The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 94
Seal of the Prophets - Volume I 94 fully corresponds with the settlement of Ishmael as in Makkah. In addition, a cause of greater astonishment is that the word ‘Arab also means ‘a deserted and abandoned region’ , as is apparent by the word A‘arāb , which refers to those who inhabit the desert. 1 8. Saint Paul, a renowned leader of the Christians, has also admitted that Hagar as , the mother of Ishmael as , bore relation to Arabia. 2 9. From the testimony of the Bible, it is evident that the descendants of Kedar, who was assuredly the son of Ishmael as , inhabited the region of Arabia. 3 10. The Encyclopedia makes mention of this very Kedar, the son of Ishmael as , stating, “He was the son of Ishmael, whose descendants settled in the Northern region of Arabia. ” 4 Based on the above mentioned argumentation, it has become manifest in the similitude of broad daylight that Ishmael as settled in Arabia, and that a portion of the Arabian people are in fact his descendants. Since it is proven, it cannot be considered just to reject all the forceful narrations of the Arabs, which confirm the Quraish to be the descendants of the progeny of Ishmael as. The second question is, who was the sacrificial offering? In other words, which son did Abraham as intend to sacrifice in the way of God? In this regard, it must be remembered that this question does not hold much significance. Whether Ishmael as is proven to be the sacrificial offering or Isaac as , this in no way influences the claims of the Holy Prophet sa or the fundamental principles of Islām. Nonetheless, as a historical occurrence, this matter is worthy of research, in order to deduce who in fact was the sacrifice. Hence, as mentioned above, in our opinion, the correct perception is that Ishmael as was the one to be slaughtered and not Isaac as. Undoubtedly the Bible refers to Isaac as as the sacrificial offering, however, firstly, the historical merit of the Bible is not very solid. Secondly, the account of the Bible itself negates this claim and the testimony of Islāmic narrations further strengthens it. In any case, a summary of our argumentation with relevance to this matter is presented below: 1. The Holy Qur’ān states that Abraham as prayed to us for righteous and truthful offspring and we gave him the glad tidings of a humble 1 * Tājul-‘Urūs, By Imām Muḥibb-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Murtaḍā Az-Zubaidī, Under the root “‘Araba” * Aqrabul-Mawārid, By Imām Sa‘īd Ash-Shart ū nī, Under the root “‘Araba” 2 Galatians (4:22-25) 3 Isaiah (21:13-18) 4 The Review of Religions, May 1934, Volume 33, Issue 5, pp. 16-17