I know very little about Islam but I once heard from an evangelical Christian that there are basic factual errors and a radical revisionist understanding of scripture that is part of the mainstream Islamic canon. For example, the prophet Mohammed thought that the Blessed Virgin Mary was part of the Trinity and that Jewish scribes had adulterated scripture sometime during the Babylonian exile to claim that Ishmael was Abraham’s first born and not Isaac, as Jews and Christians believe.
Walrus,
. There were a few claims about this or that, some simply rumors, others were deliberate fabrications, surrounding the Prophet of Islam, for various purposes. It is hard to know the origin of some of it and what the facts are, even within the traditions of some of the hadiths, let alone those who were outwardly opposed to the Islamic movement.
. I’m not a Muslim, but have done some reading on it, and as far as the “corruption of the text” issues, Baha’u’llah explains that this refers not to adulterating the Writings of the Old Testament, but changing their obvious meaning for unscrupulous purposes in a few isolated cases.
. As to Ishmael being the first born:
Genesis 16:16 "Abraham was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael. Genesis 21 in excerpts: 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. and the text continues: 8 The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast.
. There is disagreement between Muslims and Jews as to who was being offered as the sacrifice. Muslims claim that it was Ishmael, although the Quran does not say. As Ishmael was indeed the firstborn, it may be for that reason this is held to be true.
Ishmael, known as Isma’il in Arabic (Arabic: إسماعيل Ismā’īl) and Dhabih Ullah, is the figure known in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as Abraham’s (Ibrāhīm) son, born to the Hagar (Hājar). 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, as well as equated with the term “Arab” by some. Stories of Ishmael are not only found in Jewish and Christian texts, such as the Bible and rabbinic Midrash, but also Islamic sources. These sources include the Quran, Quranic commentary, hadith, historiographic collections like that of Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, and Isra’iliyat (Islamic texts about Biblical or ancient Israelite figures that originate from Jewish or Christian sources).[1][2] For further reading on many versions of stories about Ishmael, al-Tabari’s Prophets and Patriarchs is recommended.[3]
