When God promises to bless Abraham's progeny, he does so indiscriminately as reflected both in Gen12,17 and the Quran in 3:33. The promise of spiritual leadership extended to the RIGHTEOUS among the descendants of Abraham because of his pure obedience not unconditionally to any one branch, Israelite or Ishmaelite 2:123-141,37:113. God is not bound to anyone group 2:89-90. His guidance is open to all of humanity indiscriminately 39:41,10:57,14:52.
The Quran doesnt remove the Israelites from the Abrahamic promise, but restored the righteous among the Ishmaelites to their rightful place as being bearers of this same promise. The prejudiced and ethno-centred Israelites in the times of the prophet Muhammad went to great extents in trying to hide this reality. The Quran relates how they openly favoured polytheism to Islamic monotheism in order to appease the Meccans. This is unsurprising to anyone familiar with their history as described on their own books, treacherously allying with one another's pagan enemies for the fleeting benefits of this world. They knew the Arabs would naturally assume that they, monotheists like Muhammad, were most likely to adhere to his message. This made the Meccans hesitant in allying with them against Islam.
To appease their suspicions, the Jews would publicly deny the concept of prophethood altogether, even paying their respects to the idols. They denied God had ever revealed Books to prophets previously
6:91"Allah has not revealed anything to a mortal. Say: Who revealed the Book which Musa brought, a light and a guidance to men, which you make into scattered writings which you show while you conceal much? And you were taught what you did not know, (neither) you nor your fathers".
The traditions speak of a delegation of Medinite Jews sent to Mecca after the battle of Uhud, seeking to form a political alliance
"Your are people of Scripture and Muhammad has a Scripture and we are not completely sure that this is a scheme that you devised. So if you want us to go along with you, you have to prostrate to these two idols and believe in them".
The Quran flagged them with a description that echoed throughout history, past, as attested in their own books, present, as they were doing during the rise of Islam, and modern
5:80"You will see many of them befriending those who disbelieve; certainly evil is that which their souls have sent before for them".
The Jewish delegation preferred revering the idols whom their prophets warned them against, so as to reassure the Quraysh
2:109,4:51"Have you not seen those to whom a portion of the Book has been given? They believe in idols and false deities and say of those who disbelieve: These are better guided in the path than those who believe".
Up until 4:54, the passage relates the same prejudiced theme the Jews had in regards to prophethood. They could not fathom how would God favor another nation in that aspect. But they were told and reminded that the object of their envy, ie prophethood, when it came in the line of Ibrahim, it was never meant to be the prerogative of one branch or another. It was given to Ibrahim's progeny indiscriminately. Ibn Kathir reports how ibn Abbas explained the Jews' "envy" towards the Muslims
"We are the worthy people, rather than the rest of the people".
This contradicts al-Suyuti's strange reason of revelation of 4:54 also attributed to ibn Abbas; "The people of Scripture said:
“Muhammad claims that he has been given what he has been given; yet he is humble. But he has nine wives and his main concern is to have sexual intercourse (with his wives). Which dominion is better than this?”
It would be strange for the Jews to envy the prophet for having 9 wives when their own scriptures put no limit on polygamy, beside the fact that this "envy" is in relation to the Muslims in general not to the prophet in particular, as accurately interpreted by ibn Kathir.
This attitude of the Jews toward Quraysh and their favouring of the latter's paganism over the monotheism of Muhammad was in sharp contrast with the attitude of the Christian Negus of Abyssinia who sheltered and protected the early days persecuted Muslims of Mecca
5:82"Certainly you will find the most violent of people in enmity for those who believe (to be) the Jews and those who are polytheists, and you will certainly find the nearest in friendship to those who believe (to be) those who say: We are Christians; this is because there are priests and monks among them and because they do not behave proudly".
Christians in addition, contrary to the Jews, do not hold the arrogant belief of a special relation with God; their "priests and monks" teach them humility. Christians also reject the Jewish notion of unconditional, everlasting chosenness as the leading spiritual nation to mankind, drawing them closer to the Muslim understanding of religion from that aspect.
The Israelites were blessed was because of Abraham. Abraham heard the voice of the Lord and obeyed, and because of this, God promised his descendants spiritual leadership of humanity
53:37"Abraham, who to his trust was true".
