Ishmael and the Muslim Religion

Ishmael and the Muslim Religion

By Gary L. Fiscus, 2023

I have recently been reading some of the arguments Muslims use regarding their belief that Ishmael was the son of Abraham that was given the “seed promise,” (Gen. 12:7). I thought instead of me arguing with them over my beliefs versus their belief’s I would examine the Bible scriptures they use to defend their Ishmaelite following. They have of course their Quran, but I decided to not use it in offensive but to stay with the biblical scriptures themselves.

There are several OT passages used explaining the “seed promise” given to Abram and ultimately to his son Isaac. Muslims, however, again, say that it was Ishmael who was to be the blessed one, not Isaac.

Allow me first of all a little historical background. Before we examine the texts of the Bible, I briefly point out that Muhammed’s religious practices are based primarily on tradition. Muhammad (570—632 A.D.) was an Arab leader and founder of Islam. He was a social and political leader. The claim about him is that he was a prophet divinely inspired to confirm the teachings of Adam, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. He allegedly also interpreted other prophets’ messages. He is referred to by Muslims as the “Seal of the Prophets.” This is not unlike the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, (Mormons) and their Joseph Smith and Brigham Young; the Church of Christ, Scientists, (Christian Science Monitor magazine and reading rooms) and their Mary Baker Eddy; the Seventh Day Adventists and their Ellen G. White whom they believed to be a prophetess; or the Jehovah’s Witnesses, (the Watchtower Society) and their founder Charles Taze Russell.

Most of us have at least heard of some of the intentions of the Muslim religion. E.G., to kill Christians, to worship the moon god, Allah, and each Muslim martyred man gets 72 virgins when he dies. Actually, there is a word error in the Quran here. Some say “virgins” means “raisins,” not “virgins.” One resource says, “…a [Muslim] martyr is given 72 wives, not virgins, among five other things….”

As Christians we tend to shy away from anything that does not at least incorporate Judaism, the Hebrew nation, and Father Abraham, because those are the foundation for Christianity, (Gal. 3:1-14). We shun Ishmael because after all he was not in the lineage of Christ. Isaac was. This came about as Ishmael, although the first-born of Abraham rebelled against Isaac, Gen. 21:9-10, 14. Jehovah, however, promised Hagar, Sarai’s handmaid, that her son, Ishmael would become a great nation, Gen. 21:17-18. That is recorded in Gen. 25:12-18.

Although we are not told in the Bible when the Muslim practice of religious beliefs began, we do know that it allegedly started with Abraham and his descendants through Ishmael. He was Abram’s first-born son, (Gen. 16:11, 15-16). Please note that there are 47 times the name Ishmael is mentioned in the word of God. It is important to identify the one of Gen. 16, 17, 25, 28, 36 & 1 Chron. 1:28. That one is Abraham’s first son. We note also, however, that there are other Ishmael’s recorded in the Bible, for example:

1) Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, 2 Kgs. 25:23

2) Ishmael the son of Azel, 2 Chron. 23:1

3) Ishmael the son of Pashur, Ezra 10:22

The Ishmael of Abraham had 12 sons. Later, Jacob also had 12 sons. Ishmael’s sons became rulers of peoples. Soon they became a nation unto themselves, just as God had said. Remember Hagar, Ishmael’s mother was an Egyptian and a slave of Sarah, Abraham’s wife. After Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, a few years later she found an Egyptian wife for him. They then settled in the desert of Paran, Gen. 21:21. Paran is in northern Egypt. From his progeny, Ishmaelites settled in the area from Havilah to Shur. The Bible says that this area is “near the border of Egypt as you go toward Ashur,” Gen. 25:18.

In looking at Gen. 16:15, the RSV renders it, “And Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, who Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.” At this juncture perhaps Abram thought the “seed promise,” (Gen. 12:7) would be through Ishmael. In fact, at Gen. 17:20 we are told, “As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.” It would not be until 13 years later, however, that Jehovah would explain “the seed” promise was through Abram’s son Isaac, not Ishmael.

Turn to Gen. 17:19-21. These verses state, “And God said, Nay, but Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.” I have underscored the first phrase of the passage, “and God said, Nay…” Herein lies the problem with Muslims. They readily accept the rest of the verses but ignore completely the “NO!” of v 19. To what was Jehovah saying, “Nay?” At v 18 Abram asks God that “Ishmael might live before Him.” That is the springboard into v 19 and the explanation; but all Muslims read is v 20, “And as for Ishmael…I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve prices shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.”

Isaac would be the promised seed for Jehovah’s spiritual nation. We understand the physical and material benefits granted Ishmael, but he still was not the “seed promise,” Isaac was. In fairness to Ishmael, however, notice Gen. 16:7-11, “The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, ‘Hagar, maid of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?’ She said, ‘I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.’ The angel of the Lord said to her, ‘Return to your mistress, and submit to her.’ The angel of the Lord also said to her, ‘I will so greatly multiply your descendants that they cannot be numbered for multitude.’ And the angel of the Lord said to her, ‘Behold, you are with child, and shall bear a son; you shall call his name Ishmael; because the Lord has given heed to your affliction.’” Remember too, that this was before the chosen people of God were the Hebrew nation.

