Isaac (a)
 "A photo of Hebron, the residence & burial place of Isaac (a) | |
| Name inthe Qur'an: | Ishaq |
|---|---|
| Name in the Bible: | Isaac |
| Place of Birth: | Palestine |
| Place(s) of Residence: | Hebron |
| Burial place: | Jerusalem al-Quds |
| Before: | Jacob (a) |
| After: | Ishmael (a) |
| Well known Relatives: | Ibrahim (a), Ishmael (a), Jacob (a) |
| Religion: | Monotheism |
| Age: | 180 |
| Repeat in the Qur'an: | 17 times |
Isāāc or Isḥāq (Arabic: إسحاق) was a prophet, the son of Abraham (a), and the brother of Ishmael (a). He is the great ancestor of the Children of Israel, and prophets such as Jacob (a), David (a), Solomon (a), Joseph (a), and Moses (a) were his offspring. The Qur'an makes references to Isaac (a) and his prophethood. The Torah and some Sunni sources take Isaac to be Dhabih Allah (God's sacrifice). However, the Shi'as believe that Ishmael (a), the other son of Abraham (a), was Dhabih Allah.
Isaac (a) was born when his father was hundred years old and his mother, Sarah, was ninety years old. The story of the good tidings of his birth are mentioned in the Qur'an. Isaac (a) became a prophet after the death of his brother, Ishmael (a).
The Character
Isaac (a) is a prophet, and the son of Abraham (a) and Sarah,[1] who was born and lived in Palestine.[2] "Isaac" comes from a Hebrew word, meaning smiling.[3] Some people trace it to an Arabic word.[4] He was born five or thirteen years after Ishmael (a).[5] When Isaac (a) was born, his father was over hundred years old and his mother was ninety years old.[6] Isaac (a) married a girl called Rebecca at the age of forty, and they had two children: Esau and Jacob.[7]
Isaac (a) is the great ancestor of the Children of Israel, and as Gabriel gave the good tidings in advance, many prophets were his offspring, including Jacob (a), Joseph (a), David (a), Solomon (a), Job (a), Moses (a), Aaron (a), and other Israelite prophets. According to historical sources, Abraham (a) was Lot (a)'s paternal uncle and thus, Isaac (a) was Lot's cousin.
The story of sacrificing Isaac appears in the Jewish scripture, to which Jews appeal to show the superiority of Isaac (a) over Ishmael (a). The view was espoused by some Sunni Muslims as well. However, the Shi'as appeal to Qur'an 37:112[8] as well as Qur'an 11:71[9] to reject that Isaac (a) was God's sacrifice.
Before his death, Isaac (a) passed on prophethood to his son, Jacob (a), at the command of God. According to the Torah, however, Isaac (a) wanted his other son, Esau, to succeed him as a prophet, but Jacob (a) and his mother deceived Esau, and then Jacob (a) became the prophet.
Muhammad Hadi Ma'rifat, the contemporary exegete and Quranic scholar, refers to the story quoted from the Torah as an insult to prophets, since it takes the Prophet Jacob (a) as a fraud who misused his father's blindness. Moreover, he refers to the story of Isaac (a) being deceived by Jacob (a) as a blatant insult of prominent prophets.
Isaac died at the age of 180, and was buried near Jerusalem in today's Hebron, Palestine.[10]
Good Tidings of his Birth
According to Quranic verses, prior to the birth of Isaac (a), God gave the good tidings of his birth to his father and mother. This is mentioned in Qur'an 11:71. The story of Isaac's birth appears in Qur'an 15:53[11] and Qur'an 51:29[12] without mentioning his name. Isaac's name (Ishaq) appears seventeen times in twelve Quranic suras.[13]
Prophethood
After the death of his brother Ishmael (a), Isaac (a) succeeded him as a prophet,[14] and after that, all subsequent prophets were offspring of Isaac (a), except the Prophet Muhammad (s) who was an offspring of Ishmael (a).[15]
Eight verses of the Qur'an point out the prophethood of Isaac (a) either directly or indirectly, including verses about his prophethood,[16] the revelation of scriptures to his offspring,[17] giving sharia laws to Isaac (a),[18] revelations to him,[19] the command to follow him,[20] and his imamate.[21] In these verses, Isaac's religion or sharia is said to be that of his father Abraham (a); that is, a hanif religion based on monotheism.[22]
Notes
- ↑ Qurʾān 11:71.
