Abraham · Ibrahim

Abraham in Islam

Abraham is Ibrahim in Arabic, written إِبْرَاهِيم. The two names belong to the same person, and the two traditions tell his story differently enough to be worth reading side by side.

English: Abraham
Arabic: إِبْرَاهِيم
Read as: Ibrahim
Status: Prophet in Islam
Where the English comes from: Hebrew Avraham, read as father of many nations.
What the Arabic carries: Ibrahim, the Quranic form of the same name.
Full name page: Ibrahim on AsrNaam

Is Abraham the same as Ibrahim? Yes. Abraham is the English form and Ibrahim the Arabic form of one name. The Quran calls him Khalilullah, the intimate friend of God, and Muslims ask for blessing on his family in every prayer.

Ibrahim in the Quran

Ibrahim is the point at which the three traditions meet and then separate. The Quran calls him Khalilullah, the intimate friend of God, and describes his faith as neither Jewish nor Christian but hanif, upright and turned toward the one God before either community existed. Muslims are told to follow millat Ibrahim, the way of Ibrahim.

The Quranic account keeps the fire, the smashed idols, the argument with his father, the sacrifice and the building of the Kaaba with his son Ismail. It differs from Genesis on the son taken for sacrifice: Islamic tradition overwhelmingly names Ismail, the Hebrew Bible names Isaac, and the Quranic text itself does not name him at that point in the passage.

Two of the five daily prayers close by asking God to bless Muhammad as he blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. Few names in any language are spoken by more people more often.

Using the name

The full entry for Ibrahim carries the Arabic spelling, the Urdu, the pronunciation, the lucky number and the letter-by-letter Ilm ul Huroof reading, along with every romanisation the name is written in.

Open the full Ibrahim page →

Questions about Abraham and Ibrahim

Is Abraham the same name as Ibrahim?

Abraham is the English form and Ibrahim is the Arabic form of the same name. They refer to the same figure.

Is Ibrahim the same as Abraham?

Yes. Ibrahim is the Arabic form of the Hebrew Avraham. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all trace themselves to him.

Which son did Ibrahim take to be sacrificed?

Islamic tradition names Ismail; the Hebrew Bible names Isaac. The Quranic passage itself does not give the son a name in that verse, which is why the question has been discussed rather than assumed.

Can a Muslim family use the name Ibrahim?

Yes. Ibrahim is used as a given name across the Muslim world. AsrNaam carries its full page with the Arabic spelling, the pronunciation, the lucky number and the letter-by-letter Ilm ul Huroof reading.

Other names the two traditions share

Every one of these is one figure under two names.

Jesus and Isa Moses and Musa Mary and Maryam Joseph and Yusuf David and Dawud Solomon and Sulayman Noah and Nuh John and Yahya Jacob and Yaqub Jonah and Yunus Job and Ayyub Aaron and Harun Isaac and Ishaq Ishmael and Ismail

Or start from the full list of Biblical names in Islam.