الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
We have covered so far the stories of Adam, Sheeth, Idrees, Nuh, Hud, Salih, Ibrahim. Isma’il, and Lut (‘Alyhim us- Salam – Peace be upon all of them). Today inshaAllah, we’ll cover the stories of Ishaq and Yaqub (‘Alyhim us-Salam)
There are passages in the Qur’an that talk about angels coming as guests to Ibrahim (AS) to announce and give good news about the birth of a boy possessing knowledge, and this boy was to be Ishaq (AS). We have in Surat al-Hijr:
“And inform them of the guests of Ibrahim. When they entered upon him, they said, peace. He said: Surely we are afraid of you. They said: Do not fear, we bring you good news of a boy, possessing knowledge. He said: Do you give me good news when old age has come upon me? What good news do you bring? They said: We bring you good news in truth, so do not despair. He said: And who despairs of his Lord’s mercy, but the lost? He said: So what is your business, O messengers? They said: We were sent to a sinful people. Except for the family of Lut; we will save them all. Except his wife; we have determined that she will be of those who remain behind. (al-Hijr, 15:51-60). And we have in Surat Hud,
“Our messengers came to Ibrahim with good news. They said: “Peace.” He said: “Peace.” Soon after, he came with a roasted calf. But when he saw their hands not reaching towards it, he became suspicious of them, and conceived a fear of them. They said, “Do not fear, we were sent to the people of Lut.” His wife was standing by, so she laughed. And We gave her good news of Ishaq, and after Ishaq, Yaqub. She said, “Alas for me. Shall I give birth, when I am an old woman, and this, my husband, is an old man? This is truly a strange thing.” They said, “Are you amazed at the decree of Allah? The mercy of Allah and His blessings are on you, O people of the house. Surely, He is Praiseworthy and Glorious.” (Hud, 69:74)
The Qur’an does not give much details of the story of Prophet Ishaq (AS), but reliable commentators of the Qur’an mentioned that when Ibrahim (AS) felt that his life was drawing to a close, he wished to see Ishaq married. He did not want Ishaq to marry one of the Canaanites. The Canaanites were people who lived in the land of Canaan, an area which according to ancient texts may have included parts of modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. They were pagans, so he sent a trustworthy servant to Haran in Iraq to choose a bride for Ishaq. The servant’s choice fell on Rebekkah bint Bethuel ibn Nahor, who was a brother of Ibrahim (AS). Ishaq married her and she gave birth to a set of twins, Al-Eis and Yaqub.
It is reported that Ishaq (AS) died when he was 180 years old, and was buried by his sons Al-Eis and Yaqub at a place close to where his father – Ibrahim (AS) was buried in the village of Hebron near Jerusalem.
Yaqub (AS) was sent by Allah to teach his people to worship One God and to live a righteous life. The Qur’an teaches that each and every one of the prophets taught the same fundamental message of unconditional submission to Allah alone. There are several verses in the Qur’an that mention Ishaq and his son Yaqub. Some of these are:
“Say: ‘We believe in Allah and that which has been sent down to us and that which had been sent down to Ibrahim, Isma’il, Ishaq, Yaqub and to the descendants (i.e., the twelve sons of Yaqub), and that which has been given to Musa and ‘Isa, and that which has been given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we have submitted.’” (al-Baqarah, 2:136)
We have in Surat al-Anbiya’:
“And We bestowed upon him (Ibrahim) Ishaq and a grandson Yaqub, and made each of them righteous.” (al-Anbiya, 21:72)
And we have in Surat Saad:
“And remember our slaves, Ibrahim, Ishaq, and Yaqub, (all) owners of strength (in worshipping us) and (also) of religious understanding.”(Saad, 38:45)
The story of Yaqub is short and most of what we know is contained in the story of his most beloved son Yusuf (AS). Yaqub (AS) is remembered for his great strength of character, his complete submission to the will of Allah and his firm and unwavering faith. From the story of Yaqub in the Qur’an there are great lessons to be learned. The Qur’an first mentions Yaqub in reference to Prophet Ibrahim, his grandfather.
