Qur'anic Methodology, the Distortion Concerning Israel, and Its Impact on Understanding History and Palestinian Rights

Introduction

The Noble Qur'an presents a precise system of names, genealogy, and religion, clarifying who the prophet is, who the community of believers is, and where each line of descent originates. This system does not conflate personal names with communities, nor does it give any prophet more than one name; it also clearly defines ethnic and religious affiliation.

Nevertheless, a widespread distortion emerged in the inherited tradition and contemporary exegesis asserting that Israel is Jacob. This complicates people's understanding of the true history of the two prophets and their communities, and has direct implications for contemporary issues such as Palestine and the rights of its people.

Chapter One: The Methodology of Names and Genealogy

The Qur'an mentions the prophets by fixed names, linking each prophet to his attributes or genealogy without a multiplicity of names: Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad.

﴿إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ كَانَ أُمَّةً قَانِتًا لِلَّهِ حَنِيفًا﴾ (Indeed, Abraham was a community, devoutly obedient to God, inclining solely toward Him.) [النحل: ١٢٠]

The Distinction Between the Individual and the Community

Jacob: A prophet bearing his own name. The Children of Israel: A frequently mentioned community, which the Qur'an does not directly link to the name Israel as a prophet. One significant linguistic observation is that the Qur'an does not use “the Children of Jacob,” but does use “the Children of Israel,” even though Jacob himself is mentioned.

Conclusion: Equating Israel with Jacob distorts the Qur'anic system of names and affiliation.

Chapter Two: Abraham, the Arabs, and Islam

The Qur'an makes clear that the Arabs descend from Abraham through his son Ishmael, who lived and settled in the Arabian Peninsula; thus, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is ethnically a descendant of Abraham and a Muslim through monotheism, following Abraham's message.

﴿وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّ اجْعَلْنِي مُقِيمَ الصَّلَاةِ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِي رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَاءِ﴾ (And when Abraham said, “My Lord, make me one who maintains prayer, and from among my descendants as well. Our Lord, accept my supplication.”) [إبراهيم: ٤٠]

﴿وَاذْكُرْ فِي الْكِتَابِ إِسْمَاعِيلَ إِنَّهُ كَانَ صَادِقَ الْوَعْدِ وَرَسُولًا﴾ (And mention Ishmael in the Book. Indeed, he was true to his promise and a messenger.) [مريم: ٥٤]

﴿قُلْ إِنَّنِي هَدَانِي رَبِّي إِلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ دِينًا قِيَمًا مِّلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ﴾ (Say, “Indeed, my Lord has guided me to a straight path, an upright religion, the creed of Abraham, who inclined solely toward God and was not among the polytheists.”) [الأنعام: ١٦١]

Any claim that Abraham was Jewish or non-Arab therefore contradicts the Qur'an. Accordingly, the understanding of Arab and Islamic identity is confined to what the Qur'an directly establishes, without reliance on historical distortions or weak interpretations that conflate individuals and genealogies.

The Promise of the Land

The Torah says to Abraham, “To your offspring I will give this land” (Genesis 12:7, 15:18–21). The Jews interpreted this promise to mean that the descendants of Jacob/Israel were the owners of the land, describing them as “God's chosen people,” thereby providing a historical and ethnic basis for ownership of Palestine according to their understanding.

But the Torah disregards Ishmael's lineage, to which the Qur'an links the Arabs, granting the right exclusively to Jacob/Israel in opposition to the Qur'anic method. The conclusion is that this restricted interpretation led to the justification of historical ownership of the land, disregarding the fact that the Arabs are Abraham's descendants through Ishmael.

Chapter Three: The Distortion Concerning Israel and Its Impact

The Qur'an does not explicitly state that Israel is Jacob; Jacob is a prophet bearing his own name, while the Children of Israel are a community, and introducing Israel as a name for the prophet disrupts the Qur'anic system.

There are weak reports asserting that Israel = Jacob, which neither al-Bukhari nor Muslim endorsed. Their appearance in the inherited tradition contributed to confusing people's understanding of the Qur'anic text.

Chapter Four: Evidence in the Torah

In the Torah, Jacob is sometimes given the appellation “Israel” (Genesis 32:28) following a wrestling encounter, and this appellation was later used to name the community of the Children of Israel. This account is not mentioned in the Qur'an, but it entered early Jewish tradition, resulting in a conflation of the individual name and the collective name in Western and Eastern thought.

Chapter Five: Repercussions of the Distortion

Distorting historical facts: Equating Israel with Jacob led the Children of Israel to be understood as a “natural” extension of the religious expression, whereas the Qur'an makes clear that the community is separate from the prophet's name. This helped justify political claims to the land based on the idea of “historical entitlement.”

The loss of Palestinian rights: The distortion created a narrative asserting that the land had always belonged to the Children of Israel, while disregarding Qur'anic indications that the Arabs, as Abraham's descendants through Ishmael, have an original share. This led to the weakening of Palestinian claims to religious and ethnic rights.

From theory to practice: Parties relied on the Torah's narrative in making claims to ownership of the land, and international recognition and Western policies were justified in terms of historical right partly through this textual distortion, whereas the Qur'anic text makes clear that the Arabs—including the Palestinians—are the natural heirs of Abraham's lineage.

Conclusion

The Qur'an is precise about genealogy, ethnicity, and affiliation; Abraham is an Arab and a Muslim through monotheism; Muhammad ﷺ is an Arab descended from Abraham; Israel is not Jacob, and conflating the two names disrupts the Qur'anic system; the reports equating them are weak; the Torah mentions the appellation, but the Qur'an does not adopt it; and this distortion has contributed to distorting history and the rights of Arabs and Palestinians.

Every prophet therefore has a fixed name and a clear connection to his attributes and genealogy, while the community is mentioned separately; the prophet's name is not replaced by the community's name, or vice versa. Commitment to reflective contemplation of the Qur'an restores rights, dismantles distortions, and establishes a correct understanding of history, genealogies, and the land.