Weekly Sermon

"Ibrahim, the Father of Islam" Genesis 21:1-7; Genesis 21:8-14

The Reverend Anne Benefield

Geneva Presbyterian Church, June 27, 2004

The Lord dealt with Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had promised. Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Now Sarah said, "God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me." And she said, "Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age." The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, "Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac." The matter was very distressing to Abraham because of his son. But God said to Abraham, "Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you. As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring." So Abraham rose early in the morning, took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba. Prayer: God of Abraham and Sarah, through these holy words may we begin to understand your wondrous, mysterious ways. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. "It was the fall of 1187, and an emissary from the besieged city of Jerusalem had come to beg Saladin, the sultan of Egypt, for mercy. After barely four days of assaults, the Christian defenders saw that Saladin had them hopelessly outmatched. Waiting in his tent outside the city's walls, the Muslim ruler knew both sides had a lot riding on the outcome of this battle. "For the city's defenders, the prospect of Saladin's wrath loomed. The last time Jerusalem was sacked by an invading army-a Christian one-its narrow streets ran red with blood. For Saladin, his honor depended on capturing Jerusalem. All summer his armies had battled their way north through the Holy Land, sweeping through the Christian fiefs like an angry desert wind, with only one goal: recapturing the holy city that had been occupied by European invaders for 88 years. "Now the sultan stood on the hills north of Jerusalem. But the Christian emissary trudging toward him had no prize to offer, only surrender. For days Saladin's men had bombarded the city from the heights to the north, finally breaching St. Stephen's Gate. The few defenders who remained knew that prolonging the fight would only worsen the consequences of defeat. "And so a triumphant Saladin entered Jerusalem on Oct. 2, 1187. For the sultan's army, it was a moment of both joy and sadness. The Christians had profaned some of Islam's holiest sites. The al-Aqsa mosque had been used as a stable for horses. Pieces of the rock from which Mohammed was said to have ascended to heaven had been chipped away to sell in Constantinople. "But the victorious Saladin forbade acts of vengeance. There were no more deaths, no violence. A token ransom was arranged for the thousands of residents. Saladin and his brother paid for hundreds of the poorest themselves and arranged guards for the caravans of refugees." [Andrew Curry, "The First Holy War," U.S.News & World Report, April 8, 2002, 36-37] The article in U.S.News & World Report goes on to say, "Sound familiar? If not, don't feel bad. Saladin doesn't get much play in Western history books…But ask most Muslims, and they'll tell you all about Saladin and his generosity in the face of Christian aggression and hatred. And they'll be right." [Ibid.] I was embarrassed when I read this article because my knowledge about the crusades is so small. It is humbling to be unaware of one's ancestry and their honorable and dishonorable feats. I'm afraid I share my limited knowledge with other Christians, but that is small consolation. My questions about Islam served to stimulate my preparation for this sermon. There isn't nearly enough time to speak about Islam, but at least we can open ourselves to a taste of the faith. "Islam" is an Arabic word which means surrendering oneself to the will of God. It also means peace. A Muslim is one who is in harmony with the decrees of the author of this world, one who has made his peace with God and His creatures. When I was in seminary I took a course on world religions. Instead of using textbooks, our professor had us read novels from the different cultures. In the Islamic novel called The Mantle of the Prophet, the young protagonist, Ali takes on a prolonged fast. Here's what happens: "When the forty-first day came and Ali began to repeat "O He!" the light appeared, but something new appeared inside him as well. The humming inside him was nearly in tune with the humming of the world around him, and he knew that his slight separation from this world was the only barrier between him and pure existence." [Roy Mottahedeh, The Mantle of the Prophet, (New York: Pantheon, 1985), 143.] To me the word that describes this experience is "harmony." He was in harmony with all the created world in worshiping Allah. Islam is a faith of peace and harmony. How sad that terrorists have sullied the Islamic faith. Earlier this week, Jim Turk told me he had heard a powerful analogy on the radio. "The terrorists are to Islam as the KKK is to Christianity." Muslims were shocked and horrified by the 9/11 attacks. When details of the lives the terrorists led in America came out, Muslims pointed out that these men were not faithful Muslims. They desecrated the laws of Islam. It is important that we learn about true Islam and the faithful. Let us turn our attention to Abraham or Ibrahim as he is known in Islam. In Islam, Ibrahim was the first true believer in God. There are beautiful legends about Ibrahim coming to know Allah. One tells of Ibrahim being raised in a cave to protect him from Namrud, the king of Babylonia who had all the