Chapter 18: Down the Pseudo-Biblical Memory Lane

2:122-123 bring us back to the Children of Israel. These two verses sound very familiar… oh yes, they are almost exact repetition of 2:47-48 (“remember my blessings and favours, and fear the Day”), and so I won’t dwell on them.
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In the following verses Allah shares biblical stories with the Children.
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The Trials of Ibrahim

2:124 “And when his Lord tried Ibrahim with certain words, he fulfilled them. He said: Surely I will make you an Imam of men. Ibrahim said: And of my offspring? My covenant does not include the unjust, said He.” Ibrahim is the Islamic version of biblical Abraham.
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In the Book of Genesis, God tried Abraham’s faith a few times, culminating with the command to sacrifice his son Isaac, and Abraham fulfils all trials.
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Jewish tradition maintains that Abraham was tried 10 times, adding a few from the Midrash. The Quran, however, claims that Allah tried Ibrahim with words (“bikalimatin”).
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{It is possible to translate the above statement also as “Allah tried Ibrahim with things”, as in Arabic the same term is used for “Words” and “Things”}
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The Quran does not elaborate on the nature of these trials, or what these words were. And on the topic of which son was the subject of the last trial, Islamic tradition claims that it was Isma’il (the Islamic version of biblical Ishmael). In the Quran, surah 37 refers to the “sacrifice your son” episode, but the name of the son is omitted.
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Why the son’s name was omitted is open for speculation. Since the Quran confirms the Scriptures that came before it, does that mean that the Quran confirms that the son who was to be sacrificed was Isaac (Ishaq)?
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Although Ishmael was driven away by Abraham, he does not wander too far. When Abraham passed away, he and his half brother Isaac bury him (Genesis 25:9): “And Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah…”
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Ibrahim’s reward for successfully completing the trials is becoming an Imam, that is, an Islamic leader, to all nations. In Islam, Ibrahim is a major prophet. In Judaism Abraham is not classified as a prophet.
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Imam in this context could also be translated as a pattern to follow. It is an Islamic doctrine that Muhammad is a pattern to follow for all of Humanity.
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Allah’s answer at the end of the verse is a warning to the Jews: Just because you are the offspring of Abraham, this does not automatically include you in Allah’s favour.
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Ibrahim and Son Renovate the Ka’bah

2:125 “And when We made the House a pilgrimage for men and a place of security, and: ‘Appoint for yourselves a place of prayer on the standing-place of Ibrahim’. And We enjoined Ibrahim and Ismail saying: ‘Purify My House for those who go around it and those who stay in it and those who bow down and prostrate themselves’.”
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If the “House” in this verse is the shrine in Mecca, then we are at odds with the Scriptures. In this case, Islamic doctrine holds that this passage was omitted from the original Hebrew Scriptures, as the Jews deny all connection between Abraham and Mecca, or that Abraham and Ishmael engaged in any such father-son activity.
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Similarly, the following longer than average verses, 2:126 to 2:130 relate stories that are at odds with the biblical narrative, to establish a connection between these biblical personalities and Mecca, and to establish the divinity of Muhammad’s mission. Let’s review:
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Ibrahim asks Allah to make an unnamed city a secure place, and feed its people with fruit, but only those who believe in Allah and the Last Day.
Allah, in agreement, promises the deniers little enjoyment and much chastisement in Hell fire.
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Ibrahim and Isma’il rebuild the Ka’bah, which was originally constructed by Adam, by raising its foundations, and beg Allah to make them submissive to him.
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Then Ibrahim predicts the mission of Muhammad. The section ends with Allah praising Ibrahim and his religion.
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All the foregoing statements are acceptable, as long as they deal with Ibrahim. If we are to attribute them to Abraham, then we have much discrepancy.
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Ibrahim Submits and Enjoins Same on his Sons

