Father of Faith Revered by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
The Hebrew Bible records that Abraham first dwelt in Ur of Mesopotamia, was called by God to leave his homeland for the land of Canaan, and was promised that his descendants would be as many as the stars of the sky and the sand of the earth. He is the shared ancestral figure of faith for the three Abrahamic religions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Through Isaac, son of his wife Sarah, he is ancestor in the Jewish and Christian traditions; through Ishmael, son of the maidservant Hagar, he is regarded in Islamic tradition as ancestor of the Arabs. The three faiths differ in their records and emphases, but "the faith of Abraham" is a spiritual starting point shared by all three.
God called Abram: "leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s house, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation." At seventy-five, Abram set out with his wife Sarah and his nephew Lot for the land of Canaan — a migration without a map, regarded by all three religions as the archetype of "faith."
The Hebrew Bible records that God, to test Abraham’s faith, commanded him to offer his only son Isaac, born to him in old age, as a burnt offering. Abraham brought Isaac up Mount Moriah, and as he raised the knife an angel’s voice stopped him, and a ram took Isaac’s place as the offering. In Islamic tradition the son of this test is held to be Ishmael rather than Isaac — one of the best-known differences among the three faiths’ records.
Abraham is jointly honored as ancestor of faith by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which are therefore together called the "Abrahamic religions." The three differ on the "son offered": the Hebrew Bible and Christian tradition record the son as Isaac, while Islamic tradition holds it to be Ishmael — a typical example of the three faiths sharing one narrative frame yet parting on a key detail; this site does not adjudicate which version is "correct."
Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.
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