Abrahamâs Sacrifice 8 Sons including Isaac and Ishmael!
Abrahamâs Sacrifice and His Eight Sons (not only Ishmael and Isaac): A Qurâanic Perspective
In the Qurâan, the story of Abrahamâs sacrifice is told without ever naming the son, a deliberate and meaningful omission. The account in Surah As-Saffat (37:100â113) describes how Abraham dreams that he must sacrifice his son, and the boy willingly accepts his fatherâs command, saying, âO my father, do as you are commanded. You will find me, if Allah wills, among the steadfast.â When Abraham prepares to carry out the act, God intervenes, declaring that Abraham has fulfilled the vision, and a ram is provided as a substitute. Yet throughout the passage, the sonâs identity remains unnamed. Later verses mention the good news of Isaacâs birth, which most Muslim scholars interpret as evidence that the son intended for sacrifice was Ishmael, the elder son associated with Mecca.
âEach of 8 sons sacrificed to God based on their homeâ
However, the Qurâanâs decision to leave the son unnamed may serve a larger theological and historical purpose. According to the Bible, Abraham was not the father of only one or two children, but of manyâeight in total. Besides Isaac and Ishmael, he had six more sons through Keturah, who later became the ancestors of different tribes spread across regions such as Midian, Sheba, and the eastern deserts. Each of these lineages carried traces of Abrahamâs spiritual legacy. By avoiding a specific name, the Qurâan detaches the sacrifice story from ethnic or national boundaries, turning it into a universal lesson of submission to God rather than a tribal claim of inheritance.
Genesis 25:1â6 (New International Version)
1 Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah.1
2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah.2
3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. The descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites.3
4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of 4Keturah.
5 Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac.
6 But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.
The Profound Interpretive Metaphor
Son
Region / âHomeâ
Sacrifice Expression
Isaac
Canaan / Israel
Ritual law, temple offering
Ishmael
Arabia
Personal submission ($islÄm$), pilgrimage sacrifice
Midian
NW Arabia
Prophetic reform via Jethro (Shuâayb)
Jokshan, Sheba, Dedan
Southern Arabia
Commerce + monotheism fusion (Queen of Sheba)
Zimran, Ishbak, Shuah
Desert tribes
Tribal offerings, hospitality rituals
So symbolically: Each âsonâ sacrifices his own heritage, land, and ego to God in the way his environment allows.
This universality reflects the broader Abrahamic principle that faith and obedience matter more than bloodline. The unnamed son represents every descendant of Abraham who inherits his devotion and willingness to surrender to the divine will. Thus, the tradition of sacrificeâremembered by Jews in prayer, by Muslims in the Eid al-Adha ritual, and by other Abrahamic descendants in their own waysâoriginated not as a single nationâs story, but as a shared act of faith performed in multiple lands where Abrahamâs children settled and formed their own peoples. The Qurâanâs silence on the name, therefore, is not an omission but a profound statement: the test of Abraham belongs to all his sons, and through them, to all humankind.
In the earliest layer of Abrahamic tradition, the âsacrificial sonâ was not originally named â because the story symbolized Abrahamâs submission itself, not one specific lineage.
The Qurâan, Moses, and the Descendants of Keturah
The Quran has no story about sons of Abraham except Ishmael and Isaac. But when Moses prepares to revolt against Pharaoh of Egypt, Eurekaaa! Moses met Shuâayb (Jethro) who is descendant of Abraham according to the Bible.
Moses flees Egypt $\rightarrow$ finds refuge in Midian
âAnd when he turned his face toward Madyan, he said, âPerhaps my Lord will guide me to the right way.ââ (Surah 28 : 22)
He meets the daughters of ShuÊżayb (Jethro), helps them water their flock, and is invited to stay.
âHe (ShuÊżayb) said, âI wish to marry you to one of these two daughters of mine, on condition that you serve me for eight years.ââ (28 : 27)
So the prophet who will confront Pharaoh is first mentored, housed, and married within Midianite society.
Who are the Midianites?
