a painful punishment.” (Qur’an 22:25)
Makkah is where the pilgrims go from mountain to mountain (strength to strength)
In the above Biblical verses (Psalms 84: 11) we read ‘they go from strength to strength’. In the Hebrew text, the original word for strength that was used in this verse means a hill, mountain or a barrier. This seems to be a very clear description of one of the Muslim’s rituals in the holy city of Makkah during the Pilgrimage, as they go from Al Safa hill to Al Marwa hill. [1]
The verse starts with ‘Blessed is the man whose strength is in You. This seems to refer to the final Prophet Muhammad who came with the pure message of the monotheism.[2]
In addition, the Valley of Baca is clearly mentioned as a proper capitalized noun in the Biblical verse, therefore, it’s an existing place and not a metaphorical one as believed by others.
The Biblical verses describe a sacred place accommodating the courts of the Lord. In fact, all of these descriptions apply to the city of Makkah.
While Muslims believe that the city of Jerusalem is a Holy Place, they regard Makkah as the Holy Place prophesied in the Bible.
Moreover, the idea that the text tells about the past can be easily contested, as the expression of incidents in the form of the past is used in the language of the Bible, regardless of their point in history or future. “The ancients’ writers used the future tense to denote the present, the past without discrimination, and the past used to denote the future, Espinosa says: “This caused many similarities.”
It is very well known that the Temple in Jerusalem was established a long time after Prophet Abraham, while the Holy House in Makkah was there before Abraham. The Qur’an tells us that it was in fact the first House of worship appointed for humanity, built by Prophet Adam with the help of the angels. It was Adam who erected the foundations of this House, which was later rebuilt later by Prophet Abraham and Ishmael.
” Indeed, the first House [of worship] established for mankind was that at Makkah – blessed and a guidance for the worlds.” (Qur’an 3:96)
Ka’aba which has always existed in the accounts of history; was visited annually by people from the most distant corners of Arabia; and its sacredness was respected by the whole of Arabia. Today its visitors come for all over the world and its sacredness to believers is well-known.
The verses below command the believers to praise the Creator at the villages inhabited by Kedar, i.e. to glorify and praise Him in Makkah as Kedar is a son of Ishmael and a forefather of Arabs. His offspring lived in Arabia. We read:
“Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants there of. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.” (Isaiah 42:10-11)
Prophet Ishmael is the base for the Family Tree of Prophet Muhammad through Kedar. Muslims lift up their voices by praising God the Almighty and glorifying Him in Makkah. In their five daily prayers, Muslims include the praise of Prophet Abraham and his followers with the praise of Prophet Muhammad and his followers.
“As you know, Kedar is a descendent of Ishmael, these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam. ” (Genesis 25:13)
Makkah which is covered by a multitude of camels and to which flocks of Kedar are gathered
“The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.” (Isaiah 60:6-7)
Makkah exists between Midian (North Saudi Arabia) & Sheba (Yemen).
Kedar & Nebaioth are sons of Ishmael: According to Genesis 25:13. Kedar was the second son of Ishmael, the ancestor of the Prophet Muhammad. Nebaioth is the firstborn son of Ishmael.
Abraham decided to settle Ishmael and his mother Hagar there because of a divine instruction given to Abraham. Hagar did not find water; so, she ran seven times between two hills looking for water. This is the origin of one of the rituals performed during the pilgrimage to the city of Makkah by Muslims – the same ritual referred to earlier concerning the two strengths.
“Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So, she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.” (Genesis 21:19-21)
The Bible tells us that a well of water gushed out in the Desert of Paran (The name “Paran” or “Faran” has often been used to refer to the wilderness and mountains near Makkah) from which Hagar and her son drank. [5]
This is consistent with the above verses which refer to the Valley of Baca as a place of springs. The well is available to this day and is called the well of Zamzam. As mentioned earlier, Abraham and Ishmael later rebuilt the Ka’aba (the house of worship) in Makkah. The place where Abraham used to perform prayers near the Ka’aba is still there (called the Station of Abraham).
