Abraham/Ibrahim

Abraham/Ibrahim is mentioned nearly seventy times throughout the text of the Qur'an, and only Moses's/Musa's name appears more frequently in the book. [...] A title the Qur'an uses for Abraham/Ibrahim that is also shared by both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament is "friend of God" [khalil Allah] (Q4:125; cf. Isa. 41:8; Jas 2:23).

 The Qur'an presents Abraham/Ibrahim as a true believer who, even though he predated the Prophet Muhammad by centuries, is the prototype for all Muslims to follow because he lived his life in complete submission to God's will. 

His exemplary character is summed up in this verse, which explains both what Abraham/Ibrahim was and what he was not. "Abraham was not a Jew or a Christian, but he was an upright person [hanifan] who submitted [musliman] and was not one of those who associate [mushrikin]" (Q3:67).

Because he lived long before both Judaism and Christianity, he should not be identified with either of those religions. He was also not someone who committed the sin of shirk, or association, by violating the unity of God and associating something or someone in creation with the uncreated diety. 

Abraham/Ibrahim is described in this verse as a hanif, which is translated as "upright person," and is often understood to be someone who practices monotheism. The word hanif appears twelve times in the Qur'an with eight of them referring to Abraham/Ibrahim, who is the only person identified this way by name in the text. [...]

The important role that Abraham/Ibrahim plays as a model believer can be seen in another way in Q3:67. The Arabic word that is translated here as "who submitted" is "muslim," a term that describes a person who engages in the act of submission that gives the religion of Islam its name. The verse reflects the belief that, long before the coming of Muhammad, prophets like Abraham/Ibrahim and their followers were living lives of submission to God's will. This is why Muhammad is repeatedly told in the Qur'an that he should follow the "religion of Abraham/Ibrahim" -- his task was not to found a new faith, but to call people back to the way that God had intended for humanity from the beginning. "Then We revealed to you (Muhammad) to folllow the religion of Abraham, who was an upright person and was not one of those who associate (Q16:123; cf. Q2:135; Q3:95; Q6:161; Q22:78).

[...] Abraham/Ibrahim was not guilty of shirk (association) because he practiced shukr (thankfulness).

"Truly, there is a good example for you in Abraham" (Q60:4).

--John Kaltner & Younus Y. Mirza, The Bible and the Qur'an: Biblical Figures in the Islamic Tradition (London and New York: Bloomsbury, 2018), 10-15.