Harran Sanliurfa, City Of Prophets And Jerusalem Of Ancient Anatolia
The Lord said to Abram: “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing”. (Genesis 12:2). “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going”. (Hebrews 11:8). “Who can be better in religion than one who submits his whole self to Allah, does good, and follows the way of Ibrahim the true in Faith? For Allah did take Ibrahim for a friend". (Qurʾān 4:125)
Journey of the Family of Abraham by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1650-1660)
Musei di Strada Nuova (Public Domain)
Abram, Abraham, Ibrahim
Abram, Abraham, Ibrahim, by whatever name he is called, he is considered to be the spiritual father, in many cases the actual biological father, of 12 million Jews, two billion Christians, and one billion Muslims. Many claim that he was history's first monotheist. And yet, upon closer inspection, it becomes obvious that few people understand him. They may know some things about him, but aside from a few stories here and there, they don't really know him. Perhaps if they did, his followers would not fight so much.
He was born into a family that shared a long and rich tradition of nomadic wandering and trekking across the landscape, although never very far from an urban center of trade. They were given various labels — Aramean, Aramu, Arabu — that eventually coalesced into the word Arab. Although the Bible does not specify exactly the place of his birth, many Jews and Christians have concentrated on Ur Kasdim, or ‘Ur of the Chaldeans’. That would put him down in Mesopotamia. But the great rabbinic scholar Moses Nahmanides argued that his true place of birth was further north, in the land near Harran. Muslims unequivocally claim that honor for the city of Urfa, modern Şanlıurfa. Wherever the place of his birth is located, however, there is little doubt that soon after he came into the world his father moved the family to the ancient city of Harran (or its biblical spelling of Haran), where he lived for almost seven decades. Harran is in Şanlıurfa Province, in present day Turkey.
The sacrifice of Abraham by Nicolaes Maes (1653) Agnes Etherington Art Centre (Public Domain)
Abraham's early history is fragmented but colorful. In just a few short Bible verses and a plethora of legends one can piece together a tapestry of incidents that do more to arouse curiosity than answer questions. The young Abram (the name means ‘the father is exalted’) is said to have been born into a family that earned its daily bread by making and selling pagan idols, a strange beginning for one who is said to be the father of monotheism. At the ripe young age of 75 he hears the voice of God calling him to submit and follow the command of the Almighty. That is when things really heat up. In only a few Bible verses one are told that he gathered up his family and set out for the land of Canaan, some 300 miles (482 kilometers) to the south, whereupon he promptly panicked and continued on to Egypt, almost caused an international incident, returned to Canaan, circumcised himself (no easy task!), fathered two sons, abandoned one of them, set out to sacrifice the other before he was stopped at the last minute by divine intervention, fought a great war and, at its conclusion, along with the mysterious Melchizedek, instituted the custom of tithing and participated in the first communion service 2,000 years before the birth of Christ. He then bought some land, buried his wife, started another family and lived to the age of 175. Along the way he managed to unknowingly entertain two angels who were on their way to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. With all this activity to his credit, is it any wonder that his name appears so often in the Hebrew Bible, the Islamic Qurʾān, and the Christian New Testament?
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All this took place after Abram submitted to the will of God, in the process earning a new name. With that simple act of faith, he became Abraham, which means ‘father of a multitude’. For this reason, Muslims (the name means ‘one who submits’) revere him. Through his son Ishmael, with whom he is said to have the built the Kaaba in Mecca, greatest of all holy Islamic sites, he formed the basis of what would later become the faith of Islam. Through Isaac, his second son, descended the 12 tribes of Israel and their spiritual offspring, Christianity.
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