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By Naveed Anjum

Israel — A Jewish Heritage, cont’dIt was in Canaan that Abraham fathered his two sons, Ishmael with Hagar and Isaac with Sarah. Islamic traditions confirm that Abraham left Isaac and Sarah in Canaan, but he left Ishmael and Hagar in Makkah. Here is where the Biblical accounts differ. They state that Abraham left Ishmael and Hagar in Paran. Since Muslims discount the Biblical account, we will refer to the Islamic traditions.

Hagar’s Journey from the Paran Desert in the Sinai to Mecca in Arabia.

It is an established belief that prophets do nothing of their own will but only according to God’s Will. Therefore, according to the Prophets, it was God’s decision where the descendants of Ishmael and the descendants of Isaac were to be taken, establish as their territory, and dwell.

Islamic tradition asserts that Abraham took Hagar and Ishmael in Makkah and left them there, while Sarah was in Canaan. Since the Biblical account differs from this Islamic tradition, and since Muslims prefer Islamic resources, we will follow the Islamic path to establish facts and draw our conclusions.

Our first premise is that it was God’s plan to make Canaan the Holy Land for the Jewish people and Saudi Arabia the Holy Land for the Muslim people. For now, we will not address the Bible’s claim that it was Paran that God chose for the Muslim people rather than Makkah. Regardless whether it was Paran or Makkah, the point is that it was God’s plan to get Ishmael’s descendants out of Canaan so that he could establish the Israelites in Canaan.

I will provide more traditions and Quranic verses in the following episodes.

Thank you.

Naveed Anjum, a pro-Israel, Zionist Muslim, is the founder and owner of this blog. He also is the founder of several Facebook groups and pages. To learn more about Naveed, continue to his About page…