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m
. Off course! You are right. I read this part but never gave it
much thought about the ages, and Ishmaels going away and not
being there, etc. Please carry on.
M.
According to the Islamic version, Abraham took Ishmael and
Hagar and made a new settlement in Makkah, (called Paran in
the Bible
Genesis 21:21
) because of a divine instruction given to
Abraham as a part of God’s plan. Hagar ran seven times between
two hills, Safa and Marwa, near the Ka’bah, looking for water.
Allah loved this action of Hagar running, looking for water to
save her child’s life so much that this became part of the Islamic
ritual for the annual Pilgrimage (Haj) in Makkah by millions of
Muslims from all over the world from the time of Prophet
Abraham. The well of water mentioned in
Genesis 21:19
is still
used till today and provides water for millions of pilgrims for all
these centuries. The well is called
Zamzam.
Both Abraham and
Ishmael later built the holy stone Ka’bah in Makkah. The spot
where Abraham used to perform prayers near the Ka’bah is
called “
Maqame Ibrahim
,” i.e. the Station of Abraham. During
the days of Pilgrimage, Pilgrims in Makkah and Muslims all over
the world commemorate the offering of Abraham and Ishmael
by slaughtering cattle, camels, goats and sheep.
m
. But the Bible mentions Isaac to be sacrificed.
M.
No, the Qur’an states that the covenant by God was made
with Abraham and his
only son Ishmael.
And on the day of the
covenant Abraham, Ishmael and all men of the household were
circumcised while Isaac was not yet born. (
Genesis
17:24-27
)
“And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was
circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his
son was
thirteen years
old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his