Ishmael In Islam Ishmael (إسماعيل, Ismā‘īl) is the figure known in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as Abraham’s (Ibrahim) son, born to Hagar (Hajar). In Islam, Ishmael is regarded as a prophet (nabi) and an ancestor to Muhammad. He also became associated with Mecca and the construction of the Kaaba. Stories of Ishmael are not only found in...
Prophet Abraham Abraham, originally Abram, is the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the covenant of the pieces, the special relationship between the Jewish people and God; in Christianity, he is the prototype of all believers, Jewish or Gentile; and in Islam he is seen as a link in the chain of prophets that begins...
Prophet Zechariah Prophet Zechariah was a person in the Hebrew Bible and traditionally considered the author of the Book of Zechariah, the eleventh of the Twelve Minor Prophets. He was a prophet of the Kingdom of Judah, and, like the prophet Ezekiel, was of priestly extraction. Zechariah (זְכַרְיָה Zəḵaryāh, “remember Yah”; Ζαχαρίας; Zacharias in KJV; Zachary in...
Who Is Adam? Adam (אָדָם, ʼAdam, Āḏām, آدَم, Ādam) is the name used in the opening chapters of the biblical Book of Genesis for the first man created by God; the word adam is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as “a human” and in a collective sense as “mankind”. Biblical...
Who Is Eve? Eve (חַוָּה, Chava, Ḥawwāh; حَوَّاء, Ḥawwā’; Εύα, Éva; Eva; ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, she was the first woman. Eve is known also as Adam’s wife. According to the second chapter of Genesis, Eve was created by God...
Solomon In Islam This article covers the prophet of the Israelites, Solomon, in Islam. Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd (سُلَيْمَان ابْن دَاوُوْد, Solomon son of David) was, according to the Quran, a Malik (مَـلِـك, King) and Nabī (Prophet) of the Israelites. Islamic tradition generally holds that he was the third King of the Jewish people and a just and...
Job In Islam Job (أَيّْوْب, Ayyūb) is considered a Nabi (Prophet) in Islam and is mentioned in the Qur’an. Job’s story in Islam is parallel to the Hebrew Bible‘s story, although the main emphasis is on Job remaining steadfast to God; there is no mention of Job’s discussions with friends in the Qur’anic text, but later Muslim literature states...
Prophet Zechariah In Islam And Christianity This article covers an Abrahamic Prophet Zechariah in Islam and Christianity. Zechariah, זכריה Zəḵaryāh, “remember Yah”; Zacharias, Zachary, Zakariyyāʾ (زَكَـرِيَّـا) in Islamic tradition) is a figure in the New Testament Bible and the Quran, hence venerated in Christianity and Islam. In the Bible, he is the father of...
Prophet Isaiah Isaiah was the 8th-century BC Jewish prophet for whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as “the prophet”, but the exact relationship between the Book of Isaiah and any such historical Isaiah is complicated. The traditional view is that...
Lot In Islam Lut (لوط, Lūṭ), known as Lot in the Old Testament, is a prophet of God in the Quran. According to Islamic tradition, Lot was born to Haran and spent his younger years in Ur, later migrating to Canaan with his uncle Abraham. He was sent to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah as a prophet, and was commanded to...
Joseph In Islam Yūsuf ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Is-ḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm (يُـوسـف ابـن يَـعـقـوب ابـن إِسـحـاق ابـن إِبـراهـيـم) is a Nabi (نَـبِي, Prophet) mentioned in the Qurʾān, the scripture of Islam, and corresponds to Joseph (son of Jacob), a person from the Tanakh, the Jewish religious scripture, and the Christian Bible, who was estimated to...
Prophets In The Quran All messengers mentioned in the Quran are also prophets, but not all prophets are messengers. The following are named as Prophets in the Quran. In Islam, every prophet preached the same core beliefs, the Oneness of God, worshipping of that one God, avoidance of idolatry and sin, and the belief...
Mahdi The Mahdi (ٱلْـمَـهْـدِي, al-mahdī, meaning “the guided one”) is an eschatological redeemer of Islam who, according to some Islamic traditions, will appear and rule for five, seven, nine or nineteen years (according to differing interpretations) before the Day of Judgment (yawm al-qiyamah, also known as “the Day of Resurrection”) and rid the world of evil....
The Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (מָשִׁיחַ, مسيح, masîḥ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of moshiach, messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible; a moshiach (messiah) is a king or High Priest traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil. Messiahs were not exclusively Jewish:...
Vegetarianism And Religion This article covers the answer to the question: “What is the relationship between vegetarianism and religion?” Vegetarianism is strongly linked with a number of religions that originated in ancient India (Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism). In Jainism, vegetarianism is mandatory for everyone; in Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism, it is...
Islamic Holidays Eid Al-Fitr is celebrated at the end of Ramadan (a month of fasting during daylight hours), and Muslims may invoke zakat (charity) on the occasion which begins after the new moon sighting for the beginning of Shawal. The Eid al-Fitr celebration begins with prayers the morning of the 1st...
What Is Umrah? The Umrah (عُمرَة) is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Hijaz, Saudi Arabia, performed by Muslims that can be undertaken at any time of the year, in contrast to the Ḥajj (حَـجّ) which has specific dates according to the Islamic lunar calendar. In Arabic, ‘Umrah means “to visit a populated place.” In the Sharia, Umrah...
What Is Eid al-Adha? Eid al-Adha (عيد الأضحى, Feast of the Sacrifice), also called the “Festival of the Sacrifice“, is the second of two Islamic holidays celebrated worldwide each year (the other being Eid al-Fitr), and considered the holier of the two. It honors the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice...
What Is Eid al-Fitr? Eid al-Fitr (عيد الفطر ʻĪd al-Fiṭr), also called the “Festival of Breaking the Fast“, is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting (ṣawm). This religious Eid (Muslim religious festival) is the first and only...
Eid Prayers Eid prayers, also known as Salat al-Eid (صلاة العيد) and Șālat al-’Īdayn (صلاة العيدين “Prayer of the Two Eids”), is the special prayers offered to commemorate two Islamic festivals traditionally in an open space allocated (musalla or Eidgah) or field available for prayer. The two festivals on which these prayers are conducted in large...