Again, historically, Ishmaelites had developed into traders of spices. Interestingly, and as an example of their vocation, they rescued, Joseph, a son of Jacob, (Israel), Gen. 37:25, 28, “Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt . . . and they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver; and they took Joseph to Egypt.” The Joseph incident was a part of Jehovah’s plan. Later, in Gen. 45:5-7 Joseph tells his brothers, “’ . . . Come near to me, I pray you.’ And they came near. And he said, ‘I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; FOR GOD SENT ME BEFORE YOU to preserve life . . . and GOD SENT ME before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.” Ishmaelites would play an important part in God’s overall plan for His people; but Ishmael would still not be “the seed” through which Jehovah would bless His nation.

While the lands of Ishmael would grow and prosper via the providence and numerical promises of Jehovah, we are not told in the scriptures when the religious practices of these people actually began. We can ascertain that the descendants of Ishmael and the other sons of Abraham and Keturah, Abraham’s second wife after the death of Sarah, were sent east and away from Isaac. This “sending away” was done because of the words of Sarah concerning the situation. Gen. 21: 10-12, Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this handmaid and her son: for the son of this handmaid shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight on account of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy handmaid; in all that Sarah saith unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.”

Keturah as Abraham’s second wife. She begat Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. These along with others from Abram’s bondservant women, (some translate these as concubines) were given gifts. Abraham eventually gave everything he owned to Isaac. Please read Gen. 25:1-9, 12-18 for these details. At v 9 we recognize that at Abraham’s funeral both sons, Isaac, and Ishmael, “buried their father at the cave of Machpelah “. That event alone would make it appear that there was harmony between the two sons; that perhaps they could go through life together as brothers in the flesh. The problem is, as mentioned before, Ishmael’s was a physical blessing of peoples and land. Isaac’s was a spiritual promise.

Finally, let us go to the NT and study the allegory and explanation of the meaning for all of this. It is found in Gal. 4:22-31. I have highlighted the phrases in points A-L below ~

A. Abraham has two sons, Ishmael and Isaac.

B. One, (Ishmael), was born by the “handmaid” (Hagar); and the other (Isaac), by the “freewomen,” (Sarah).

C. Ishmael was “born after the flesh,” i.e., the physical.

D. Sarah’s son, Isaac, was “born through the promise,” i.e., the spiritual fulfillment.

E. Ishmael, Hagar’s son, is born representing the covenant given at Mt. Sinai.

F. Hagar (Sinai), “answers to Jerusalem,” (Isaac) because Hagar’s children are in “bondage.”

G. The spiritual Jerusalem, via Sarah, is “free.” “She is our mother,” inferring, I think, the Christian’s freedom in Christ.

H. Hagar’s progeny, i.e., the flesh, would outnumber the spiritual population. (This proposition is taught by Jesus Himself in the Sermon on the Mount, Matt. 7:13-14. In other words, in that formula, more worldly minded than spiritually minded people has always been a part of God’s plan).

I. Through Abraham and Sarah’s son, Isaac, not Ishmael, we as Christians are “children of promise,” i.e., the saved.

J. Remember in our Genesis’ texts we noted the vehement attitude of Sarah toward Hagar and Ishmael. That was, as Paul says here in Galatians, a persecution of the flesh against those born of the Holy Spirit, (Read Romans 8).

K As Hagar and Ishmael were “cast out,” they did not inherit what Isaac inherited. (Remember, Abraham gave them some gifts when they left, but he also gave all that he had he to Isaac. In some inheritance procedures people are often given gifts with the bulk of the inheritance going to family or certain specified individuals. That is the same way here with Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac).

. Conclusion: We, i.e., Christians, are not begotten by Hagar or Ishmael, nor any of the other children, e.g., Keturah or any concubines of Abraham. We are “begotten” by the Lord, Jesus Christ, above the angels and according to the fruition of Jehovah’s plan of salvation, Heb. 1:5.

The practice of the Muslim religion is the practice of a false religion. It is not that we do not like Muslims. They are people. They have souls, the same as any other. Our problem is with their erroneous beliefs. I pray that we will be able to get them, and so many others, to learn of the meaning of the Galatian epistle allegory. May we couple it too with Paul’s wording earlier in the same book, “There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus. And if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, heirs according to PROMISE.” (Read Gal. 3:15-29). I.E., God’s original plan was to offer the Savior to the world through the “promised seed” of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ruth (4:18-23) and 13 generations after Abraham was King David in the lineage. (See the genealogical texts of both Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:24-38).

Our lineage to Christ is through His love for us and our obedience to Him. We are baptized into Christ’s body and added to His church. His has broken down the middle wall of partition between bond and free, Jew and Gentile, between Scythian and Barbarian. Gal. 3:16 brings to a proper fruition the “seed promise,” of Abraham and Isaac: “Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ.” Picking up then at vv 26-29 we conclude, “For ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ. There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus. And if ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise.” There is no salvation through Ishmael, but through Christ.