During the pilgrimage, pilgrims from all over the world commemorate the offering of Ishmael by Abraham by slaughtering a ram.
The fact that another area called “Faran“ exists in the south of Palestine does not preclude the existence of another “Faran“ that was inhabited by Ishmael in Hijaz (Arabia), where Prophet Ishmael and his father rebuilt the Ka’aba, and where the well Zamzam exploded under his feet, as recognized by a number of historians, like Jerome and the theologian Eusebius who believed that “Faran“ was “ Makkah. “
In the figure we find a map was painted in the French court at the time of Louis XIV showing the location of the Mountains of Faran in the Arabian Peninsula.
According to the Muslim faith, Beersheba [6] is one of the names of the well of Zamzam in Makkah, not the name of a city in Palestine, as the geographical description does not apply to south Palestine.
In fact, there is no place on the earth where a well gushed out for Hagar and her son Ishmael and where Ishmael lived and begot a great nation other than Makkah.
“Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So, Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.’ The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, ‘I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.’”(Genesis 22:13-18)
Here the verse discusses a place where Abraham offered his son – a place where generations will worship God. There is such place on earth where Jews or Christians celebrate Abraham’s sacrifice and worship God in. However, in Islam, this sacrifice is celebrated in Makkah; it is also the main place of worship for Muslims where they have the feast of sacrifice, to commemorate the sacrifice of Ishmael.
When Muslims from some parts of the world pray to the Creator in the direction of Mecca they join their fellow Muslims praying elsewhere in the world in concentric human circles, they worship God in the same spiritual center. This means that Muslims pray to their Creator all the time. In other words, when some Muslims finish their 5 minutes prayers somewhere, other Muslims start their 5 minutes elsewhere. The prayer timings depend on the sunrise and sunset and they concurrently occur with the movements of the pilgrims in Makkah, which is also consistent with the movement of the universe.
When Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed during his stay in Mecca, he would pray facing both Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the Kaaba at the same time. However, when he migrated to Medina, he could not do so because the direction of the Kaaba was different from that of Al-Aqsa Mosque. He felt confused and wondered in which direction he should pray. These verses were revealed to him from the Creator through the Angel Gabriel (peace be upon him) to determine the direction.
The Creator said:
Indeed, We see you ˹O Prophet˺ turning your face towards heaven. Now We will make you turn towards a direction ˹of prayer˺ that will please you. So turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque ˹in Mecca˺—wherever you are, turn your faces towards it. Those who were given the previous revelations certainly know this to be the truth from their Lord…… ( Quran Al Baqarah 2:144)
We read in the Bible also:
“These I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”(Isaiah 56:7)
Note the mention of all nations. The Islamic world is comprised of many nations. Therefore, this prophecy according to Muslims is about the pilgrimage in Makkah.
This verse refers to:
- The holy mountain (Mount Arafat): Standing in the mount of Arafat is the main pillar of pilgrimage in Islam.
- The sacrifices: During Pilgrimage rams are slaughtered for the poor to commemorate the story of Abraham and Ishmael (Sacrifices).
Learn more:
- The Muslims were the first people to draw the map of the world. They drew the map with the south facing upwards and north downwards. Ka’aba was at the center. Later, western cartographers drew the map upside down with the north facing upwards and south downwards. Yet, the Kaaba is at the center of the world map. Geographically, the Ka’aba is located in Mecca, which is central to the Old World continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe. It has strategic importance and it is situated on the focus of transportation. Some Muslim geographers historically placed Mecca at the center of their maps, and modern interpretations have also suggested it is the golden ratio point of the Earth’s landmasses. However once again, if we remove the Americas (Including the continent of Oceania) and come back to the Old World, we can see that the strategic location of Ka’aba is a center point between Three Continents. So while Ka’aba might not be in the center of the world scientifically ever since discovery of the new world, however if we look at it on the basis of the old world, we can say it almost is.
- Dr. Zaghloul El-Naggar1 mentioned that the Mecca line has no magnetic deviation, unlike all points on the Earth’s surface, which have a geographic north and a magnetic north, according to Dr. Zaghloul El-Naggar. Magnetic north is the direction a compass points north, as there is a magnetic force in the Earth’s core that creates two magnetic poles, north and south. The only place on Earth where magnetic north coincides with geographic north or differs by very slight differences is the Mecca line of longitude2.
