The frequent mention of the children of Israel and their Prophets in the Quran

28-3-2006 | IslamWeb

Question:

What is the wisdom in mentioning the prophecy of Is-Haaq (Isaac) and Ya’qoob (Jacob), may Allaah exalt their mention, much in the Quran, whereas the prophecy of Ismaa’eel (Ishmael), may Allaah exalt his mention, is mentioned very concisely and rarely, despite the fact that repeating the mention of the Prophet Ismaa’eel would confirm his family lineage and thus confirm the prophecy of the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, and repel the lies of the Jews.

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger as well as that of his family and all his companions.

 

The repetition of the name of a particular Prophet in the Quran and not repeating the name of another Prophet does not increase or decrease the confirmation of the prophecy of a given Prophet if only mentioned once. The names of certain Prophets are repeated many times for wisdoms which only Allaah Knows, and for reasons which the situation of that Prophet with his people necessitates its repetition, and so forth. This is also because of the constraint that these Prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention, faced with their people, and the efforts that they [Prophets] made to turn their people into righteous ones but their efforts were gone with the wind. That is because the Jews are people who slander, defame, lie and deny the truth, and they expressed their view about their stand; Allaah Says about them, reporting their words (what means): {And they said, “Our hearts are wrapped.”}[Quran 2:88]. The secret why the discussion about the Jews has taken a large portion is because of their great mischief and corruption which will affect the whole world and especially the Muslim nation, and this is what we notice today and at all times.

Allaah Knows best.