Introduction to the Study of The Holy Quran — Page 68
68 through it, children from the neighbourhood meet them and sell them flowers. Asked where the flowers come from, the children answer "Bariyyat Faran," 73 that is, the wilderness of Faran. Faran, therefore, is part of Arabia, the Hijaz to be exact. According to the Old Testament, Ishmael lived in this part. Thus in Genesis (21:20- 21) we have: And God was with the lad (Ishmael); and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt. The Quraysh are Ishmael’s Descendants The Biblical description of Paran is somewhat different from that of Arab geographers. According to the Bible, Paran is a territory adjacent to Canaan. But a territory made up of woods and hills must be a large one, sometimes extending over hundreds and thousands of miles. It cannot be just a strip of land situated within another territory or on its edge. The Biblical description can only mean that the woods and hills of Paran rise from somewhere near Canaan. It cannot mean that Paran is the southern periphery of Canaan. The Bible, however, admits that Abraham had a son called Ishmael and that he lived in Paran. The testimony of the sons of Ishmael who inhabited it, must be regarded as paramount. The Israelites should have little to say on the point. Their knowledge of history and geography was not good. They could not give an adequate account of the route they followed in their own journey from Egypt to Canaan. How could they pronounce on the geographical facts of other territories? Only one people today trace their descent from Ishmael and they are the Quraysh. They live in Arabia, and Mecca is their centre. If the Quraysh claim is a pretence, it is difficult to find a motive for it. The claim could not advance their racial status, for the Israelites still looked down upon them. Nothing could make a desert people trace their descent to Ishmael unless the descent was a fact. Also, if the Arab claim is false, where did the descendants of Ishmael disappear? According to the Bible, Ishmael had twelve sons, and these twelve again, according to the Bible, were to multiply exceedingly. Thus in Genesis (21:13) we have: And also of the son of the bondwoman (i. e. Ishmael) will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. Again in Genesis (21:18) we have: Arise, lift up the lad and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. Again in Genesis (17:20) God says to Abraham: 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.