Therefore ShuÊżayb (Jethro) is traditionally viewed as a descendant of Abraham through Midian. The Qurâan calls them âAáčŁáž„Äb al-Aykahâ or âQawm Madyan.â The Bible identifies Midian as a son of Abraham by Keturah (Genesis 25 : 2).
Unpacking the “Unnamed Basis”
The idea that âAbraham had 8 sons, so he should use an unnamed basisâ fits both textual logic and theological development.
1. Abrahamâs Many Sons â The Broader Patriarch, Not a One-Son Figure
Biblical genealogy
Ishmael â from Hagar, the Egyptian servant (Genesis 16).
Isaac â from Sarah (Genesis 21).
Six more sons â from Keturah (Genesis 25:1â4): Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.
These are ancestors of Arabian, Midianite, and Eastern tribes. So yes â Abraham had at least eight sons in total. The idea of him having only one âpromisedâ son (Isaac) or one âobedientâ son (Ishmael) came later, when each community defined its sacred lineage.
2. The Original Story as an âUnnamed Testâ
In the oldest strata of the Abraham story â before it was formalized into distinct Hebrew or Arab traditions â the test may have been universal and symbolic:
âGod tested Abraham and said: take your son, your only one, whom you loveâŠâ
Notice how Genesis 22:2 originally uses a progressive revelation: âYour son⊠your only one⊠the one you loveâŠâ (then finally adds âIsaacâ at the end). That phrasing is unusual â it sounds as if the name âIsaacâ was inserted later into an older text that didnât specify the son.
Many textual critics note that: Early oral stories likely said âyour sonâ or âthe beloved sonâ, without naming him. Later editors, each made choices that reflect theological identity politics â which son carries the covenant?
Thus, the intuition that Abraham used an âunnamed basisâ is quite consistent with the idea that the original story was a paradigm of total submission, not a record of a specific childâs near-death.
3. Why âIsaacâ Was Later Emphasized in the Hebrew Canon
Once Israelite identity became centered on the AbrahamâIsaacâJacob covenant chain:
The editors of Genesis needed to ensure that the chosen line was clearly distinct from other Abrahamic descendants (Ishmaelites, Midianites, etc.).
So the Isaac-name insertion (and genealogical focus) functioned as a boundary marker â âour ancestorâs test, not theirs.â
Hence: âJewish force should name Isaac appear on bookâ means that naming became an act of covenantal claiming. This is not falsification, but theological consolidation â defining which son embodies the chosen promise.
4. The Qurâanic Continuation of the âUnnamedâ Style
When Islam restored the story centuries later, the Qurâan intentionally kept the unnamed son form â preserving what may reflect the older, pre-sectarian tradition:
âHe said: O my son, I have seen in a dream that I sacrifice youâŠâ (37:102)
No name, because the focus returns to obedience, not bloodline. Then in the next verses (37:112-113), Isaac is mentioned separately â as a later blessing:
âAnd We gave him good news of Isaac, a prophet among the righteous.â
So the Qurâan appears to distinguish:
The sacrifice episode (unnamed son $\rightarrow$ likely Ishmael by context),
From the continuation of lineage (Isaac as later prophetic gift).
That structure perfectly fits the idea: The original Abrahamic story was âunnamed basisâ â universal test of faith â later traditions localized it to one son.
Conclusion
Stage
Tradition
Style
Focus
Proto-Abrahamic oral story
(Pre-Israelite, Semitic tribal)
Unnamed son
Obedience test
Israelite redaction
Torah (Genesis 22)
Isaac named
Covenant identity
Arabian revelation
Qurâan (Surah 37)
Unnamed again
Universal submission
Later exegesis
Midrash & Tafsir
Isaac vs. Ishmael debate
Lineage vs. faith
Abraham â father of many nations â originally faced Godâs test with no specific son named, because every son was symbolically his offering. Later communities each named their own son to locate themselves within that divine story.
In that light:
Isaac represents the spiritual covenant (faith lineage).
Ishmael represents the practical submission (ritual lineage).
