THE relationship between Umm al-Oura (Makkah) with Abraham is the significant theme of the Quranic Da’wah. The Prophet of Islam was raised from among the Bani Ishmael, a branch of the descendants of Abraham. Abraham had himself settled this branch of his descendants at Makkah. This is the place where he offered his only son for sacrifice in the vicinity of al-Marwah. His son was Ishmael, who was the ancestor of Allah’s last Prophet, Muhammad.
In this book, the authors try to show that it was the Jews who incorporated the name of Isaac in their scriptures to say he was the only son offered for sacrifice in lieu of Ishmael. Now they feel a great confusion has been created regarding the place of Ishmael’s offering. They also try to make the relation of Abraham with the sanctuary of Makkah doubtful in every respect. And the intent of the scholars of this book is to bring all the wrongs to light “to establish the reality upon the Jews and Christians beyond any shadow of doubt.”
Few Muslim scholars in the past have addressed the question of the identity of the actual son of Prophet Abraham, who was taken for sacrifice, with such conviction as has been done by Abdus Sattar Ghauri and Ihsanur Rahman Ghauri. What makes the work of considerable relevance is the deliberate attempt to rely on the Bible and the works of Biblical scholars to prove this point and the writer-scholars themselves admit that the question addressed in the book has been “settled once forever” by the celebrated South Asian Muslim scholar, Imam Hamid al-Din Farahi in his work in Arabic – al-Ray al-Sahih fi man huwa al-dhabih.
If the results of the findings in this book are accepted with a spirit of impartiality and goodwill, claim the authors, within the community of Jews and Christians, it would help in learning the international atmosphere between the Muslim and Judeo-Christian world which is so much vitiated by misunderstanding and inability due to centuries of ignorance and mistrust.-MG
(Gyan Publishing House, 23, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi-110 002.)
