Prophetic Precursors

Pointers Toward Muhammad or Christ?

Tom Wilson

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781725267138, 9781725267145
• eBook ISBN: 9781725267152
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religious Ecumenism & Interfaith

Prophetic Precursors discusses some key biblical figures: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, Mary, and Jesus. Christian and Muslim views of these figures are contrasted and where relevant the question is asked whether these figures point us towards Jesus or towards Muhammad.

Abraham

Jews, Christians and Muslims all look to Abraham as a father figure, foundational to their faith. Yet what we believe about Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic), the stories we tell of his life and faith, differ from faith to faith, never mind within each faith. The variety of understandings of Abraham within the Abrahamic faiths is a vast subject, and any attempt to write about it could very quickly become a lengthy book, if not series of books. My specific intention in this chapter is to introduce some primers for discussion between Christians and Muslims as to their different understandings of this pivotal figure. The first section gives a brief overview of the story of Abraham as told in Genesis. The shape of the next five sections comes from a lecture heard at a conference on the influence of the Bible on the Qur’an, held at the British Academy in October 2018. The speaker on Abraham was Nicolai Sinai, who divided references to Abraham in the Qur’an into five groups, which he admits are subjective, but provide a helpful framework for analysis. These five are, first, the so-called disputation cluster, that is, texts that record Abraham’s confrontation of idolatry. This is not in Genesis, but is found in postbiblical traditions. Second, the so-called annunciation cluster, when angels tell Abraham he will have a son. There is an account in Genesis 18, as well as postbiblical references. There are significant differences between Genesis and the Qur’an, which will be explored below. Third, the “sacrifice cluster” is different in who is offered, as well as the awareness and willingness of the son to be sacrificed. There is a debate within Islamic exegetical tradition as to whether it was Isaac or Ishmael who was offered, and I will outline this debate below. Fourth, there are passages unique to the Qur’an, the so-called sanctuary cluster, that is, texts that establish the covenant and the Meccan sanctuary. There is no pre-Qur’anic attestation of the episode, although the underlying concepts do exist. Sinai’s fifth category is miscellaneous references. The two points I will focus on are the reference to Abraham as a friend of God and as a hanif. Having discussed these five categories, the seventh area of focus will be Christian retelling of the story of Abraham, with particular focus on the Pauline usage in Galatians and Romans. Finally, in the eight section, the rival Christian and Muslim claims for Abraham are assessed.

The Story of Abraham as Told in Genesis

The story of Abraham begins with the genealogy in Genesis 11, which traces Terah’s family line, and includes Terah’s son Abram. The account of his life is found in Genesis chapters 12–25. Limitations of space preclude a detailed exegesis of the whole story, but I will outline the basic shape. God calls Abram to leave the land of his family and go and settle in Canaan, the land that God directs him to. When he is first called, Abram receives this promise:

I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (Genesis 12:2–3)

Discussing the call of Abram in Genesis 12, Hamilton points out that his faith is “in operation prior to his commitment to be Yahweh’s servant.”105 The covenant and promise of blessings come afterwards, as Abram agrees to be both recipient and conduit of God’s favor. On the strength of divine reassurance, Abram travels first to Canaan, but then when there is a famine he goes down to Egypt. Fearful that his beautiful wife, Sarai, will be so attractive to the Egyptians that they kill him to get her, Abram instructs Sarai to say she is his sister. She does so, but when Pharaoh takes her into his palace, God afflicts Pharaoh and his family with serious diseases. Pharaoh, on learning that Abram is in fact Sarah’s wife, sends him on his way. Abram then returns to the Negev, where he and his nephew Lot separate, because their livestock have become too numerous to share the same pastures. Lot goes to the plains where the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah lie, while Abram settles near Mamre at Hebron, and builds an altar to the Lord.

In Genesis 14, Lot, and all the people of Sodom, are subsequently captured, and Abram takes 318 trained men, and goes and rescues him and those with him. As Abram returns, Melchizedek, who is described as king of Salem and priest of God Most High (Genesis 14:18), comes out to greet Abram and blesses him, saying: Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand! (Genesis 14:19–20).

Abram responds by giving Melchizedek a tenth of the plunder, returning the rest to the king of Sodom and the people. God then makes a covenant with Abram, tell him that his offspring will be numberless, like the stars in the heavens. Abram believed the Lord, who reckon...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Introduction
• Creation, Adam and Eve
• Noah
• Abraham
• Joseph
• Moses
• David and Solomon
• Mary
• Jesus
• Postscript
• Bibliography