children Ibrahim's age killed because the astrologers said someone was going to be born who would destroy Namrud's kingdom by teaching the people a new religious concept: worshiping one God, not idols made of stones and wood. The legend says that at the age of 13, Ibrahim came out of the cave. "It was late in the evening when the sun was setting. When the night grew dark, he saw a star and he said, 'Is this my Lord?' But when it set, he said, 'I love not the setting ones.' Then, when he saw the moon rising he said, 'Is this my Lord?' But when it set, he said, 'If my Lord had not guided me I would have certainly been among the mistaken ones.' Then he saw the sun rising and said, 'Is this my Lord? Is this the greatest?' But when it also set, he said, 'O, my people! Surely, I am clear of what you set up with Allah. Surely, I have turned myself wholly to the One who created the heavens and the earth. I am not of the ones who believe and worship anything else other than Allah - the one God.'" [www.al-islam.org/gallery/ kids/Books/istories, retrieved 6/10/2004] Ibrahim is called the friend of Allah and father of the prophets Ishmael and Isaac and the grandfather of the prophet Jacob. He is also one of the ancestors of the Prophet Muhammad. Anyone who rejects the Prophet Ibrahim is not a true believer in Islam. The importance of Ibrahim can be seen in his prominence in the five pillars of Islam. The first pillar is called "Shahada," which states Ibrahim's insight into the nature of God. It is "I witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the prophet of Allah." Muslims say this when they wake up in the morning and just before they go to sleep at night. The second pillar is called Salah, the prayer ritual performed 5 times a day by every Muslim over the age of 10, male or female, desert or urban dweller. Salah is very different from praying on the inspiration of the moment. A precise ritual is followed. During one part of each of these five prayers, Muslims ask Allah to send His blessings upon the Prophet Ibrahim. Think about what that means. There are millions of Muslims who every day, five times a day, ask God to send blessings on the Prophet Ibrahim. Perhaps even more importantly, the direction in which every Muslim must face when praying is toward Mecca where the Kaba, the first mosque said to be built by Ibrahim and his son Ishmael stands. The next two pillars of Islam are Sawm and Zakat. Sawm is fasting during the daylight hours for Ramadan. Zakat is the giving of alms. It is a compulsory gift of 2.5% of one's savings each year in addition to any charitable gifts a Muslim makes. Giving is intended to free Muslims from the love of money. It reminds them that everything they have really belongs to Allah. The final pillar of Islam is Hajj, which is the pilgrimage to Mecca that all physically able Muslims should make at least once in their lives. Mecca is the most holy place for Muslims. No Hajj is valid without going around the structure built by Ibrahim and Ishmael counterclockwise seven times. Muslims must also run between Safa and Marwa, two hills close to the Kaba, seven times. This is to commemorate the sacrifice of Hagar and Ishmael. Muslims believe that Ibrahim left Hagar and Ishmael in the valley of Mecca to pioneer a new civilization by Allah's order. It was from this civilization that the Prophet Mohammed was born. Another Hajj ritual is throwing pebbles on the 10th day of the Islamic lunar month of Zul Mijjah. An incident involving Ibrahim is the origin. Ibrahim wanted to perform the Hajj rites and Satan blocked his way near Aqabah in Mina. Ibrahim threw seven pebbles at him and Satan sunk to the ground. Satan reappeared to Ibrahim twice after this with the same action taken by the Prophet, and the same reaction from Satan. The stories of Ibrahim have inspired people to believe in the one God, whether we use the name God, Yahweh or Allah. It reminds me of another legend about Ibrahim. These are many versions of the story of Ibrahim destroying idols, like the one a told last week. In one account, the king of Babylon, Namrud, decides to punish Ibrahim by burning him in a huge fire. Of course, Allah intercedes, but not knowing that Ibrahim has been saved from the devouring flames of the fire, a small weak bird decides to burn itself along with the Prophet. As it is flying toward the fire, Allah sends the angel Jibrail to inquire why it is going to commit suicide. The angel stops the bird and asks it to explain. The bird says, "Don't you know that the friend of God is to be burnt in the fire? I do not have the strength to save him, but I can show my sorrow and sympathy by accompanying him into the fire." The angel explained the incident to Allah, who sends the angel back to reward the bird by granting a wish. When the bird is asked what wish it would like fulfilled, the bird says, "I do not wish to have anything from this world. All I wish is to remember constantly Allah in prayer. There are a thousand and one names for Allah. I know hardly a hundred names. I wish to be taught the remaining names of Allah." Allah fulfilled the wish. As the bird flew from tree to tree, it sang the names of Allah, thus remembering Him day and night. [www.al-islam.org/gallery/ kids/Books/istories, retrieved 6/10/2004] This is a story of Islam, a faith devoted to peace and harmony by remembering Allah day and night. Let us pray: God, help us to respect and sympathize with the friends of Allah, by remembering Allah constantly in prayer a they do. Help us to know that acts of virtue bring glory to your name and true peace. Amen.