Abraham

A calligraphic representation of the name of Abraham in Arabic (Ibrahim).

Abraham, or Ibrahim, is a Manifestation of God in the Bahá’í Faith. He is also an important figure in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam which are commonly referred to as Abrahamic religions. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá described Him as the Founder of monotheism.

Biography

‘Abdu’l-Bahá states that Abraham was born in Mesopotamia, and Bahá’u’lláh states the language He spoke was what came to be known as Hebrew. According to the Bible He was born Abram and was the son of Terah and a descendant of Adam; ‘Abdu’l-Bahá confirmed that Adam was His ancestor. The Bible states that Abraham married a woman named Sarai, with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá noting she was Abraham's maternal aunt.

In the Bible Terah moved to the land of Canaan, settling in Haran, with his family including Abraham and His wife, and Abraham is instructed by God to leave Haran. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states that Abraham lived in a polytheistic society and that due to His teachings on monotheism He was rejected and banished traveling to the Holy Land with only Lot, who ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states is His nephew, and one or two others accepting Him. Regarding Abraham and the establishment of His religion Bahá’u’lláh revealed the following in the Kitab-i-Iqan:

Among the Prophets was Abraham, the Friend of God. Ere He manifested Himself, Nimrod dreamed a dream. Thereupon, he summoned the soothsayers, who informed him of the rise of a star in the heaven. Likewise, there appeared a herald who announced throughout the land the coming of Abraham.

In Jewish and Islamic traditions Nimrod was a King who persecuted Abraham, and it has been suggested he may be the proven historical figure Sargon of Akkad who reigned around approximately 2300 BC although this is speculation.

In the Bible Abraham established Himself in Egypt after leaving His home and told the Pharaoh of Egypt Sarai was His sister becoming wealthy but with plagues occurring. The Pharoah became aware that Sarai was Abraham's wife and expelled them from Egypt. A letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi states the following regarding this:

Concerning the passage in the Old Testament in which Abraham is reported to have addressed his wife as his sister, the interpretation given it by some Christians cannot hold, as it implies that the Messengers of God are all sinners. A much more plausible explanation would be, that in doing so Abraham wished to emphasize the superiority of the spiritual relationship binding him with his wife to the purely physical and material one.

In the Bible Abraham then traveled from Egypt establishing altars, and later became involved in an armed conflict in order to rescue Lot who had been taken captive. Regarding Abraham's travels ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states He emigrated to Ur and then to Aleppo in what is now Syria.

As Abraham and Sarai had no children the Bible states that He conceived a child with her Egyptian handmaid, Hagar, who He named Ishmael who ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states is the ancestor of Muhammad. Later God established a Covenant with Abraham instructing Him to have His followers circumcised as a symbol of the Covenant, grants Him the name Abraham, and His wife the name Sarah. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has written that the Covenant of Abraham was concerning the future Revelation of Moses.

God also informed Abraham that Sarah would have a child by Him to be named Isaac who would inherit responsibility for the Covenant from Abraham with Isaac's descendants inheriting it from him, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has written the following regarding the descendants of Abraham:

. . . certain families and lineages have been singled out for a special blessing. Thus the descendants of Abraham received the special blessing that all the Prophets of the House of Israel were raised up from among their ranks. This is a blessing that God bestowed upon that lineage.

After Isaac was born the Bible states that Abraham exiled Hagar and Ishmael at Sarah's request. God then instructs Abraham to sacrifice Isaac and Abraham takes Him to a mountain to perform the sacrifice, however an angel appears and informs Him He is not required to sacrifice Isaac but due to His obedience He is blessed and His descendants will spread to all nations of the earth. The Qur'an states that it was Ishmael, and not Isaac, who was to be sacrificed and Bahá’u’lláh confirms this having revealed the following:

That which thou hast heard concerning Abraham, the Friend of the All-Merciful, is the truth, and no doubt is there about it. The Voice of God commanded Him to offer up Ishmael as a sacrifice, so that His steadfastness in the Faith of God and His detachment from all else but Him may be demonstrated unto men. The purpose of God, moreover, was to sacrifice him as a ransom for the sins and iniquities of all the peoples of the earth.

A letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi provides clarification:

. . . the friends should unhesitatingly, and for reasons that are only too obvious, give precedence to the sayings of Bahá’u’lláh which, it would be pointed out, is fully corroborated by the Qur’án, which book is more authentic than the Bible, including both the New and Old Testaments. The Bible is not wholly authentic, and in this respect not to be compared with the Qur’án, and should be wholly subordinated to the authentic Sayings of Bahá’u’lláh.

After the passing of Sarah the Bible states that Abraham made arrangements for Isaac to marry, with Isaac being considered the ancestor of Jesus, and married a woman named Keturah who He had sons with before His Ascension. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has stated that Keturah and Abraham had six sons and that all of them emigrated to Persia and Afghanistan with Bahá’u’lláh being descended from one of them.