فَلَمَّا اعْتَزَلَهُمْ وَمَا يَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَهَبْنَا لَهُ إِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَكُلًّا جَعَلْنَا نَبِيًّا
“So when he (i.e., Ibrahim) turned away from them and from those whom they worshipped besides Allah, We gave him Ishaq and Yaqub and each one of them We made a prophet.” (Maryam, 19:49)
Ibrahim (AS) is well known in all three monotheistic religions. In fact Islam, Christianity and Judaism are sometimes known as the Abrahamic faiths. Ibrahim, Ishaq and Yaqub were blessed by Allah and were given both mercy and honor. Allah says in the Qur’an:
وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُمْ مِنْ رَحْمَتِنَا وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُمْ لِسَانَ صِدْقٍ عَلِيًّا
“And We gave them of Our mercy, and gave them a noble reputation of truth.” (Maryam, 19:50)
Ibn Kathir – the author of the book ‘Stories of the Prophets’ mentions that Prophet Yaqub left his family and travelled to his maternal uncle where he married two of his cousins, Leah and Rachel, and worked as a shepherd for his father-in-law. Leah and Rachel were real sisters. It was acceptable in their time, as described in the Torah, for a man to marry two sisters. Marrying two sisters at the same time while they are both living is not allowed in the Shariah of Muhammad (S).
Yaqub (AS) was the father of twelve sons and their dynasties later became known as the ‘twelve tribes of Israel’ or asbaat. In Qur’an Prophet Yaqub is also called Israel and the scholars of Islam explain that Israel means Abdullah (slave of Allah). When the Qur’an mentions Bani Israel (the Children of Israel), it is referring to the descendants of Yaqub (AS). We have many verses in the Qur’an mentioning ‘the children of Israel.’ such as: “… All food was lawful to the Children of Israel except what Israel had made unlawful to himself before the Torah was revealed.” (Qur’an3:93)
Prophet Yaqub’s most beloved son was Prophet Yusuf. Yaqub (AS) plays a significant role in his son’s story which is told in one complete surah of the Qur’an entitled ‘Yusuf’. At the beginning of his story, Yusuf relates a dream to his father who interprets it to mean that Yusuf will achieve a very high level in society and that all of his family will be under him and grateful to him. Yaqub had a gift for interpreting dreams and they play a big part in the full story of Yusuf (AS).
It is from Yaqub’s story within the story of Yusuf that we learn about true patience. Yaqub was a man who loved his children but endured terrible suffering because of them. When Yusuf’s younger brother Benjamin becomes lost to the family, Yaqub is reminded of his grief over Yusuf and weeps uncontrollably. He wept until he became ill and lost his sight.
The older brothers were concerned about his pain and sorrow and questioned his constant grief. They asked him, “Will you cry until the day you die?” Yaqub (AS) answered that he only complained of his grief and sorrow to Allah and that he knew, from Allah, things that they did not. (Qur’an 12:86) Yaqub (AS) knew that there was no point in raging against the world.
He understood that Allah loves and protects those who are patient. Yaqub (AS)’s patience is a reminder to us all. It reminds us to accept the will of Allah without panic. This does not mean that it is not natural to feel pain or anguish but it means to refrain from panicking and complaining except directly to Allah.
Yaqub (AS) wept until his family thought he would die from grief but he looked to Allah for consolation and never once blamed Allah for his great trial. When Yaqub (AS) had attained a great age and was about to die, he was surrounded by his large family. Even on his death bed, he was concerned that his children and their descendants might forget the essence of worship. He lived his life reinforcing the message to worship Allah alone free from partners and on his death bed he continued to advise his children to adhere to the teachings of Islam, the religion of all of Allah’s prophets. The Qur’an tells us:
وَوَصَّى بِهَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بَنِيهِ وَيَعْقُوبُ يَا بَنِيَّ إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَى لَكُمُ الدِّينَ فَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ () أَمْ كُنْتُمْ شُهَدَاءَ إِذْ حَضَرَ يَعْقُوبَ الْمَوْتُ إِذْ قَالَ لِبَنِيهِ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ بَعْدِي قَالُوا نَعْبُدُ إِلَهَكَ وَإِلَهَ آَبَائِكَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ إِلَهًا وَاحِدًا وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ ()
“And Ibrahim instructed his sons and (so did) Yaqub (saying), “O my sons, indeed Allah has chosen for you this religion, so do not die except while you are Muslims. Or were you witnesses when death approached Yaqub? When he said to his sons: ‘What will you worship after me?’ They said: ‘We will worship your God, the God of your fathers, Ibrahim, Isma’il and Ishaq – One God. And we are Muslim (in submission) to Him.’” (al-Baqarah, 2:132-133)
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Resources and References:
Imam Ibn Kathir – Stories of the Prophets
Mufti Menk – Lessons from the Stories of the Prophets in the Qur’an (https://muslimahlifestyle.com/lessons-stories-prophets-quraan-mufti-menk-creation-of-aadam-as/)
Anwar Al-Awlaki – The Lives of the Prophets (https://www.kalamullah.com/anwar-alawlaki.html) Aisha Stacey – The Religion of Islam (islamreligion.com)
