Originally Posted by
Kadagar_AV
I think it's important with the basics.
Abraham is clearly significant in the formation of Islam; he is found in 25 suras of the Koran. He is a prophet, one who received revelation, the example of pure faith, who paid his debt in full, and a strict monotheist who struggled with idol worshipers. Islam is said to be an expression of the religion of Abraham, the friend of God; and Abraham is considered a prototype of Mohammed.
The Koran is said to have been given by revelation to the illiterate Mohammed by dictation. But it is certain that was made from several sources chosen because they fit the ideas of Mohammed: (1) pre-Islamic traditional beliefs in poetic form, (2) Talmudic legends from Jews in Arabia, (3) misinformation from heretical Christian sects, (4) eastern ideas from Persia and India (Arabia was under Persian control), and (5) ideas from his friends who were seeking truth. The most frequent source is the material from the Jewish Talmud.
Mohammed appears to have made several changes in the traditions. First, people would now face Mecca to pray, and not Jerusalem. Second, Abraham and Ishmael are said to have built the Kaaba, the black structure in the middle of the shrine in Mecca (originally housing many gods), and rivals Solomon’s building of the temple. Third, Ishmael comes to prominence as the “chosen of God.”
Ishmael then becomes recognized as a prophet (even though he came to prominence late in the Koran--early on he is not mentioned, only Isaac and Jacob).
But later Mohammed taught that Abraham went to Mecca to sacrifice his son (who is not named)--that son came to be identified as Ishmael. Mohammed also believed that Abraham accompanied Hagar and Ishmael to Mecca before returning home to Sarah. Ishmael married a South Arabian; Abraham came to visit him and together they built the black stone shrine. Islam heralds God as the “God of Abraham, Ishmael, and Mohammed.”
And in the traditions Ishmael is in strife to inherit the promises to Abraham (Genesis 16, 17, 21 form a paradigm of the conflict). At the center is Jerusalem, which becomes another holy spot for Islam (the third in order after Mecca and Medina), for the tradition is that Abraham built it, Mohammed’s flight and descent were located there, and Arabs possessed it. Jerusalem is not important in the Koran.
Christians need to know more about these kinds of traditions in Islam, because right or wrong they are traditions deeply rooted in religion and politics. In dealing with Islamic people Christians should focus more on God’s grace in choosing a disobedient people rather than giving the impression that Israel was God’s favorite over all other nations.
Re: Is Islam true?.
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