The six sons of Keturah represent the worldly branches â trade, wisdom, and culture.
Abrahamâs unnamed sacrifice thus belongs to all his sons â and through them, to all humanity.
Posted inUncategorized|Comments Off on Abrahamâs Sacrifice: Both Isaac and Ishmael (in the Bible & the Qurâan)
The Qurâan tells us much about Prophet Abraham (IbrÄhÄ«m ŰčÙÙÙ Ű§ÙŰłÙŰ§Ù ): his search for truth, his submission to God, and his test of faith through the command to sacrifice his son. Yet the Qurâan never mentions the sonâs name. This silence has puzzled generations of readers, but perhaps it carries a deeper meaning.
While classical Islamic historiography acknowledges that Prophet Abraham (IbrÄhÄ«m) fathered several sons beyond Ishmael (IsmÄâÄ«l) and Isaac (IshÄq), this broader familial awareness has largely faded from contemporary Muslim discourse. Predominant narratives focus exclusively on the two prophetic sons, overlooking the Qurâanic employment of the plural term banÄ«hi (âhis sonsâ) and its theological implications. This study employs a direct intertextual methodology, correlating Qurâanic language with the Biblical record in Genesis 25:1â6, which details Abrahamâs additional sons through Keturah. In doing so, it identifies the Midianite lineageâthrough which Prophet Shuâayb (Jethro) later emergedâas a continuation of Abrahamâs wider spiritual heritage. This QurâanâBible cross-analysis, developed independently of traditional Tafsir or Israiliyyat materials, recontextualizes Abrahamâs narrative within a more universal and inclusive framework of monotheistic history.
1. Abrahamâs sons â more than two
In several verses, the Qurâan explicitly names two sons of Abraham â IsmÄÊżÄ«l (Ishmael) and Isáž„Äq (Isaac):
âAnd We gave him good tidings of Isáž„Äq, a prophet from among the righteous.â (Qurâan 37 : 112)
âPraise be to Allah, Who granted me in old age IsmÄÊżÄ«l and Isáž„Äq.â (Qurâan 14 : 39)
However, the Qurâan also hints that Abraham had other sons who shared in his faith. In Surah Al-Baqarah (2 : 132) it says:
ÙÙÙÙŰ”ÙÙÙÙ° ŰšÙÙÙۧ Ű„ÙŰšÙ۱ÙۧÙÙÙÙ Ù ŰšÙÙÙÙÙÙ ÙÙÙÙŰčÙÙÙÙŰšÙ âAbraham enjoined this faith upon his sons, and so did Jacob.â
The verse uses the plural banÄ«hi â âhis sonsâ â not âhis two sons.â This plural form suggests that Abraham had multiple sons, and that each was taught the same creed of submission (islÄm). The Qurâan doesnât list their names because the message, not the genealogy, is what matters.
On Bible narrated that Abraham had 6 more sons (Genesis 25:1â6 New International Version)
1 Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. 3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. The descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah. 5 Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. 6 But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.
2. The unnamed son in the sacrifice story
In Surah AáčŁ-áčąÄffÄt (37 : 101â107), the Qurâan narrates the test of Abrahamâs sacrifice:
âSo We gave him good tidings of a forbearing boy. Then when he reached the age to work with him, he said, âO my son, I have seen in a dream that I am sacrificing you.ââ
But the Qurâan never states who that son was. By keeping the son unnamed, the Qurâan transforms the story from a tribal claim (whose lineage is âchosenâ) into a universal act of surrender. The real message is not who was on the altar, but what Abraham was willing to give up â his most beloved gift, for the sake of God.
3. The missing link â Midian and ShuÊżayb
Later in the Qurâan, another prophet appears: ShuÊżayb, sent to the People of Madyan (Midian).
âAnd to Madyan [We sent] their brother ShuÊżayb. He said, âO my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. Give full measure and weight, and do not deprive people of their due.ââ (Qurâan 7 : 85)
Centuries after Abraham, the people of Midian still upheld a message of justice, honesty, and monotheism â the same faith Abraham taught his sons.