2:131 “When his Lord said to him, Be a Muslim, he said: I submit myself to the Lord of the worlds.”
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In case you forgot, “the worlds” (“al’Alameen” in Arabic) is the Islamic term used for all creatures, specifically men and demons. Curiously, Ibrahim’s deity is referred to here as Lord, not Allah.
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Here we encounter the term “Muslim” for the first time. This translation (Shakir) makes the connection between “be a Muslim (“aslim”) and submission: “I submit myself…” = “aslamtu…” So Islam means submission, not peace, as the deceivers would have you think.
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These terms have a common root (S.L.M.), but this root exists in many words, which have wide range of meanings. Without getting into a detailed discussion on the subject, the main import of this root is “complete”.
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2:132 “And the same did Ibrahim enjoin on his sons and Ya’qoub. O my sons! Allah has chosen for you the religion, therefore die not unless in submission.” “in submission” is also translated as “surrendered”, “Muslims” (the Arabic word), “resigned”, “as submitters”.
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Ya’qoub is the Islamic version of biblical Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham. He was Abraham’s grandson and Abraham was not among the living when he was born.
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Some commentators conclude from this verse (and a few others in the Quran), that Abraham was Jacob’s father. If so, only Allah knows how Abraham spoke to Jacob, and why he referred to him as one of his sons.
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Another interpretation for this statement could be constructed if we add before “Ya’qoub”, the words “so did” and after “Ya’qoub”, the words “enjoined on his sons”. Some translators actually put their parentheses to work and do just that.
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But then we have a small problem: Why would the Quran not tell us that Isaac, Jacob’s father, enjoined the same on Jacob and Esau, his sons? Why would the Quran skip a generation in this important enjoining process of the principle of not dying before submitting to Muhammad’s deity?
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Here again, the answer is with Allah. Like much of the Quran, this verse is open for interpretation in various ways.
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And here too, I have no objection to the Quran’s claim that Ibrahim spoke to Ya’qoub or that Ya’qoub was his son. In the Bible, however, Abraham didn’t, and Jacob wasn’t.
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The Arabic word for “religion” in 2:132 is “deen”, meaning “law”, among other things. Remember how in 2:2 the Quran tells us about a book, but the book was not in existence yet? Here too, there is no religion yet, at least no laws.
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All we have at this point is Ibrahim submitting to Allah. And we cannot assume that it was the Jewish Law of the Torah, as it was not handed down until the time of Moses, a few centuries later.
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2:133 “Were you witnesses when death visited Ya’qoub, when he said to his sons: What will you serve after me? They said: We will serve your god and the god of your fathers, Ibrahim and Ismail and Ishaq, one god only, and to Him do we submit.”
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2:133 is another attempt to include Ishmael. The Bible does not, and there is no biblical narrative, where Jacob asks his sons to specify what they will serve after his death. And I don’t need to tell you again how Islam deals with these discrepancies.
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Muhammad Wins Immunity and Allah’s Support

2:134-135 “This is a people that have passed away. They shall have what they earned and you shall have what you earn, and you shall not be called upon to answer for what they did. And they say: Be Jews or Christians, you will be on the right course. Say: Nay! (we follow) the religion of Ibrahim, the Hanif, and he was not one of the polytheists.”
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Muhammad is granted immunity again: he is not responsible for the people who do not follow the true religion.
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In 2:135 we encounter the term “Hanif”, which he Quran attached to the original, pure religion of Abraham. Hanifiyah, which was neither Judaism nor Christianity, is considered a predecessor to Islam.
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In the next chapter I will take a side trip to discover who the Quranic Jesus (‘Isa) is. He is mentioned in the next verse. But first let’s first dispose of the next few verses, which fall under the category of “more of the same”.
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In 2:136 Muhammad is addressing the Believers again:
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“Say: We believe in Allah and what had been revealed to us, and what revealed to Ibrahim and Ismail and Ishaq and Ya’qoub and the tribes, and what was given to Musa and Isa, and what was given to the prophets from their Lord, we do not make any distinction between any of them, and to Him do we submit.”
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2:137 reiterates Allah’s support to Muhammad against the Unbelievers, which seems to be given to Muhammad by a third party, presumably Gabriel:
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“If they believe as you believe in Him, they are indeed on the right path, and if they turn back, then they are only in great opposition. And Allah will suffice you against them, and He is the Hearing, the Knowing.”
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The Baptism of Allah

2:138 “The baptism of Allah, and who is better than Allah in baptising? And Him do we serve.” Even though Baptism is practiced by Unbelievers, the Quran uses it as a metaphor.
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The Quranic word for “Baptism” is “Sibghat”, which also means to colour, or dip in dye, which is more or less the same, and which explains why Pickthal translated: “(We take our) colour from Allah, and who is better than Allah at colouring? …”
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2:138 is another example of the Quran’s little regard to syntax. To fix the problem, translators add “(This is)” at the beginning of the verse, so it makes sense.
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Back to the Jews of Medina: 2:139-140 are pretty self-explanatory, repeating what has been said before. If we have the same god who is the same baptiser, then:
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“Say: ‘Would you then dispute with us concerning Allah, who is our Lord and your Lord? Our deeds belong to us, and to you belong your deeds. Him we serve sincerely. Or do you say, “Ibrahim, Isma’il, Ishaq, and Ya’qoub, and the Tribes, they were Jews, or they were Christians”?’ Say: ‘Have you then greater knowledge, or Allah? And who does greater evil than he who conceals a testimony received from Allah? And Allah is not heedless of the things you do.’”
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This is a repetition of Muhammad claims that the Jews know the truth (his truth) but conceal it, and Allah will deal with them, as he is watching and hearing what is going on.
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2:141 is a repeat of 2:134. We have seen quite a lot of repetition, and we haven’t even reached the halfway mark in this surah.