Prophet Ibrahim known as Abraham in the Hebrew bible, is recognized in Islam as a prophet and apostle of Allah SWT (God) and patriarch of many peoples. In Muslim belief, Abraham fulfilled all the commandments and trials which God tried him with over his lifetime. As a result of his unwavering faith in God, Abraham was promised by God to be a leader to all the nations of the world.
The Quran extols Prophet Abraham as a model, an exemplar, obedient and not an idolator. In this sense, Abraham has been described as representing “primordial man in universal surrender to the Divine Reality before its fragmentation into religions separated from each other by differences in form”. The Islamic holy day Eid al-Adha is celebrated in memory of the bravery of Abraham, and Muslims perform the pilgrimage to pay homage at the Kaaba which Abraham had set up and reformed.
Muslims believe that the prophet Abraham became the leader of the righteous in his time and it was through him that the people of both Arabia and Israel came. Abraham, in the belief of Islam, was instrumental in cleansing the world of idolatry at the time. Paganism was cleared out by Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) in both Arabia and Canaan.
He spiritually purified both places as well as physically sanctifying the houses of worship. Abraham and Ismail (Ishmael) further established the rites of pilgrimage, or Hajj, which are still followed by Muslims today. Muslims maintain that Abraham further asked God to bless both the lines of his progeny, of Prophet Ismail (Ishmael) and Prophet Ishaq (Isaac), and to keep all of his descendants in the protection of God. They also believe that Prophet Muhammad SAW is a descendant of Prophet Abraham through Prophet Ishmael (Ismail).
