Azahari Hassim
📜 Between Two Covenants: Islam, Ishmael, and the Biblical Promise of the Nile–Euphrates Territory
🌟 Introduction
Among the most enduring debates in Abrahamic theology is the meaning and scope of the land promised to Abraham in the Book of Genesis. Genesis 15:18 describes a vast territorial grant—from the River of Egypt (Nile) to the Great River, the Euphrates. Within Jewish and Christian tradition, this land is associated with the Israelites through Isaac and Jacob, forming the territorial core of the Sinai Covenant.
From an Islamic perspective, however, the Sinai Covenant is distinct from—and secondary to—the universal and primordial Abrahamic Covenant (Qur’an 2:124). While the Abrahamic Covenant is universal, the Sinai Covenant is conditional. Islamic tradition maintains that although the Israelites were indeed granted the land of Canaan, their right to remain in it was contingent upon obedience to God’s commandments.
Their repeated breaches of the covenant led to divine withdrawal of protection, and the rise of Islam brought a new community that inherited the broader Abrahamic mission, eventually including the territories of Canaan itself.
This article presents the Islamic position that:
• The Sinai Covenant grants the Israelites a conditional territorial inheritance: the land of Canaan.
• The Abrahamic Covenant, broader and older, grants Ishmael’s descendants a civilizational inheritance extending across the region historically described as from the Nile to the Euphrates—fulfilled through the rise of Islam.
• Canaan itself falls under the wider Abrahamic Covenant and, due to covenantal breach, eventually passed from Israelite control during the expansion of Islam.
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♦️ 1. Two Distinct Covenants: Abrahamic vs. Sinai
1.1 The Abrahamic Covenant (Universal and Primordial)
In Qur’anic theology, God promises Abraham:
“I will make you a leader for all nations.”
— Qur’an 2:124
In Genesis, the parallel promise reads:
“I will make you the father of a multitude of nations.”
— Genesis 17:4–5
Crucially, this covenant predates both Isaac and Jacob, meaning it encompasses all of Abraham’s descendants—including Ishmael.
Furthermore, Qur’anic theology affirms that all lands granted to Abraham fall under this universal covenant (e.g., Qur’an 21:71, 21:105). Thus, Islam maintains that Canaan is originally Abrahamic land, entrusted temporarily to the Israelites under a conditional covenant.
1.2 The Sinai Covenant (Particular, Conditional, and Territorial)
The Sinai Covenant is:
• Made with Moses and the Children of Israel
• Condition-based: obedience secures blessing; disobedience invites expulsion
• Rooted in Torah law
• Focused specifically on Canaan
This conditionality is repeatedly emphasized in the Bible:
“If you obey… you will live long in the land.”
“But if you turn away… you will perish from the land.”
— Deuteronomy 4, 28, 30
From an Islamic viewpoint, this fragility of the covenant explains why:
• The Israelites repeatedly lost sovereignty over Canaan in Biblical history.
• The land eventually passed into Muslim control during the 7th century, consistent with divine withdrawal of Israelite privilege.
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♦️ 2. The Nile–Euphrates Promise in Genesis 15:18
Genesis states:
“To your descendants I give this land, from the River of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.”
— Genesis 15:18
Three observations support the Islamic interpretation:
2.1 The promise predates Isaac
Genesis 15 is earlier than:
• The covenant of circumcision (Genesis 17)
• The announcement of Isaac’s birth (Genesis 17:16–21)
Thus, the promise must concern Abraham’s immediate offspring—Ishmael.
2.2 The scope includes Canaan as well
Canaan is not excluded from Genesis 15; it lies inside the promised zone.
Hence, Islam views:
• Canaan as Abrahamic land
• Temporarily entrusted to the Israelites
• Ultimately reverting under the wider Abrahamic destiny when the covenant is broken
2.3 Historical fulfillment through Ishmael’s descendants
From the 7th century:
• Egypt
• Arabia
• Levant
• Iraq
• Syria
• Canaan/Palestine
became part of a unified Islamic civilization—precisely the geographical arc described in Genesis 15.
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♦️ 3. Ishmael’s Descendants and the Fulfillment of the Wider Covenant
3.1 Muhammad ﷺ as the culmination of the Abraham–Ishmael prayer
Abraham and Ishmael pray:
“Raise up among our descendants a Messenger from among them.”
— Qur’an 2:129
Islam sees Muhammad ﷺ as the fulfillment of this invocation, bringing monotheism across the territories promised to Abraham.
3.2 A non-political fulfillment of a territorial metaphor
The spread of Islam was not merely conquest—it was:
• Monotheistic renewal
• Abrahamic restoration
• Civilizational unity
Thus, the “Nile to Euphrates” becomes a symbol of Ishmael’s civilizational legacy.
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♦️ 4. Isaac’s Descendants, Canaan, and the Conditional Sinai Covenant
4.1 The Qur’an affirms that God granted Canaan to the Israelites
“O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has written for you.”
— Qur’an 5:21
Islam acknowledges:
• The Israelites had a legitimate, God-given claim to Canaan
• But it was conditioned on righteousness
4.2 Forfeiture through covenant breach
Both Bible and Qur’an describe recurring Israelite disobedience:
• Idolatry
• Rejecting prophets
• Breaking the Sabbath
• Ethical corruption
As a result:
• The Sinai Covenant was repeatedly violated
• God withdrew His protection (Qur’an 5:12–14)
• The land passed to new communities, culminating in Muslim rule
Thus, Canaan’s integration into the Islamic world is seen as:
• Not a contradiction of scripture
• But the very consequence that scripture predicted would follow covenantal breach
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♦️ 5. A Dual-Inheritance Framework in Islamic Thought
5.1 The Sinai Covenant (Isaac → Israel)
• Territory: Canaan
• Condition: obedience
• Status: forfeited after repeated breaches
• Outcome: loss of sovereignty, fulfilled historically through Islamic expansion
5.2 The Abrahamic Covenant (Ishmael → Muhammad → Ummah)
• Territory: Nile to Euphrates (including Canaan)
• Nature: universal, unconditional, civilizational
• Fulfillment: spread of Islam from the 7th century onward
• Outcome: Ishmael’s descendants inherit the broader Abrahamic mandate
Thus Islam affirms:
• The Israelites’ original right to Canaan
• Their subsequent loss of this right
• The Ummah’s inheritance of Abraham’s universal covenant, including Canaan
• All without negating scripture
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❇️ Conclusion
From an Islamic theological standpoint:
• The Abrahamic Covenant includes the entire region from the Nile to the Euphrates—including Canaan.
• The Israelites were granted Canaan under the conditional Sinai Covenant, which they eventually forfeited through covenantal violations.
• The rise of Islam represents the fulfillment of the broader, unconditional Abrahamic Covenant through Ishmael’s lineage.
• Consequently, the historical integration of Canaan into the Islamic world is seen as a continuation—not a contradiction—of sacred history.
This yields a unified covenantal model:
- Canaan for Isaac’s descendants under a conditional covenant—later forfeited.
- Nile-to-Euphrates civilization for Ishmael’s descendants under the universal Abrahamic Covenant—fulfilled through Islam.
In this way, Islamic theology harmonizes the Biblical and Qur’anic narratives, affirming Abraham as the father of a global monotheistic mission, completed through Muhammad ﷺ and the Ummah.
ABRAHAMIC THEOLOGY 