The purpose of mentioning this attribute of Abraham to both the Quraysh/Ishmaelites and the People of the Book/Israelites is to admonish them that the high status achieved by Abraham in this world and in the next was the result of showing complete obedience and faithfulness to God. He earned that honorary status and his descendants too would have to earn it
2:140-1"That is a nation that has passed away; theirs is that which they have earned and yours is what you earned; you shall not be questioned for what they had been doing".
A nation should rely upon its own deeds, not on its past history.
This Abrahamic promise is thus conditional, provided his descendants faithfully fulfill certain obligations. As Jesus says in the NT
"And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham".After they were tasked under oath to be the bearers of the truth to the nations, the descendants of Isaac were sent many prophets from among their own people, some of them distanced by 400 years such as Malachi and Jesus. The sending of many prophets isnt a blessing but a stain against them because the majority of these prophets were sent to bring them back to the right path, as stated in the HB, to remind them of the terms of the covenant. Jesus alludes to this multiple times, especially in his parable of the King, who sends his servants, and finally his son whom they murder. Jesus tells them that as a consequence their nation will be destroyed and a new nation will come forth which will establish the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. History bares witness that what the Israelites failed to do with multiple Prophets, the Ishmaelites did with one.
In Sura Baqara, the Israelites are thrice reminded 2:40,47,122 how Allah made them a great nation, through the prophets and revelations that made them a beacon of spiritual light. But as they turned away from the straight path, forsaking the ways of righteousness, they became unworthy of that exaltedness. Their history of greatness and failure serves in the Quran as an example to the new Abrahamic nation.
Where a line of the children of Ibrahim failed and were consequently deposed from their responsibilities, despite the sending of numerous prophets among them, the other line believed and held fast by what was revealed to them.
The believers in the times of the prophet were those told to ignore the prejudiced talk of the Jews and focus on what was revealed upon them
45:16-9" And certainly We gave the Book and the wisdom and the prophecy to the children of Israel, and We gave them of the goodly things, and We made them excel the nations..Then We have made you follow a course in the affair, therefore follow it, and do not follow the low desires of those who do not know.."
As to the efforts of some (mainly, if not only, Bible-ignorant Christians) to exclude Ishmael's progeny (or any other non-Israelite branch) from potential chosenness for prophehood based on Ishmael's supposed exclusion from the Abrahamic covenant, firstly, God in the Torah is reported to have announced several covenants with Abraham, not only one, and none of them is related to prophethood being the sole prerogative of one branch or another. In Gen15:18-21,17:2,8,10 we read about the covenant of dominion over the land of Canaan by Abraham's offspring, the covenant that would increase his descendants in numbers, and the covenant of circumcision of his male children including all those living in his household that are not his male offspring. We read in Gen17:17-27 that Ishmael was made fully part of the covenant of circumcision. This practice remained among some of the pre-islamic Arabs of Mecca that had maintained the tradition. The passage also says that the covenant of blessed and fruitful nation will apply to Ishmael.
The only covenant that isnt explicitly mentionned as covering him is the one of dominion over the land of Canaan. This is why God in Gen17:19 is reported to have accepted and did not deny Abraham's request that Ishmael might "live before the Lord" (an expression of righteousness and sacrifice to God). But God added further qualification in relation to the land covenant
(judaica press translation) "And Abraham said to God "If only Ishmael might live before you!" And God said, "Indeed, your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you shall name him Isaac, and I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his seed after him.."
That is the covenant continuously spoken of all over the Hebrew scriptures as applying to the Israelites only, lamented over, prophesied about to be restored following every destruction. This covenant will eventually forever be reinstated in the Messianic era. See for example Jer11:1-5 or when Isaiah prophesied the renewal of the covenant he stated
Isa49:8"I will make you for a people of a covenant, to establish a land, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages".
The psalmist remembers the covenant in this way
Ps105:9-11"Which He had made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac, And He set it up to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, Saying, "To you I shall give the land of Canaan, the portion of your heritage.""
A reminder of that covenant with the seed of Isaac, and it being related to land rights is reiterated in 1Chr16:15-18. King David, in his last days, as he gathered the leaders of the community and announced his succession through his son Solomon, as he told them that the responsibility to build the Temple to shelter the Ark of God would rest upon his son, he reminded everyone that
1Chr28:8"And now, before the eyes of all Israel, the congregation of the Lord, and in the ears of our God, observe and seek all the commandments of the Lord your God, in order that you inherit the good land and bequeath it to your sons after you forever".
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