Islam - The Summit of Religious Evolution — Page 40
40 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year. " When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, and his son Ishmael was thirteen; Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day. The above passages reiterate God's promise to Abraham that He will make him the father of many great nations. God had also established an everlasting covenant with Abraham that the land of Canaan (the Promised Land), will be given as an everlasting possession to Abraham’s descendants. God had also asked Abraham and his descendants to honor their part of the deal, which was that every male among them had to be circumcised. This practice had to be continued forever. God also indicated that any uncircumcised males would be cut off from His covenant because they would have broken their part of the deal. The above verses also establishes that Ishmael was the first son born to Abraham from his wife Hagar and that he was about 14 years older than his second son Isaac, born from his wife Sarah. It is also established from this passage that Ishmael was one of the first male child, if not the first, to be circumcised along with Abraham himself. At that point, Abraham was 99 years old. It also highlights Abraham’s love for Ishmael and concern for his future well being, and that God had also promised to bless Ishmael, as a result of Abraham’s prayers. According to God’s promise, Ishmael would be the father of twelve rulers and that he will be made into a great nation. God also promised that He will bless Isaac; he would also be given twelve sons and great kings will come from his descendants. The twelve sons of Ishmael and Isaac are also named in the Bible (Figure 1). The twelve sons of Isaac later became known as the twelve tribes of Israel. God also made it clear to Abraham that at that time He was establishing an everlasting covenant with Isaac. The word everlasting in this passage has been grossly misrepresented to mean that God’s covenant with Isaac will last till the day of judgement. Both the Old and New Testaments provide evidence to the contrary. This point is discussed in detail later in this chapter. Also Genesis records God's gift of the promised land to Abraham: 6 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.