The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page xcii
GENERAL INTRODUCTION me and you. And (Genesis 17:14): And the uncircumcised man-child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant. Further on (Genesis 17:16), we are told that Abraham's wife Sarah also was promised a son. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her; yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Of the progeny of Sarah (through Isaac) we are told (Genesis 17:19): and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. Of Ishmael (Genesis 17:20-22) we read: And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee (refers to Abraham's prayer in, Genesis 17:18 "O that Ishmael might live before 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, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. Again (Genesis 21:13): And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. Again of Ishmael, God said to Hagar (Genesis 21:17-18): For God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand for I will make him a great nation, Again (Genesis 21:20-21): And God was with the lad; 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. From these quotations it is obvious that Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, Ishmael being the elder and Isaac the younger. God promised Abraham that He would multiply and bless his progeny. The promise applies to both Isaac and Ishmael. From the quotations it also appears that Ishmael lived in the wilderness of Paran, that the land of Canaan was given over to the sons of Abraham, and that the external sign of the covenant which God made lxvi