Then, in Surah Al-QaáčŁaáčŁ (28 : 22â28), Prophet MĆ«sÄ (Moses) flees Egypt and arrives in Madyan, where he meets ShuÊżayb, marries one of his daughters, and begins his prophetic training before carrying a revolt against Pharaoh.
This episode is crucial. Even without naming genealogies, the Qurâan shows that another branch of Abrahamâs faith â the Midianites â was still alive and righteous. Moses did not escape history; he stepped into the house of a prophet who preserved Abrahamâs ethics. The Qurâan quietly reconnects these lines through story, not genealogy.
4. A unified Abrahamic family
From these verses, we can see a pattern:
Qurâanic Figure
Location
Shared Message
Abraham
Mesopotamia / Canaan
Surrender to God (islÄm)
IsmÄÊżÄ«l
Arabia
Purity and devotion (pilgrimage)
Isáž„Äq
Canaan
Continuity of prophetic wisdom
ShuÊżayb
Midian (NW Arabia)
Justice, honesty, ethical trade
MĆ«sÄ
Egypt â Midian â Sinai
Liberation and divine law
Each of these prophets continues the same submission and moral teaching. Thus, the Qurâanâs refusal to name the âsacrificial sonâ fits its vision of one continuous Abrahamic covenant, expressed through many families and nations.
5. Conclusion
From a Qurâanic perspective, Abrahamâs legacy was never limited to two sons. The Qurâan itself speaks of âhis sonsâ (banÄ«hi), and later shows Moses meeting ShuÊżayb â proof that the light of Abrahamâs faith reached other peoples.
By leaving the sacrificial son unnamed, the Qurâan removes ethnic boundaries and unites all Abrahamic descendants under one principle:
True sacrifice is not about bloodline, but about surrender to God.
magine the Comparison: Jesusâ Movement vs. Romeâs War Machine
You can easily imagine how enormous the Roman War Machine was compared to Jesusâ peaceful and unarmed following. Jesus traveled with a handful of disciples, teaching spiritual reform and compassion â not military rebellion. Rome, by contrast, maintained a professional army with trained legions, auxiliary units, cavalry, and logistical support spanning thousands of kilometers. It was an absolute mismatch: a nonviolent spiritual teacher facing the worldâs most efficient military empire.
From a Janeâs Military Intelligenceâstyle perspective â a framework that evaluates troop strength, technology, and strategic balance â the contrast becomes striking. On one side stood the Roman Empire, an industrial-scale war machine with vast resources and legions across its territories. On the other stood Jesus, a prophet and moral reformer with twelve apostles and roughly seventy followers â none armed, none trained for war.
âïž Comparison Table: Jesus vs. Roman Military Power (circa 30 CE â Corrected Estimates)
Pharaoh as a National Hero in the History of the Egyptian Kingdom, Yet Considered a âVillainâ in the Holy Scriptures
In the Qurâan, Pharaoh is depicted as a symbol of tyranny. He is known for enslaving the Children of Israel, oppressing them with forced labor, and rejecting the call of Prophet Moses even after being shown numerous signs of Godâs greatness. His story is immortalized as an example of an arrogant ruler who claimed to be divine, defied the truth, and was ultimately drowned along with his army in the Red Sea. From the perspective of scripture, Pharaoh is a figure bullied by theological history as the embodiment of tyranny.
However, records of ancient Egyptian history reveal another ironic side. Before the golden age of the New Kingdom, Egypt was conquered by the Hyksos, foreign rulers who controlled the Nile Delta for nearly a century. At that time, native Egyptians themselves became second-class citizens in their own land, subject to domination by outsiders. This situation gave rise to both historical resentment and the spirit of resistance.
SEJARAHID Few stories in the Abrahamic faiths have sparked as much debate as the account of Abrahamâs near-sacrifice of his son. In the Bible, the son is named Isaac. In the Qurâan, the son remains unnamed, but Islamic tradition overwhelmingly identifies him as Ishmael. For Jews and Christians, Isaac is the child of promise, the ancestor of Israel; for Muslims, Ishmael is the forefather of the Arabs and thus the Prophet Muhammad ï·ș.
