Jesus: Man, Messenger, Messiah · 8. Prophecy of a Prophet
The portrayal of Ishmael and the 'only son' problem
Handle with care. Avoid saying 'the Jews deliberately changed the text to erase Ishmael (PBUH)' — you cannot demonstrate intent, and the accusation ends the conversation. Point at the internal inconsistency and let it speak.
In short
- 1.Genesis 22:2 calls Isaac (PBUH) 'your only son' — yet Ishmael (PBUH) was born fourteen years earlier and was still alive [Genesis 16:16, 21:5].
- 2.Ishmael (PBUH) is only 'the only son' during the years before Isaac's (PBUH) birth, which is when a sacrifice narrative would fit.
- 3.Genesis 21 depicts Ishmael (PBUH) as a child carried on Hagar's shoulder, though by its own chronology he would be around sixteen.
- 4.God promises to make Ishmael (PBUH) 'a great nation' and blesses him [Genesis 17:20] — hardly a rejected son.
- 5.The Qur'an names Ishmael (PBUH) a prophet, truthful in promise, and builder of the Kaaba with Abraham (PBUH) [19:54-55, 2:127].
The claim being examined
The biblical covenant runs through Isaac (PBUH), and Ishmael (PBUH) is presented as the son of a slave, sent away and outside the promise.
The Islamic position
Islam holds that the biblical text about Ishmael (PBUH) shows signs of later editing, and the Qur'an restores him as a prophet and the son of the sacrifice.
Analysis
The 'only son' phrase in Genesis 22:2 is a genuine internal difficulty, and the age inconsistency in Genesis 21 is widely discussed in critical scholarship as evidence that the Abraham (PBUH) cycle combines sources with different assumptions. The Islamic argument is that the editing runs in one direction — toward the Isaac (PBUH) line — while the surviving seams still show. Present it as textual observation rather than a charge of conspiracy, and it holds up in conversation.
From the Qur'an
وَٱذْكُرْ فِى ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ إِسْمَـٰعِيلَ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ صَادِقَ ٱلْوَعْدِ وَكَانَ رَسُولًۭا نَّبِيًّۭا
wa-udh'kur fī l-kitābi is'māʿīla innahu kāna ṣādiqa l-waʿdi wakāna rasūlan nabiyyan
And mention in the Book Ishmael. He was true to his promise, and he was a messenger and a prophet.
وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبْرَٰهِـۧمُ ٱلْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَإِسْمَـٰعِيلُ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ
wa-idh yarfaʿu ib'rāhīmu l-qawāʿida mina l-bayti wa-is'māʿīlu rabbanā taqabbal minnā innaka anta l-samīʿu l-ʿalīmu
And when Abraham was raising the foundations of the House, with Ishmael.
فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ مَعَهُ ٱلسَّعْىَ قَالَ يَـٰبُنَىَّ إِنِّىٓ أَرَىٰ فِى ٱلْمَنَامِ أَنِّىٓ أَذْبَحُكَ فَٱنظُرْ مَاذَا تَرَىٰ ۚ قَالَ يَـٰٓأَبَتِ ٱفْعَلْ مَا تُؤْمَرُ ۖ سَتَجِدُنِىٓ إِن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ
falammā balagha maʿahu l-saʿya qāla yābunayya innī arā fī l-manāmi annī adhbaḥuka fa-unẓur mādhā tarā qāla yāabati if'ʿal mā tu'maru satajidunī in shāa l-lahu mina l-ṣābirīna
O my son, I have seen in a dream that I must sacrifice you.
From the Bible
קַח־נָא אֶת־בִּנְךָ אֶת־יְחִידְךָ אֲשֶׁר־אָהַבְתָּ אֶת־יִצְחָק
Take your son, your only son, whom you love — Isaac.
Read it in their Bibleוּלְיִשְׁמָעֵאל שְׁמַעְתִּיךָ הִנֵּה בֵּרַכְתִּי אֹתוֹ
And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him.
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