O Children of Israel

In Arabic one who submits to the Will of God is called a Muslim. The Holy Qur’an specifically invites the Children of Israel to become Muslims in the true sense of the word. It calls upon them to accept the Will of God, and the Truth coming from the God of Abraham. The Qur’an expresses the utmost respect for Abraham and calls him and his children Muslims because they submitted to God’s Will.

 

In the Qur’an, Abraham’s two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, are considered great prophets of God. For Ishmael, the Qur’an says: “He was indeed strict in keeping his promise; and was a messenger, a prophet. He used to enjoin prayer and almsgiving on his people, and he was well-pleased to his Lord” (19:55, 56).

Isaac’s son Jacob is also revered as a righteous prophet of God. For Isaac and Jacob, the Qur’an says: “And We made them leaders who guided people by Our command, and We sent revelation to them enjoining prayer, and the giving of alms. And they were worshippers of Us Alone” (21:74). To Jacob, God gave the name Israel– the warrior of God. As Jacob had twelve sons, Ishmael too had twelve sons. The Arabs claim to be the children of Ishmael and the Jews are the children of Israel. The Ishmaelite and the Israelite are thus brethren to each other; the progeny of Abraham.

The Qur’an repeatedly draws the attention of the Children of Israel to the blessings bestowed upon them by God. It reminds them of their covenant with God to fulfill certain conditions which, if honored, would bestow upon them certain advantages. God says in the Qur’an: “O Children of Israel! Remember My favor which I bestowed upon you, and fulfill your covenant with Me, I will fulfill My covenant with you, and Me Alone should you fear; and believe in what I have sent down which fulfills that which is with you, and be not the first to disbelieve therein, and barter not My signs for a paltry price, and take protection in Me Alone” (2:41 – 42). According to the Torah, the Children of Israel had taken a solemn pledge with God at Sinai that they would remain submissive to His Will, and  would obey all of His commandments ; and in return God had promised them that He would pour out His Spirit over them, and reward them with prosperity and victory. As recorded in the Hebrew Bible, that covenant was renewed several times.

(Deut.29; Josh.24; Ezra 10; Neh. 9 and 10).

The Qur’an refers to that covenant and invites the Jews to accept the message of Truth brought by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as coming from the same God with Whom they had made the covenant. Islam claims that the divine message given to mankind throughout the ages was the same, that is, submission to God’s Will. Islam professes to be the culmination of all previous religious traditions as preached and practiced by the prophets of God sent to all the nations in the past. Through Prophet Muhammad(saw), God commanded the Muslims in the Qur’an to proclaim: “We believe in God and what has been revealed to us, and what was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael, and Isaac and Jacob and his children, and what was given to Moses and Jesus, and what was given to all other prophets from their Lord God. We make no distinction between any of them; to Him we submit ourselves” (2:137).

 

 Prophet Muhammad(saw) claimed to be the prophet prophesied in the Torah who would impart a universal message to all mankind, as the Will of God was to be manifested through him in its perfection. In the Torah, it is written that God spoke to Moses that God would raise a prophet like unto him, and the Israelites were commanded to hear and obey him. Moses said to the Children of Israel:

 

“The Lord your God will raise up for  you a prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, according to all you desired of the LORD your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’

 And the LORD said to me: “What they have spoken is good. I will raise them up a prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in his mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die’ 

(Deuteronomy 18:15-20).

Many prophets appeared after Moses, but none was like the prophet as described and prophesied by Moses. Only Prophet Muhammad(saw) – who descended from the children of Abraham, among the Ishmaelites, the brethren of the Israelites – was a prophet who received God’s comprehensive commandments and gave the Law of God to mankind. His likeness to Prophet Moses(as) is declared in the Qur’an in these words: “Verily, We have sent to you a messenger who is a witness over you, even as We sent a messenger to Pharaoh” (73:16).

 

Prophet Muhammad(saw) spoke in the name of God. Every Sura (chapter) in the Qur’an starts with the words “In the name of God, Most Gracious, Ever Merciful.” God put His words in Prophet Muhammad’s mouth as was foretold by Moses. The Law brought by Prophet Muhammad(saw) is preserved, word for word, in the Qur’an. The Qur’an itself claims to be the Word of God — “Kalam Allah” (2:76).