Yet beyond the identity of the son lies a deeper meaning: both scriptures strongly reject human sacrifice. Instead, Abrahamâs willingness to obey God is honored, while the ultimate substitution of an animal marks a decisive break with the practice of child sacrifice known in many ancient cultures.
This article explores the story through multiple lenses: ancient traditions of human sacrifice, the Biblical and Qurâanic narratives, and the religious practices that continue today.
1. Human Sacrifice Before Abraham
Before the emergence of monotheism, human sacrifice was a recurring practice in many civilizations. It symbolized the ultimate devotion to the gods, though often tied to fear and superstition.
Egypt: Archaeological evidence suggests that in early dynastic Egypt, servants were sometimes buried alive alongside kings as a form of sacrifice. While the practice declined, ritual killing still lingered in some periods. Islamic historians even mention traces of such practices discussed during the caliphate of Umar ibn Khattab, when old pagan customs were still remembered.
Mesopotamia & Canaan: The Old Testament itself records the worship of Moloch, where children were âpassed through the fireâ (Leviticus 18:21). Archaeological finds in Carthage (a Phoenician colony) suggest mass graves of sacrificed infants.
China & Ancient Europe: In Shang Dynasty China (c. 1200 BCE), human sacrifice was practiced, especially to accompany rulers into the afterlife. In ancient Europe, Celtic tribes and early Germans were reported to have conducted sacrifices to appease their gods.
Inca, Maya, Aztec: Across the ocean, in the Americas, civilizations such as the Maya and Aztec were well-known for offering human hearts to the gods. The Inca, too, practiced child sacrifice in rituals such as capacocha, leaving children on mountaintops as offerings.
Against this backdrop, Abrahamâs story takes on greater significance: God does not desire human life as an offering. The test was about obedience, not blood.
2. The Biblical Account: The Binding of Isaac
In the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 22), the story is known as the Akedah (the Binding). God commands Abraham to take his son Isaac to Mount Moriah and offer him as a burnt sacrifice. Abraham obeys without hesitation. Isaac, carrying the wood for the altar, innocently asks, âWhere is the lamb for the sacrifice?â Abraham answers, âGod himself will provide the lamb.â
At the climax, Abraham raises the knife, but an angel intervenes:
âDo not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God.â (Genesis 22:12)
A ram caught in a thicket is sacrificed instead.
For Jews, this event is not about rejecting Isaac but about Abrahamâs supreme faith. In later tradition, Isaac himself is seen as willingly participating, embodying obedience. Christians, meanwhile, often interpret the episode as a foreshadowing of Jesusâ sacrificeâwhere God provides His own son as the ultimate offering.
3. The Qurâanic Account: The Sacrifice of Abrahamâs Son
The Qurâan recounts the event in Surah As-Saffat (37:100â113). Abraham dreams that he is sacrificing his son and tells the boy, who replies:
âO my father, do as you are commanded. You will find me, if Allah wills, among the steadfast.â (Qurâan 37:102)
As Abraham prepares to carry out the act, God intervenes:
âWe called to him, âO Abraham! You have fulfilled the vision.â Indeed, thus do We reward the doers of good. And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice.â (37:104â107)
The son is not named. However, Islamic tradition from hadith and tafsir identifies him as Ishmael, the elder son who, with Hagar, was associated with Mecca. The Qurâan later immediately mentions the glad tidings of Isaacâs birth (37:112), which reinforces the Muslim belief that Ishmael was the one nearly sacrificed, since Isaac was still to come.
4. The Shared Message: No Human Sacrifice
Despite their differences, both the Bible and Qurâan are united in one revolutionary message: God rejects human sacrifice. Abraham, the father of faith, is testedâbut the final command is a refusal. God provides an animal in place of the child.
