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Abraham, shared ancestor of Jews, Christians and Muslims
c. 2000–1700 BC (traditional)· Founder, prophet or teacher· Judaism, Christianity & Islam
Faith & scriptureHeld by believers on faith and scripture; history can neither confirm nor rule it out.
The patriarch Jews, Christians and Muslims revere as a model of faith in the one God; tradition dates him around 2000–1700 BC.
See it on the World Religions map →What it is
Genesis teaches that God called Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) to leave Mesopotamia for Canaan, promising him land and countless descendants. Jews trace their lineage through his son Isaac; Muslim tradition traces the Arabs, and Muhammad, through his son Ishmael. Christians see him as the model of faith. The Quran honors him as a prophet who rejected idols and, with Ishmael, built the Kaaba in Mecca. Together these faiths count about 4.3 billion followers, over half the world.
Why it matters
He is the shared root figure of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, framing their claims about the one God, covenant and the land.
Life, legacy and sources
Known only from scripture (Genesis, the New Testament, the Quran) and tradition, with no outside record. Most historians date the writing of Genesis to the first millennium BC. His traditional tomb, the Cave of the Patriarchs, is venerated at Hebron.
Questions and debates
Whether a historical Abraham lived is unknown; scholars debate whether the stories preserve Bronze Age memories or reflect later national identity.
Inside this (3)
Connections (4)
▸Abraham, shared ancestor of Jews, Christians and Muslims entered The covenant between God and Abraham's descendantsFaith & scripture
The connection
Genesis teaches that God called Abraham to leave his homeland for Canaan and made a covenant, a binding agreement: land, countless descendants and blessing, with circumcision as its sign. Jewish tradition sees this as the founding of the people of Israel; Christians and Muslims also claim Abraham's heritage in different ways.
When and where
In Genesis 12, 15 and 17, set in Canaan around 2000–1700 BC by tradition; most scholars think the texts were written much later, in the first millennium BC.
How do we know?
This is scripture held on faith and cannot be verified historically; scholars compare its form to ancient Near Eastern treaties and land grants.
Questions and debates
When the covenant stories were written, and whether they preserve older oral traditions, is debated; faiths differ on who inherits the covenant.
▸Abraham, shared ancestor of Jews, Christians and Muslims built, Islamic tradition holds, the shrine at Mecca and the KaabaFaith & scripture
The connection
The Quran says Abraham and his son Ishmael raised the foundations of 'the House', the Kaaba, and prayed for it to become a place of pilgrimage. Muslim tradition adds that Abraham left Hagar and the baby Ishmael in Mecca's valley, where the Zamzam spring appeared. Islam thus presents itself as restoring Abraham's original worship of one God.
When and where
In faith tradition, Abraham's era, traditionally about 2000–1700 BC. The Quran verses (2:125–127) date, by tradition, to Muhammad's years in Medina, 622–632.
How do we know?
Held on faith from the Quran and hadith; no archaeology or outside source links Abraham to Arabia, and history can neither confirm nor rule it out.
Questions and debates
Historians do not know how old the Kaaba is; Arabs revered it before Islam, but whether they already linked it to Abraham is debated.
▸Islam reveres Abraham, shared ancestor of Jews, Christians and MuslimsHistorical record
The connection
Islam calls Abraham (Ibrahim) the 'friend of God' and a hanif, a pure monotheist who was 'neither Jew nor Christian' but submitted to God. Muslims invoke him in their daily prayers, retrace his family's steps on the Hajj, and remember his willingness to sacrifice his son at Eid al-Adha.
When and where
In the Quran, 610–632, which names Abraham about 69 times and titles sura 14 after him; and in Muslim prayer and pilgrimage ever since.
Historical evidence
The Quran's text, the standard wording of Muslim prayer, and the Hajj and Eid rituals all document this reverence directly.
Questions and debates
Muslims usually identify the son Abraham nearly sacrificed as Ishmael, not Isaac as in the Bible; the Quran does not name him, and early commentators disagreed.
▸Paul the Apostle called believers heirs of Abraham, shared ancestor of Jews, Christians and MuslimsHistorical record
The connection
Paul argued that Abraham was counted righteous for trusting God before he was circumcised, so he is the father of all who have faith, Jew or Gentile. 'If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise,' he wrote, making a Jewish patriarch the ancestor of non-Jewish Christians too.
When and where
Paul's letters to the Galatians (c. AD 48–55) and the Romans (c. 57), especially Galatians 3 and Romans 4, written to mixed Jewish and Gentile congregations.
Historical evidence
Both letters are among the seven that nearly all scholars accept as Paul's own; the argument is spelled out in the texts themselves.
Questions and debates
Scholars debate whether Paul meant to replace Jewish identity or to widen Abraham's family, a question central to the 'New Perspective on Paul' since the 1970s.