- The central location of Mecca on land was referred to by the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in many of his hadiths, when he said, for example, “O people of Quraysh, O people of Mecca, you are in the middle of the sky.” He also said to a group of companions, “Do you know what al-Bayt al-Ma’mur is? ” They said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said, “It is a house in the seventh heaven, exactly to the side of the Kaaba, such that if it were to fall, it would fall over it. Seventy thousand angels enter it every day, and when the last of them leaves, they do not return.”
Notes:
- The word Allah was mentioned in the earlier version of the Old Testament 89 times. (Refer to Genesis 2:4, Book of Daniel 6:20 Hebrew and Arabic Bible).The word ‘Allah’ appears in the original Sanskrit text. (Reg Veda – Book 2 hymn 1, Verse 11).The Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Middle East use the word “Allah” to refer to God, which refers to The Only True God. ↩︎
- The reference of God to Himself as WE or US in many verses of the Qur’an denotes Grandeur and Power in Arabic. In the English language this is known as the royal WE, where a plural pronoun is used to refer to a single person holding a high office, such as a monarch. For the avoidance of doubt, the Qur’an has consistently reminded us of the SINGULAR pronoun in reference to God, when called upon by His servants. ↩︎
- The Qur’an is the last sacred book sent by God, but not the only book, as Muslims believe in all the earlier revelations of God (the scriptures of Abraham, the book of David, the Torah, the Gospel ,etc.). Muslims believe that the original message in all the sacred books is Pure Monotheism (unifying God in worship). Unlike the Divine scriptures that preceded, the Qur’an has not been kept in the hands of any particular group or clergymen of all Muslims which would lead to the misinterpretation or alteration of it. On the contrary, the Qur’an has always been within the reach of Muslims who recite it in their daily prayers, and they refer to it for all their concerns. Muslims read and recite the same Qur’anic text that was read and recited during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions. Not a single letter has been added or removed from the Qur’an. The language of the Qur’an, the prophecies which came true, the accuracy in historical accounts, the mathematical inimitability and scientific accuracy, all prove that the Qur’an could not have been produced by a man who lived in Arabia in the 7th century and who could not read or write. God the Almighty challenged the Arabs and the non-Arabs to bring forth a book similar to the one He revealed, even though the Arabs at that time were masters of eloquence and rhetoric, they were unable to meet the challenge, and they realized that the Qur’an could not be from any other than God, the Lord of the universe. ↩︎
- The Ka’aba is a building covered with black cloth, which is placed in the city of Mecca (in Saudi Arabia). It has a door but no windows. No one is buried in the Ka’aba, it is a prayer room not a tomb. A Muslim praying inside the Ka’aba can pray in any direction. The Ka’aba was rebuilt several times. Muslims believe that the most important person who rebuilt the Ka’aba was Prophet Abraham together with his son Ishmael. An original part of the outer walls of the Ka’aba is the black stone believed by Muslims to have come to the Earth with Adam. Muslims do not believe that this stone is divine or has any healing or other special powers.
Reference:
[1] Dr.Zaghlul Al Najar. http://www.elforkan.com/7ewar/printthread.php?t=1210
[2] Dr.Zaghlul Al Najar. http://www.elforkan.com/7ewar/printthread.php?t=1210
[3] Hidayat Al Hayara. Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya.
[4] For All the Saints a Resource for the Commemorations of the Calendar. Liturgical Version. The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, 2014.
[5] Sir Sayyad Ahmad Khan (1870). A series of essays on the life of Mohammad: and subjects subsidiary thereto. London: Trübner& co. pp. 74–76.
[6] http://www.al-mawrid.org/index.php/articles/view/beersheba-the-well-of-seven-orthe-well-of-zamzam-2-2
http://neurotherapy-of-christian-brain.blogspot.com/2013/05/well-of-zamzam-or-wilderness-of.html
1555total visits,2visits today