This principle reshaped religion in the ancient world. The divine will was no longer expressed in the killing of sons and daughters, but in obedience, mercy, and remembrance. The âgreat sacrificeâ became animalsâsheep, goats, cattleâdedicated to God, not human beings.
5. Sacrificial Traditions Today
The legacy of Abrahamâs test continues differently across the three Abrahamic faiths.
Islam: Every year during Eid al-Adha, Muslims around the world sacrifice livestockâsheep, goats, cows, or camelsâin commemoration of Abrahamâs willingness to sacrifice his son. The meat is shared with family, neighbors, and the poor. It is a living, communal ritual that ties Muslims to Abrahamâs legacy.
Judaism: Ancient Israelites practiced animal sacrifice at the Temple in Jerusalem. However, after the Templeâs destruction in 70 CE, the practice ceased. Today, Jews commemorate the Binding of Isaac (Akedah) especially during Rosh Hashanah, not through animal sacrifice but through prayer, reflection, and the sounding of the shofar (ramâs horn).
Christianity: Christians do not practice animal sacrifice. Instead, they see Jesusâ crucifixion as the ultimate and final sacrifice, fulfilling and ending the need for all others. Communion (the Eucharist) symbolizes this ongoing remembrance.
This difference is striking. Muslims still carry out a literal animal sacrifice; Jews and Christians spiritualize the story but no longer perform annual sacrifices. Yet, both Jews and Christians still affirm the Biblical versionâthat it was Isaac, not Ishmael.
6. Two Sons, Two Traditions
An intriguing interpretation, as noted by SEJARAHID.com and some modern scholars, is that perhaps both sons were involved in sacrificial traditionsâone remembered in the Bible, the other in the Qurâan.
Isaac lived in Canaan, in Hebron and the region of Judea.
Ishmael grew up in the wilderness, associated with Mecca in Islamic tradition.
It is not inconceivable that Abraham, as patriarch of both lines, may have experienced or envisioned tests involving both sons, which were remembered differently in different communities. The Israelites preserved the story of Isaac; the Arabs preserved the story of Ishmael. Each narrative reinforced the identity of their descendants.
âSo picture this: A ladiesâ club, packed, music blasting, and suddenly this huge black stripper walks in. Dude looks like he was carved out of granite, muscles everywhere, wearing nothing but a towel.
Now under that towel, something is swinging back and forth. The women are losing their mindsâstanding up, clapping, screaming, âTake it off! Take it off!â
Finally, the guy rips the towel away, boom! The big revealâŠ
And the whole room goes silent.
Because it turns out⊠the giant âanacondaâ everyone was waiting for? Nah. It wasnât his package. It was his nuts. Enormous. Like, two bowling balls fighting for space.
One woman spit her drink out. Another fell off her chair. The rest couldnât decide if they should laugh or call animal control.
And the stripper? He just stood there proudâlike, âYeah ladies, feast your eyes on the eighth wonder of the world.â
Forget Magic Mikeâthis was Magic Nuts.âÂ
âMade in Jakarta. See? Indonesians can crack jokes too.â
âStraight outta Jakartaâfunny business isnât just from Hollywood.â
âMagic Nuts, by special export: Indonesia.â
âProof that Indonesia can serve comedy just as hard as sambal.â
âFrom Jakarta with love (and laughter).â
âDonât sleep on Indonesian humorâitâs just as big as the nuts in this story.â
âMade in Jakarta  â Indonesiaâs got jokes too.â
âExported from Indonesia: Magic Nuts & Magic Laughs.â
âForget Hollywood scriptsâJakarta comedy is alive and kicking (and swinging).â
Ancient Greek mythology was already widely known from around 2000 BC until the early Common Era. Stories of Hercules with immense strength, Achilles who was nearly invulnerable, Poseidon who ruled the seas, or Icarus who could fly, were passed down through oral tradition and classical literature. Meanwhile, the Bibleâs miracle stories were written centuries later, and the Qurâan appeared in the 7th century CE (610â632 CE).
