Message #13217

[Heba E. Husseyn]

MashAllah, thanks for elaborating my article with great Quranic points and making it far more complete sister Zeynab.

That bit about Prophet Yusuf's tomb in Hebron, I read somewhere (don't recall where but some Christian source) something to the affect that Yusuf died in Egypt and then his body was embalmed and sent to Hebron for burial.  But I am absolutely sure that this is another concocted story, the purpose of it being to make it tally with their first guesswork that Yusuf's family settled in Egypt.  If Yusuf's body was sent to Hebron, then what about his father, Jacob?  Why wasn't his body sent as well if burial in Hebron was so important for the family?  The movie on Prophet Yusuf (a Muslim production) is based precisely on this biblical story.  That movie showed that Jacob was living in Babylon (today's Iraq).  Then he got the message that his father, Prophet Ishaq (or Issac) who lived in Canaan (today's Gaza) had passed away so he left Babylon and went to settle down in Canaan with his entire family.   After a few years Jacob lost his son Yusuf while living in Canaan.  Then after some 30 years Jacob's family went to Egypt after being called by Yusuf.  As you rightly mentioned, according to Quranic info there's no reason to presume that Jacob's family lived in Egypt permanently and never returned to Canaan.  There's also no reason to presume that Yusuf, after uniting with his father and family, never left Egypt.  What's the connection of Prophet Abraham with Hebron is again unknown.  Probably one will need to rummage through many more pages of the altered bibles to catch on with more gossip to find that out.

As per Quranic contents, we do know that Prophet Ishmael (or Ismail) settled in Mecca permanently and his father, Prophet Abraham was in Mecca for a certain period when they built the Kaa'ba.  This is quite evident from Verse 14:37 of Surah Ibraheem.

"Our Lord! Lo! I have settled some of my posterity in an uncultivable valley near unto Thy holy House, our Lord! that they may establish proper worship; so incline some hearts of men that they may yearn toward them, and provide Thou them with fruits in order that they may be thankful."

In this Verse which is Prophet Ibraheem's prayer to Allah, he says that he has "settled some of my posterity in an uncultivable valley near unto Thy holy House ...."    The word "posterity" means 'future generation' or 'offspring' and "uncultivable valley" refers to Mecca.  Therefore Prophet Ibraheem says that he has made his future generation settle down in Mecca near the Kaa'ba.  "Posterity" refers to Ibraheem's son, Ismail.  It's also quite evident that Prophet Ibraheem made this dua to Allah after building the Kaa'ba with his son, Ismail, thus he says "near unto Thy holy House."  From this Verse we can also presume (though Allah knows best) that probably after building the Kaa'ba and helping his son, Ismail, to settle down in Mecca, Prophet Ibraheem left Mecca and returned to other members of his family.  That's why he says in his dua to Allah that he made his offspring to settle down in Mecca near the Kaa'ba, he doesn't mention about himself settling down there.  But where he returned and where exactly other members of his family were living is not known.  Only Allah knows that.   And .. apparently it's from this time that the people of the Arabian peninsula began to learn and practice Tawheed, through the teachings of Prophet Ibraheem and his son, Ismail, who settled in Mecca.  But this was more than 2,000 years before Prophet Muhammed.   That's why Allah sent the another messenger to Mecca (that is Prophet Muhammed, the Final Messenger) because during those 2,000 years after Ibraheem and Ismail the people of Mecca gradually forgot their teachings and lapsed back to idolatry.  And for this reason in the Quran, Allah keeps reminding the idolaters of Mecca about the teachings of Prophet Ibraheem and that Prophet Muhammed had come to revive the teachings of Ibraheem and Ismail.

Thanks again sisters, for the good question and good answer.