In the following articles,
Ishmael is not the Father of Muhammad Part 1 http://www.answeringislam.net/Shamoun/ishmael.htm, Part 2 http://www.answeringislam.net/Shamoun/ishmael2.htm
We provided conclusive evidence that Ishmael cannot be the physical progenitor of Muhammad. In this post we are going to provide additional proof from the Quran itself that Muhammad could not have been a descendant of Ishmael.
According to the Islamic scripture, the pagans of Arabia, specifically those living in Mecca and Medina, whom Muhammad was sent to were never given an inspired Scripture which they could live by, since Allah never sent them a prophet or messenger:
And this is a Book which We have revealed as a blessing: so follow it and be righteous, that ye may receive mercy: Lest ye should say: “The Book was sent down to two Peoples before us, and for our part, we remained unacquainted with all that they learned by assiduous study:” Or lest ye should say: “If the Book had only been sent down to us, we should have followed its guidance better than they.” Now then hath come unto you a clear (sign) from your Lord,- and a guide and a mercy: then who could do more wrong than one who rejecteth Allah’s signs, and turneth away therefrom? In good time shall We requite those who turn away from Our signs, with a dreadful penalty, for their turning away. S. 6:155-157
Nor wast thou at the side of (the Mountain of) Tur when we called (to Moses). Yet (art thou sent) as Mercy from thy Lord, to give warning to a people to whom no warner had come before thee: in order that they may receive admonition. S. 28:46
Or do they say, “He has forged it”? Nay, it is the Truth from thy Lord, that thou mayest admonish a people to whom no warner has come before thee: in order that they may receive guidance. S. 32:3
They swore their strongest oaths by Allah that if a warner came to them, they would follow his guidance better than any (other) of the Peoples: But when a warner came to them, it has only increased their flight (from righteousness),- S. 35:42
By the Wise Koran, thou art truly among the Envoys on a straight path; the sending down of the All-mighty, the All-wise, that thou mayest warn a people WHOSE FATHERS WERE NEVER WARNED, so they are heedless. S. 36:2-6 Arberry
But We had not given them Books which they could study, nor sent messengers to them before thee as Warners. S. 34:44
What! have We given them a Book before this, to which they are holding fast? S. 43:21
Here is where the problem lies for the Muslims. The Quran claims that Ishmael was a prophet who was given a divinely revealed book to pass on to his descendants and community:
We gave him (Abraham) Isaac and Jacob: all (three) guided: and before him, We guided Noah, and among his progeny, David, Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses, and Aaron: thus do We reward those who do good: And Zakariya and John, and Jesus and Elias: all in the ranks of the righteous: AND ISMA’IL and Elisha, and Jonas, and Lot: and to all We gave favour above the nations: (To them) and to their fathers, and progeny and brethren: We chose them, and we guided them to a straight way. This is the guidance of Allah: He giveth that guidance to whom He pleaseth, of His worshippers. If they were to join other gods with Him, all that they did would be vain for them. These were THE MEN to whom We gave THE BOOK, and authority, and prophethood: if these (their descendants) reject them, Behold! We shall entrust their charge to a new people who reject them not. S. 6:84-89
Lo! We inspire thee as We inspired Noah and the prophets after him, as We inspired Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and Jesus and Job and Jonah and Aaron and Solomon, and as We imparted unto David the Psalms; S. 4:163 Pickthall
And relate the story of Ishmael as mentioned in the Book. He was indeed true to his promises. And he was a Messenger, a Prophet. He used to enjoin Prayer and alms-giving on his people, and he was well pleasing to his Lord… These are the people upon whom ALLAH bestowed HIS blessings from among the Prophets of the posterity of Adam, and of the posterity of those whom WE carried in the Ark with Noah, and of the posterity of Abraham and Israel; and they are of those whom WE guided and chose. When the Signs of the Gracious God were recited unto them, they fell down, prostrating themselves before ALLAH and weeping. S. 19:54-55, 58 Sher Ali
Note how these texts affirm that Ishmael is included among those who not only received the Book and prophethood, but was also one that enjoined prayer and charity (Zakat) upon his people/seed.
The Islamic scripture even claims that Abraham and Ishmael built a house for Allah so that their physical seed would come there and worship their Lord by performing the rites outlined by the two of them:
And when We appointed the House to be a place of visitation for the people, and a sanctuary, and: ‘Take to yourselves Abraham’s station for a place of prayer.’ And We made covenant with Abraham and Ishmael: ‘Purify My House for those that shall go about it and those that cleave to it, to those who bow and prostrate themselves.’ And when Abraham said, ‘My Lord, make this a land secure, and provide its people with fruits, such of them as believe in God and the Last Day.’ He said, ‘And whoso disbelieves, to him I shall give enjoyment a little, then I shall compel him to the chastisement of the Fire — how evil a homecoming!’ And when Abraham, and Ishmael with him, raised up the foundations of the House: ‘Our Lord, receive this from us; Thou art the All-hearing, the All-knowing; and, our Lord, make us submissive to Thee, and of our seed a nation submissive to Thee; and show us our holy rites, and turn towards us; surely Thou turnest, and art All-compassionate; and, our Lord, do Thou send among them a Messenger, one of them, who shall recite to them Thy signs, and teach them the Book and the Wisdom, and purify them; Thou art the All-mighty, the All-wise.’ S. 2:125-129 Arberry
Seeing that the Quran plainly states that the people whom Muhammad was sent to did not have an inspired book and never had any prophet/messenger/warner sent to them before Muhammad’s time, this means that they could not be the physical offspring of Ishmael. After all, if the Meccans were indeed Ishmael’s descendants then they already had a prophet/messenger sent to them, namely Ishmael himself, who had already left them with a sacred text.
In fact, if it were indeed true that Ishmael was their physical ancestor then the Arabs of Mecca would already have had prayer and almsgiving enjoined upon them, and would have even known of the rites associated with the house that Ishmael and his father Abraham had built as a place of worship for their Lord.
Therefore, this either means that the pagan Arabs whom Muhammad was sent to could not have been Ishmael’s physical seed, or the Muslims are faced with an irreconcilable contradiction, since the Arabs of Mecca did have a prophet sent to them long before Muhammad’s time, one who left them with a sacred text to live by. The Quran is therefore mistaken when it repeatedly states that Muhammad was sent to a people whom no warner/prophet/messenger had ever been sent to.
Here is a helpful summation of the points raised in this article:
- The Quran states that Muhammad was sent to a people who never had a prophet/messenger sent to them, and had therefore never received a scripture before the Quran.
- The Muslim scripture further claims that Ishmael was a prophet/messenger who was given a sacred book for his people, and who also enjoined on them prayer and almsgiving. He is even said to have built a sacred house for his physical seed to visit in order to perform the sacred rites in worship of Allah.
- This, therefore, proves that the Meccan Arabs could not have been Ishmael’s descendants, which further proves that Muhammad could not have been an Ishmaelite.
- Or the Quran is contradicting itself since the pagan Arabs living in Mecca had already been given a book long before Muhammad was sent to them with his “revelations,” and therefore already had a prophet/messenger sent to them, namely, their physical ancestor Ishmael.
We will leave it to the Muslims to solve all this mess from the book which they believe to be the uncreated speech of their lord.
Further Reading
Warners Sent to All Mankind Before Muhammad? http://www.answeringislam.net/Quran/Contra/warners.htm
The Ishmaelites and the Worship of God http://www.answeringislam.net/Shamoun/ishmael-baal.htm
Answering Islam Blog 