This long gap raises the question: could the miracle stories of the Bible and the Qurâan be a continuation of, or influenced by, the narrative patterns of much older mythology?
The Bibleâs Composition Timeline
The Bible was not written in one sitting, but compiled over more than a thousand years by many authors.
Old Testament (Hebrew Tanakh):Â Written between about 1200 BC â 165 BC. The oldest parts (Pentateuch, stories of Moses) may date back to the 12thâ10th century BC. The youngest (Daniel, Maccabees) were completed in the 2nd century BC.
New Testament:Â Written between about 50 CE â 100 CE. Paulâs letters are the earliest (â50â60 CE). The Gospels were written between 65â100 CE. Revelation was probably the last (â95 CE).
Greek Mythologyâs âSuper-humanâ Themes
Greek myths featured extraordinary beings and âsuper-humanâ feats:
Poseidon controls the sea and storms.
Zeus hurls thunderbolts.
Icarus flies with crafted wings.
Hercules has superhuman strength.
Some figures are born through divine intervention, without a human father.
As with scripture, these myths present humans or demi-humans who transcend normal limits.
Miracles in the Bible
The Bible contains many miracles:
Moses parts the sea, turns his staff into a serpent.
Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, heals the sick, expels demons.
Jesus is born without a biological father.
Elizabeth gives birth at an advanced age.
God sends floods, earthquakes, and other calamities.
These stories present humans who seem to break the laws of nature, resembling âsuper-humans.â
Miracles in the Qurâan
The Qurâan continues similar traditions:
Moses parts the sea and his staff becomes a serpent.
Jonah survives inside a great fish.
Abraham survives being thrown into fire.
Khidr knows the unseen.
Solomon commands the wind, speaks with birds and ants, and leads the jinn.
God sends natural disasters as divine signs.
The patterns strongly resemble the Bibleâs miracle stories.
The 7th Century: A World of Myth
When the Qurâan was revealed, the world was still steeped in myth:
Jewish-Christian stories were well-established in the Middle East.
Greek-Roman mythology still influenced Europe.
Arabian traditions included jinn and supernatural legends.
Thus, spectacular miracle narratives were part of the cultural ânormal.â
Posted inUncategorized|Comments Off on Repost “Are the miracle-stories of the Bible and the Qurâan influenced by ancient Greek âsuper-humanâ mythology?”
From fireproof prophets (Abraham) to talking ants (Solomon), miracle stories sound like mythology today. But did the Quran already prepare for this problem with a built-in way out?
Introduction
Letâs be honest: if you hear about a man who walks out of fire untouched, another who talks to ants, a prophet who controls the wind, and someone else who lives inside a giant fish â your first thought wouldnât be âscience,â but mythology. These sound like Greek legends, Marvel comics, or fantasy novels. Yet they are the miracle stories found in the Quran.
For centuries, believers accepted them without question. But in the modern age, shaped by physics, biology, and acoustics, such stories become impossible to swallow literally. And hereâs the shocking twist: the Quran may have brilliantly anticipated this problem and left an escape clause â a verse that lets believers retreat to metaphor when miracles stop making sense.
Superhuman Stories in the Quran
The Quran is filled with what we might call âsuperhuman storiesâ:
Abraham survives being thrown into fire, walking away unharmed (Al-Anbiya 21:69).
Solomon commands the wind, traveling great distances in a day (Saba 34:12).
Solomon hears the voices of ants in their own language (An-Naml 27:18â19).
Moses splits the sea into towering walls of water (Ash-Shuâara 26:63).
Moses throws down his staff and it becomes a serpent (Al-Aâraf 7:107; Taha 20:20).
Jonah is swallowed by a fish yet survives inside it (As-Saffat 37:139â144).
Khidr knows hidden events before they occur, including death and future consequences (Al-Kahf 18:65â82).
For a 7th-century audience, these were powerful tales. The ancient world was a world of myth: Greek gods hurled thunderbolts, Norse gods walked the earth, and Hebrew prophets summoned plagues. The Quranâs stories fit neatly into this storytelling tradition.