Muslims bless Abraham. Why don’t Christians?
There’s an Instagram clip with the following:
“So I called one of the leading evangelical ministers in the United States and I said to him:
“Minister have you ever blessed Abraham – I’m just curious.”
And he said, “I can’t say that I have.”
And I said: “Well, doesn’t Genesis 12 say that God will bless those that bless Abraham?”
And he said: “That’s true, maybe I should start doing it.”
And then I called one of the major Rabbis and I asked him:
“Do you have a prayer that blesses Abraham?”
And he said: “I can’t recall one, but there’s probably one somewhere in the Tulmud.”
So my question is: who is that blessed nation who blesses Abraham?
Every single day, 17 times a day, we say:
“O Allah, send your grace, honour and mercy upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent your grace, honour and mercy upon Ibrahaim and his family. You are indeed praiseworthy, most glorious.
O Allah, send your blessing upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent your blessings upon Ibrahaim and his family. You are indeed praiseworthy, most glorious.”
We call it Salahtul Ibrahimia. We don’t call it Saluhtul Muhammadiya.
It’s amazing.”
A Muslim friend sent me the above clip, which intrigued me. And so, I explored it further.
The prayer isn’t from the Qur’an and is apparently related in various hadith collections (Bukhari and Muslim are noted, although I haven’t looked it up) – and so there are versions of it. Furthermore, and more broadly, I saw that the sentiment of this Insta reel is common – it comes up in other online clips and articles. In fact, I was surprised by how many different Muslims apparently have called up different Christian pastors to ask them the exact same thing. At least we can give thanks for how many good Muslim-Christian relationships exist I suppose.
But yes, it seems to be something promoted: that Muslims bless Abraham, and that Christians don’t, even though Genesis 12 says what it does. And furthermore, this then seems to make Muslims the blessed nation.
However, as I reflected further, the claim doesn’t amount to much for at least three reasons.
1. The Salatul Ibrahim prayer doesn’t actually bless Abraham
Read the prayer again and ask this simple question: who is the prayer blessing?
“Oh Allah, send your grace, honour and mercy upon…” who?
“Oh Allah, send your blessing upon…” who?
Who is Allah being asked to send grace and honour and mercy and blessing upon?
“Upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad.”
The reference to Abraham that follows is simply asking that Muhammad and his family receive the kind of blessing that Allah sent (past sense) upon Abraham and his family. Abraham, in the prayer, is an example of someone already blessed, and bestowed with grace and honour and mercy – and of the kind wanted for Muhammad. So, the prayer isn’t actually blessing Abraham – because he was already, as Melchizidek recognised (Gen 14:19). Instead, the prayer is for Muhammad and his family to be blessed.
That’s a very simple point, taking the words in front of us seriously. And if it’s correct then this claim from Muslims doesn’t hold any water at the most basic level. “Muslims bless Abraham. Why don’t Christians?” – well actually, even Muslims don’t.
Potentially this is also a technical point in another sense. Perhaps there are counter claims based on the Arabic – which I have no knowledge of – of the Abrahamic part not being in the past tense. But even if there was a rebuttal to the very simple point above, it’s ok because there’s a far more crucial point.
2. Christians don’t bless, or pray for or to, the dead
In this sense the Muslim claim that they bless Abraham and that Christians don’t, means very little to us. For the fact is that we are not to bless, or pray for or to, those who have died and need to be resurrected. Yes, in another sense, Abraham is alive (cf. Mark 12:26-27) – but the point still stands that we are never encouraged to think that we can change the status or add anything to those who are no longer living on this earth. And we are certainly not to seek to communicate with them in any way.
So, what about Genesis 12 then? Let’s look at the verses to be clear what we are discussing. Genesis 12:2-3 in the CSB says:
I will make you into a great nation,
I will bless you,
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt,
and all the peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.
There are future elements to these promises of God, ones that wouldn’t all be perfected during the lifetime of Abraham – more on this in our final point. But I would make the case that the most natural first reading of the first part of verse 3, in the unfurling history of Genesis, is that it is primarily a promise related to how people would relate to Abraham while he was alive (i.e. chapters 12-25).
Here in Abraham is the one that God will make into a great nation (note: NOT make a blessed nation of the ones who bless him, as Muslims claim), the one God will bless, and make a great name for, and have as a blessing to others. And if any of the people of the days of Abraham wanted to be included in that, then it depended how they responded to Abraham.
