Islam - The Summit of Religious Evolution — Page 38
38 Later in Genesis 17 verse 16, after Ishmael’s birth, God promises another son to Abraham, but this time from his first wife Sarah: “And I will bless her [Sarah] and give thee a son also of her: I will bless her, and …”. The word “ also ” in the above verse, is extremely significant in this discussion; it signifies that in addition to the first son of promise, (born earlier to Abraham and his wife Hager), another promised son would be born to Abraham and his wife Sarah. This understanding also helps explain Abraham’s utter surprise and disbelief of having another son at their advanced ages when he already had an heir. The Bible describes the background against which Abraham married Hagar: 3 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; so she said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her. " Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. The Bible continues to record God’s revelations to Abraham and Hagar and also records Ishmael’s birth: 4 The angel added, "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count. " The angel of the LORD also said to her (Hager): You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility towards all his brothers. " She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me. " That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered. So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael. Thus Genesis establishes that his first wife Sarah gave Hagar as a wife to Abraham. Before the birth of Abraham's first son, Ishmael, God through his angel, foretold the good news to Hagar and ordered that her son be named Ishmael. Hence it is obvious that God spoke to Hagar and revealed to her that her yet to be born child would be a son, who was to be named Ishmael and that he and his descendants will be blessed.