The prophecy made by Moses also asserts that a false prophet shall meet with death and defeat as a punishment from God. Conversely, Prophet Muhammad(saw) was most successful in his mission, and won victory upon victory, and passed away naturally at the height of his success.His mission continues to progress to this day. Thus, all the signs of him being “the Prophet” have been uniquely fulfilled in his person. God had made it obligatory for the Children of Israel to listen to the prophesied prophet and to obey him; therefore, God addressed them directly in the Qur’an:

 

“O Children of Israel! Remember My favor which I bestowed upon you, and that I exalted you above all peoples; and fear the day when no soul shall serve as a substitute for another soul at all, nor shall any ransom be accepted from it, nor any intercession avail it, nor they be helped” (2:123).

 

The Qur’an makes it clear that in the past some from among the Children of Israel being unjust had offended God and His messengers:

 

“Those amongst the Children of Israel who disbelieved were cursed by the tongue of David, and of Jesus, son of Mary. That was because they disobeyed and used to transgress. They would not prohibit one another from offensive conduct which they preached. Evil indeed was that which they used to do” (5:79, 80).

 

For the Jews to step into the fold of Islam, into complete submission to God’s Will, should not be difficult as Islam upholds many of their established traditions and beliefs. Judaism and Islam both take pride in the religious heritage of Abraham who not only questioned and rejected all forms of idolatry prevalent in his time, but actually smashed the handmade idols to pieces. The Torah has a clear commandment from God for the Israelites: “You shall not make for yourself a graven image or any likeness of anything that is in the heaven above or on the earth below… you shall not bow down to them or serve them” (Ex. 20:4-5). We also read: “Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols, that I must seize the house of Israel by their hearts, because they are estranged from Me by their idols…Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations” (Ezekiel 14:4-6).

 

In Sinai, Moses had to deal with the tendency of the Israelites for idolatry that they had picked up from the Egyptians.The Torah denounces idolatry and demands its destruction: “You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the Lord your God” (Deut. 7:25).

 

 Similarly, the Qur’an emphatically calls idol-worship an enormity, an abomination, and commands the believers to shun it (22:31). Prophet Muhammad(saw) had to abolish idolatry from Arabia, from among the Ishmaelite tribes who had propped up hundreds of idols at their most sacred shrine, the Ka’aba in Mecca. His main mission was to establish the Unity of God (tauwheed). He succeeded in clearing away all the idols from the Ka’aba in his very lifetime.

 

The Muslims worship the same God Who was worshipped by Abraham. Upon beginning each of their five daily prayers, Muslims make the intention (niyyat) to focus on the worship of the One God. This important prologue to the liturgical daily prayers is made by Muslims by repeating the words of Abraham as quoted in the Qur’an: “I have turned my face towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, being ever inclined to God, and I am not of those who associate gods with God” (6:80). While praying, Muslims repeat many of Abraham’s prayers verbatim as recorded in the Qur’an. Towards the end of each prayer, Muslims seek benediction and God’s blessings upon Prophet Muhammad(saw) and fellow Muslims, saying, “O God, bestow Your blessings upon Muhammad and the followers of Muhammad as You blessed Abraham and the family of Abraham. You are indeed Glorious, the Praiseworthy. O God, grant abundance to Muhammad and the followers of Muhammad, as you granted abundance to Abraham and his family. You are indeed Glorious, the Praiseworthy.”

Similar to Jewish rules and regulations concerning food, the Muslims eat clean (tayyab) and lawful (halal) foods. The Qur’an states, “O you who believe, make not unlawful the good things which God has made lawful for you, and do nottransgress. Surely God loves not the transgressors” (5:88). It also states, “He has made unlawful to you only that which dies of itself, and the blood and flesh of swine, and that over which any other name than Allah has been invoked”(2:174).

Muslims also perform circumcision of all male children as was prescribed by God as a token of the covenant with Abraham (Gen. 17:10-14), and later legalized by Moses (Lev. 12:3) as a symbol of purity of heart and readiness to hear and obey God.

 

Abraham’s faith was tested by God by asking him to surrender to sacrifice the son he loved passionately. Seeing Abraham’s willingness to make the supreme sacrifice, God asked him to substitute it with an animal sacrifice. The Qur’an documents that event, and calls it the supreme sacrifice – zabhe azeem (37:108). To commemorate Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice, Muslims all over the world sacrifice animals at the end of the annual pilgrimage, or Hajj, on the festive day of Eid-ul-Adhia.

 

The Qur’an reminds the Jews that among the many favors of God, they were the recipients of prophets and kings, but it also takes them back to their past mistakes as are recorded in the Torah, and warns them of the consequences and punishment as detailed in their sacred scriptures. If they keep their covenant with God, God being the Most Merciful will keep His promise to pour His Spirit over them.