Prophet Abraham’s (Ibrahim) Story in Islam

Did you know that Abraham (Ibrahim) (PBUH) is a highly respected prophet in Islam? Not only that, he and Moses have been mentioned by name in the Quran more than any other prophet.  Don’t miss this episode of Biblical Figures, Islamic Narrative about the story of Prophet Abraham in Islam (Prophet Ibrahim’s Story).

Prophet Abraham in Islam

Abraham (PBUH) is the common patriarch of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and other religions as well. In other words, he is the father of all Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, he is the prophet who made the covenant of the pieces with God, guaranteeing a special relationship between the Hebrews and God; in Christianity, he is the prototype of all believers, Jewish or Gentile; and in Islam he is seen as a link in the chain of prophets that begins with Adam and culminates in Muhammad.

Abraham, known as Ibrahim (إِبْرَاهِيْمُ, pronounced [ʔɪbraːˈhiːm]), in Arabic, is recognized as a prophet and messenger of God in Islam. Abraham plays a prominent role as an example of faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Muslim belief, Prophet Abraham fulfilled all the commandments and trials wherein God nurtured him throughout his lifetime. As a result of his unwavering faith in God, Ibrahim was promised by God to be a leader to all the nations of the world.

The Quran extols Ibrahim as a model, an exemplar, obedient and not an idolater. In this sense, Prophet Abraham, in Islam, has been described as representing “primordial man in universal surrender to the Divine Reality before its fragmentation into religions separated from each other by differences in form”.

The Islamic holy day ‘Eid al-Adha is celebrated in memory of the sacrifice of Prophet Abraham, and each able bodied Muslim is supposed to perform the pilgrimage to pay homage at the Kaaba in the Hejazi city of Mecca, which was built by Abraham and his son Ishmael as the first house of worship on earth.

Muslims believe that Prophet Abraham became the leader of the righteous in his time. Abraham, in the belief of Islam, was instrumental in cleansing the world of idolatry at the time. Abraham in both the Arabian Peninsula and Canaan cleared out paganism. He spiritually purified both places as well as physically sanctifying the houses of worship.

Abraham and Ismāʿīl (Ishmael) further established the rites of pilgrimage, or Ḥajj (‘Pilgrimage’), which are still followed by Muslims today. Muslims maintain that Prophet Abraham further asked God to bless both the lines of his progeny, of Isma’il and Isḥāq (Isaac), and to keep all of his descendants in the protection of God. Many movies ans cartoons have been made about Prophet Ibrahim and his story in Islam.