- ↑ Shuqī Abū Khalīl, Aṭlas-i Qurʾān, p. 53.
- ↑ Al-Muṣṭafawī, al-Taḥqīq fī kalimāt al-Qur'ān al-karīm, vol. 5, p. 70
- ↑ Qurashī Banāyī, Qāmūs-i Qur'ān, vol. 3, p. 240
- ↑ Mas'ūdī. Ithbāt al-waṣiya. p. 46; Ṭabarānī, Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol.5, p. 313.
- ↑ Mas'ūdī. Ithbāt al-waṣīya. p. 46.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabā'i. al-Mīzān. vol. 10. p. 324.
- ↑ And We gave him the good news of [the birth of] Isaac, a prophet, one of the righteous.
- ↑ His wife, standing by, laughed as We gave her the good news of [the birth of] Isaac, and of Jacob, after Isaac.
- ↑ Qazwīnī, Al-Mazār, vol. 1, p. 86; Mas'ūdī. Ithbāt al-waṣīya. p. 46.
- ↑ They said, ‘Do not be afraid. Indeed we give you the good news of a wise son.’
- ↑ Then his wife came forward crying [with joy]. She beat her face, and said, ‘A barren old woman!’
- ↑ Shuqī Abū Khalīl, Aṭlas-i Qurʾān , p. 54.
- ↑ Mas'ūdī. Ithbāt al-waṣiya. p. 46.
- ↑ Ṭabarī. Tārīkh-i ṭabarī, vol, 1. p. 316.
- ↑ Qurʾān 19:49.
- ↑ Qurʾān 29:27.
- ↑ Qurʾān 21:71.
- ↑ Qurʾān 6:89.
- ↑ Qurʾān 4:163.
- ↑ Qurʾān 2:135-136.
- ↑ Qurʾān 21:73.
References
- The Holy Qurʾān.
- Bible, tarjuma barāy-i aṣr-i jadīd. Anjumanhā-yi Muttaḥid-i Kitāb-i Muqaddas. 2007.
- Ibn Kathīr, Ismāiʿl b. ʿUmar. Al-Bidāya wa al-nahāya. Edited by Khalīl Shaḥāda. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr. [n.d].
- Markaz-i Farhang wa Maʿārif-i Qurʾān. Dāʾirat al-maʿārif Qurʾān karīm. Qom: Muʾassisa Būstān-i Kitāb, 1382 Sh.
- Masʿūdī, ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn al-. Ithbāt al-waṣīyya li-l Imām ʿAlī b. Abī Tālib. Qom: Muʾassisat Anṣārīyān, 1384 Sh.
- Muṣṭafawī, Ḥasan. Al-Tahqīq fī kalimāt al-Qur'ān al-karīm. Tehran: Bungāh tarjuma wa nashr-i kitāb, 1360 SH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūnah. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1374 Sh.
- Qurashī Bunābī, ʿAlī Akbar. Qāmūs-i Qurān. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1412 AH.
- Qurtubī, Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-. Al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Nāṣir Khusraw, 1364 Sh.
- Qazwīnī, Sayyid Mahdī. Al-Mazār: Madkhal li taʿyīn qubūr al-ʾanbīyā wa al-shuhadāʾ wa awlād al-aʾimma wa al-ʿulamāʾ. Edited by Jawdat al-Qazwīnī. Beirut: Dār al-Rafdayn, 1426 AH.
- Shuqī, Abū Khalīl. Aṭlas-i Qurān. Translated to Farsi by Kirmanī. Mashhad: Āstān-i Quds-i Raḍawī, 1389 Sh.
- Ṭabarānī, Sulaymān b. Aḥmad. Tafsīr al-kabīr: tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿazīm. Edited by Hishām ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Badrānī al-Mouselī. Jordan: Dār al-Kitāb Thiqāfī, 2008.
- Ṭabarī, Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-. Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī. Edited by Muḥammad Abu l-faḍl Ibrāhīm. Beirut: Dar al-Turāth, 1387 AH.
- Ṭabāṭabāyī, Mūhammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Fifth edition. Qom: Maktabat al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1417 AH.