Ishmael in Islam

Ishmael (Arabic: إسماعيل‎, Ismā‘īl) is the figure known in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as Abraham's (Ibrahim) son, born to Hagar (Hajar). In Islam, Ishmael is regarded as a prophet (nabi) and an ancestor to Muhammad. He also became associated with Mecca and the construction of the Kaaba, as well as equated with the term "Arab" by some. Stories of Ishmael are not only found in Jewish and Christian texts, such as the Bible and rabbinic Midrash, but also Islamic sources. These sources include the Quran, Quranic commentary (tafsir), hadith, historiographic collections like that of Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, and Isra'iliyat (Islamic texts about Biblical or ancient Israelite figures that originate from Jewish or Christian sources).

Historical narrative in Islam

Birth

Ishmael was the first son of Abraham, whose mother was Hagar. The story of the birth of Ishmael is rarely assigned special significance in Islamic sources. However, many Islamic scholars and hadith support the Jewish and Christian view that Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away at God's command, in accordance with Sarah's proclamation, "this boy will not be an heir with my son Isaac" (Genesis 21:10-12). There are many versions of the story, some of which include a prophecy about Ishmael's birth. One such example is from Ibn Kathir whose account states that an angel tells the pregnant Hagar to name her child Ishmael and prophecies, "His hand would be over everyone, and the hand of everyone would be against him. His brethren would rule over all the lands." Ibn Kathir comments that this foretells of Muhammad's leadership.

Isma'il Pasha

Isma'il Pasha (Arabic: إسماعيل باشا‎ Ismā‘īl Bāshā, Turkish: İsmail Paşa), known as Ismail the Magnificent (31 December 1830 – 2 March 1895), was the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the behest of the United Kingdom. Sharing the ambitious outlook of his grandfather, Muhammad Ali Pasha, he greatly modernized Egypt and Sudan during his reign, investing heavily in industrial and economic development, urbanisation, and the expansion of the country's boundaries in Africa.

His philosophy can be glimpsed at in a statement that he made in 1879: "My country is no longer in Africa; we are now part of Europe. It is therefore natural for us to abandon our former ways and to adopt a new system adapted to our social conditions".

In 1867 he also secured Ottoman and international recognition for his title of Khedive (Viceroy) in preference to Wāli (Governor) which was previously used by his predecessors in the Ottoman Eyalet of Egypt and Sudan (1517–1867). However, Isma'il's policies placed the Ottoman Khedivate of Egypt and Sudan (1867–1914) in severe debt, leading to the sale of the country's shares in the Suez Canal Company to the United Kingdom, and his ultimate toppling from power at British hands.