There are both future and present aspects to this promise. Again I’d make the case that the one regarding blessing Abraham are primarily present related. But/and if that one is future related, then we know that it can’t possibly mean that we expect blessing a dead Abraham now will bring blessing on us. If it’s future related, then it is future related in another way – and we’ll come back to this shortly.
How do we know that is the correct interpretation? Because the Scriptures as a whole do not encourage us to pray for grace and honour and mercy to be given to those already dead. With their death, their eternity is decided and set. We don’t believe in purgatory – Christian or Muslim versions of it. Likewise, the Scriptures as a whole do not encourage us to bless those who have already died, especially so that we can receive blessing. That kind of communication or participation with the dead is labelled as sheer paganism. And how can we bless one who is already dead? And to bless them in order for us to be blessed is tantamount to rubbing the genie’s lamp – and is again, paganism.
Christians can respect those who have gone before us. And in certain instances, we are to imitate those who have gone before us – when they displayed the faith or godliness that we want to show as those trusting in Jesus (cf. Heb 11). But Christians never, or should never, communicate, or trust, or bless, or worship, or pray to or for those who have died, and are not yet resurrected.
Lastly, those that are dead are impotent to help those of us who are still alive. It’s why Christians under the Scriptures don’t have dealings with any versions of prayers to or regarding the ancestors – be that the practises from Traditional religions, through to Roman Catholic versions of ‘mother Mary’ and other ‘saints’, and even praying to or for family who have passed away. It’s why Christians under the Scriptures refuse to put our trust in any person, even some saint or prophet, who has died and must, like all of us, await the resurrection. Why would we possibly place our trust in one who is so very much like us, a sinner needing the mercy of God? Yes, they desperately need God’s grace, honour, mercy, and blessing! But if they are already dead then our prayers for them now are in a word, useless. After all, better a live dog than a dead lion (cf. Eccl 9:4).
This then brings us to the final point about where God’s people do place their trust.
3. Jesus perfects God’s promises to bless all the people of the earth through Abraham
The promises made to Abraham, particularly of him being a blessing to all the people of the earth, find their fulfilment in Jesus. The line of Abraham, Isaac (note: not Ishmael), and Jacob climax in Jesus. All the promises made to Abraham, if you like, flow along that line.
Here in Jesus is the one who is the great nation that Israel (of the line of Abraham) failed to be. He is the true and better Israel. He is the true and better sacrifice offered by Abraham (again, of Isaac, not Ishmael) – the chosen and true Son through whom God’s blessings flow (cf. Eph 1). He is the true and better holder to the promises of God – where Abraham failed at times, Jesus always trusted his Father even under much greater temptations to not trust (cf. Matt 4). And he is the true and better blameless one – blameless not by a deposited and declared righteousness but by an inherent righteousness. For here is the one who never sinned and was always without blame.
So, if you want in some sense to ‘bless’ Abraham (in other words taking the first part of Genesis 12:3 as future orientated), then the only way that can be is by trusting in the one that Abraham’s road leads to: Jesus Christ, who before Abraham was, is the I AM (cf. John 8:56-58). This Jesus does not need grace and mercy like a mere sinner, for he is God’s grace and mercy for sinners.
Should we pray for honour and blessing to be given to Jesus? Yes, but only in the sense that it is what he deserves. He is honoured and he is blessed because he is worthy of those – not because he is in need of them. He is not like some dry sponge desperate to be showered with blessing, and uncertain in his status before God. No, he is the risen and ruling Son at the right hand of his Father in heaven – utterly blameless and perfect and loved by his Father at every point. And so, our honouring and blessing of him is due to his recognition, not his need. And living in the fullest sense, he now perfectly represents and mediates for his people before his Father.
Christians bless this Jesus, but only because he has first and foundationally blessed us. In fact, you can’t truly bless him until you let him bless you first with salvation – after all, we are the needy ones, not him. And while we wait for Jesus’ return, the Christian’s desire is for all the people of the earth to see and savour this Christ, the blessed one who all the peoples on earth can be blessed through.
“Muslims bless Abraham. Why don’t Christians?”
Muslims don’t actually bless Abraham.
Christians are not to bless the dead.
Jesus is where the Abrahamic blessings rest.
