Texts of Islam

The Prophets, Their Lives and Their Stories: Elias, Elisha, Ishmael and Balaam: Ishmael, Other Than The Son of Abraham (PUT)

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This is an excerpt from an Islamic sacred text in the Shia tradition, drawing on narrations attributed to Imams Al-Sādiq and Al-Ridhā to interpret Quranic references to a prophet named Ishmael. The central argument is that the Ishmael praised in Surah Mariam (19:54-55) as "keeper of his promise" and "messenger and prophet" is not Ishmael the son of Abraham, but rather Ishmael son of Ezekiel — a distinct, lesser-known prophet. This Ishmael was martyred by his own people, who skinned his head and face, and he is said to have declined divine vengeance on his behalf, instead linking his fate typologically to the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali. A distinctively Shia eschatological claim anchors the text: Ishmael son of Ezekiel made a covenant with God to be resurrected alongside Husayn at the end of times in order to take revenge for their shared martyrdoms. The "keeper of his promise" epithet is explained through a hadith: Ishmael waited an entire year at a meeting spot for someone who had not shown up, and God honored this patience with the Quranic title. Readers interested in Shia prophetic typology, the theology of martyrdom and apocalyptic return (raj'a), or intra-Islamic debates about Quranic figure identification will find this a concise primary-source illustration of those themes.

The Prophets, Their Lives and Their Stories: Elias, Elisha, Ishmael and Balaam: Ishmael, Other Than The Son of Abraham (PUT)

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