1. ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY: CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS Session 6:
Sons of Abraham

2. No one can deny the importance of Abraham to the three great monotheistic faiths. Why does everyone want to belong to the family of Abraham?
Because of Abraham’s call in Genesis 12:1-3, everyone will be either blessed or cursed depending on how they relate to Abraham. Further, God promised the land of Canaan to the descendents of Abraham. Finally, as we are told in Genesis 18, God promises an heir which will produce many nations.

3. To whom are these promises of blessing, land, and nations directed
To whom are these promises of blessing, land, and nations directed? The promises were spoken to Abraham and his seed (singular). This seed is not plural and finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
This is made clear in Galatians 3:16, “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made.
He saith not, and to seeds as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed which is Christ.” Therefore the inheritance is through a person, Jesus Christ, and not through the law nor through a physical genealogy.

4. Many would like to claim that we are all-Christians, Jews, Muslims alike-part of one big happy “family of Abraham.” However, this connection is little more than saying we are all part of the human race through Adam and Noah.
The crucial point of inclusion is not physical but spiritual. The stumbling block is belief in the person of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The Jews reject Christ outright and the Muslims deny His deity, incarnation, atonement, resurrection, and the trinity.

5. One of the often forgotten prophecies of Scripture is the proper name given to individuals by God which are pre-indicative of their lives. In naming the second born Isaac, which means “laughter”, God prefigures the parents’ joy and disbelief in Sarah’s bearing a son while in old age. In naming Ishmael, the first born, which means “God hears”. God beforehand declares his compassion for Hagar some 15 years later during her distress. (Genesis 16:11)

6. The family of Abraham was divided and included strife, selfishness, and division. These are directly apparent from the record in Genesis 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 25. There was rivalry for prominence between Sarah and Hagar and between Isaac and Ishmael. Muhammed, as a descendent of Ishmael,
has perpetuated the spirit of rivalry. The present-day alienation of Muslims goes directly back to the tragedy of the events of the break-up of Abraham’s family. Muslims today lament the shame of Ishmael’s early expulsion from the tents of Abraham.

7. How prophetic it is to witness the outworking of Genesis 16:12
How prophetic it is to witness the outworking of Genesis 16:12! “He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand (will be) against his, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” Muslim families, tribes, clans, and nations slaughter each other. Their only commonality is the false religion of Islam.
Looking at the character of Ishmael is also informative. As Hagar bore Ishmael, she experienced fear, anger, and hostility. As the years progressed, Ishmael grew up at Abraham’s side, believing, as firstborn, he would be the heir.

8. Along comes Isaac, born of the free woman, Sarah, who pre-empted Ishmael’s place as heir.
Ishmael’s hostility to Isaac and propensity to violence were rooted in the sin of jealousy of Isaac. Today Muslims consciously and some unconsciously embrace and act out in violence this age-old rivalry seeking the reward of the blessings promised to Isaac.
Remembering the profile of Ishmael stated in Genesis 16:12 there is more regarding the character of a wild donkey which typifies Ishmael.

9. The tragedy of Hagar’s life begins as she is born in slavery in Egypt, through a divisive family life with Abraham, to finally being cast out. It is apparent from Scripture that both Abraham and Sarah were willing that Hagar perish. However, God loved her and intervened to save and protect both her and Ishmael. God is love and He is not willing that any perish. God provided a well with water to give them life.

10. Today Muslims re-enact Hagar’s desperate search for water as they run between the hills of Safa and Marwa while on their pilgrimage to Mecca. The event is climaxed by reaching the well of Zamzam and drinking from the well in memory of God.s mercy to Hagar. (Genesis 16:7) (Genesis 21:14 and 21)
Finally, as to Ishmael, most Christians believe that God cursed him but in fact, He blessed Ishmael. Genesis 21:18 says to Hagar in the wilderness.
“Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” And in verse 20, “God was with the boy as he grew up.” God loves him and so, too, Christians should love Muslims.

11. One of the legacies of the blessings brought through the descendents of Ishmael concerns the contributions made in science and the arts between the 9th and 12th centuries.
First, contributions in the area of astronomy gave us the concepts of azimuth, zenith, and nadir.
Second, in the area of mathematics, Muslims gave us the Arabic numbering system, and the concept of zero; also in algebra, the concept of root and power; in geometry, the concept of cubes; and in trigonometry the concept of tangents.

12. Third, in medicine, came the discovery and use of the chemicals of alcohol, alkali (alkaselzer), and ammonia; also, the study of anatomy in animals was developed.

14. The key thing to remember concerning the promises by God to Isaac vs
The key thing to remember concerning the promises by God to Isaac vs. Ishmael is that Isaac’s heirs were promised a land, a king, and a kingdom, whereas Ishmael’s heirs are promised a nation. There is a spiritual future attached to Isaac,
but only an earthly national status attached to Ishmael.
Although Arabs are descendents of Shem and are Semites as are the Jews, the peoples of
North Africa such as the Berbers and the Tuaregs are descendents of Ham.