How do the Jews and Muslims differ in their views of Isaac and Abraham?

Answer 1

Islam has a different view of the following:

1) The Torah, which was given to the Israelites 3330 years ago, states that God tested Abraham by seeming to desire the sacrifice of Isaac. See Genesis ch.22 for the full text.

2) Jewish tradition states that Abraham founded what is now known as Judaism. See the attached Related Link for a more complete biography of Abraham.

Note that any claim that the Jews might have altered the narrative of Genesis ch.22 is contradicted by the fact that the Torah had been translated to Greek and was possessed by Gentiles, nine hundred years before the Muslims said their version of Genesis.

Answer 2

They differ because Jewish tradition states that Abraham was tested by God by being asked to sacrifice his son Isaac (Genesis ch.22).

The Muslims believe that Abraham was asked by God to sacrifice his other son, Ishmael, to God as a test of faith.

Answer 3

General Answer

The difference in the story is that Muslims believe Ishmael was the one who was supposed to be sacrificed and Jews and Christians believe Isaac was supposed to sacrificed.

Islamic Perspective

The Qur'an states that the Jews and Christians had tampered with their scriptures, and altered some things for political purposes.

For the Jews, it is essential that Issac was the son that was to be sacrificed by Abraham. That is because they make the argument that Ishmael - the son from whom Muhammad finally came - was NOT included in the Covenant.

What does that mean? That ONLY the Jews were to receive prophets from God.

But the Qur'an states that, in fact, it is a forgery. Ishmael AND Isaac were both included in the Covenant. Hence, when the Children of Israel rebelled against God's Prophets (especially when they finally rejected Jesus) God then sent His Final Prophet to the OTHER branch of Abraham's family - the Children of Ishmael.

God blesses Ishmael, in The Bible, on three occasions; and He says - about both Isaac AND Ishmael - that He will make each "a great nation".

Even the story in the Bible about how and why Abraham took Ishmael and his mother, Hagar, to settle them in "Paran" (the first name for Mecca) shows clearly that the scriptures were tampered with. The Bible says that when Ishmael was seven, Isaac was born. Then, when Isaac was seven, and Ishmael fourteen, Sara became jealous, and ordered Abraham to remove Ishmael and his mother (as if there was something wrong with Ishmael).

But then the Bible says that when Hagar and Ishmael were there, in Paran, Ishmael was crying and kicking his feet from hunger and thirst, so the Angel of the Lord told Hagar: "Lift up the child, for God shall make of him a great nation".

So according to the Bible, his old mother Hagar had to pick up her fourteen year old "child" because he was kicking his feet from thirst and hunger.

Does that make sense?

The truth is that Abraham took Ishmael and Hagar away to the valley of Mecca long before Isaac was even born. It was part of God's plan to bring about the Nation of Muhammad - after the Nation of Moses had had their chance.

Ishmael was blessed. Ishmael was included in God's Covenant, and Ishmael was the son of the sacrifice. To Muslims, it does not matter so much; we believe in Isaac and Moses and David and Jesus and all the rest. But to the Jews, it is ESSENTIAL that Isaac be the one - because they are compelled to deny Ishmael in order to maintain their incorrect idea that ONLY the Jews have a direct relationship with God.

Jewish Perspective

The covenant of Abraham did apply to both Isaac and Ishmael and there is no reason to extrapolate, as the above perspective does, that Isaac being sacrificed denies the Islamic connection to God. In fact, Maimonides makes clear that Islam (and Christianity) are divinely sanctioned religions. Judaism and Jews have a specific purpose, however, that those religions and their adherents do not. The reason the Jews believe Isaac was the one sacrificed (in addition to the Biblical narrative) is that God continued to maintain a connection with the family that descended from Isaac. There is no place in the Bible (after Ishmael dies) where the Ishmaelites are mentioned ever again except as merchants or mercenaries and certainly not divinely-guided people. Would it make sense that God would start the Arab nation with such an important event as the sacrifice only to abandon to Arabs for nearly 1500 years, as the Muslims seem to claim?

The reason that Muslims deny that Isaac was the one to be sacrificed (in addition to violating the word of Qur'an) is that they would be forced to reexamine Islamic Replacement Theory. Islam holds that it replaces and supersedes Judaism and Christianity and perfects their errors. If one of their "errors" is actually the truth and the correction is wrong, it casts doubt on the whole enterprise.