Ya’qub (Jacob)
اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ بِجَمِیعِ مَحَامِدِه کُلِّهَا عَلَی جَمِیعِ نِعَمِهِ کُلِّهَا… اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ مالِکِ الْمُلْکِ مُجْرِی الْفُلْکِ مُسَخِّرِ الرِّیاحِ فالِقِ الاْصْباحِ دَیّانِ الدّینِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمینَ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی حِلْمِهِ بَعْدَ عِلمِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی عَفْوِهِ بَعْدَ قُدْرَتِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی طُولِ اَناتِهِ فی غَضَبِهِ وَهُوَ قادِرٌ عَلی ما یُریدُ
Praise is to God with all his praises, for all his blessings. . . Praise is to God, the owner of the property, the operator of the orbit, the bender of the wind, the glory of the morning, the religion of the beliefs, lord of the worlds; praise is to God for his dream after his knowledge and thank God for forgiveness after his power, and praise be to God for his long patience in his wrath and he is capable to do what he wills
و نشهد أن لا اله الا الله وحده لا شریک له، و أَنَّ محمداً عبده و رسوله ارسله بالهدی و دین الحق لیظهره علی الدین کله و لو کره المشرکون اوصیکم عبادالله و نفسی بتقوی الله و اتباع امره و نهیه، و اخوفکم من عقابه
And we bear witness that there is no god but God alone, without partner, and that Muhammad is his servant and messenger, he sent him with guidance and the religion of truth, that he might proclaim it over all religion, even if the polytheists hated it.
The biography of the Prophet Ya’qub in the Qur’an
The holy verses of the holy Qur’an regarding the prophet Ya’qub can be studied in several areas:
Ya’qub’s birth
The holy Qur’an considers the birth of Ya’qub as a double and special blessing of God to Ibrahim and his wife Sarah. In their old age, God granted their heartfelt desire to have children, and not only gave them a son named Isaac, but also gave them the good news of a grandson named Ya’qub:
وَامْرَأَتُهُ قَائِمَةٌ فَضَحِكَتْ فَبَشَّرْنَاهَا بِإِسْحَاقَ وَمِنْ وَرَاءِ إِسْحَاقَ يَعْقُوبَ؛
His wife, standing by, laughed as We gave her the good news of [the birth of] Isaac, and of Jacob, after Isaac. (Hood:71)
وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ إِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ نَافِلَةً وَكُلًّا جَعَلْنَا صَالِحِينَ؛
And We gave him Isaac, and Jacob as well for a grandson, and each of them We made righteous. (Anbiya: 72)
God has considered the bestowal of Isaac and Ya’qub on Ibrahim as a reward for Ibrahim’s insistence and sincerity in the path of monotheistic beliefs and his withdrawal from the polytheists, and says in the holy Qur’an:
فَلَمَّا اعْتَزَلَهُمْ وَمَا يَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَهَبْنَا لَهُ إِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَكُلًّا جَعَلْنَا نَبِيًّا؛
So when he had left them and what they worshipped besides Allah, We gave him Isaac and Jacob, and each We made a prophet. (Maryam: 49)
Ya’qub’s character
The holy Qur’an considers the prophet Ya’qub to be a strong, insightful, sincere, chosen and virtuous person:
وَاذْكُرْ عِبَادَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ أُولِي الْأَيْدِي وَالْأَبْصَارِ؛ إِنَّا أَخْلَصْنَاهُمْ بِخَالِصَةٍ ذِكْرَى الدَّارِ؛ وَإِنَّهُمْ عِنْدَنَا لَمِنَ الْمُصْطَفَيْنَ الْأَخْيَارِ؛
And remember Our servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, men of strength and insight. Indeed We purified them with exclusive remembrance of the abode [of the Hereafter]. Indeed they are surely with Us among the elect of the best. (Saad: 45-47)
Ya’qub’s place among the prophets
The holy Qur’an mentions the name of the prophet Ya’qub in the list of the great prophets of human history, and considers faith in him as one of the necessary beliefs for the faith of people to be correct:
إِنَّا أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ كَمَا أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَى نُوحٍ وَالنَّبِيِّينَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالْأَسْبَاطِ وَعِيسَى وَأَيُّوبَ وَيُونُسَ وَهَارُونَ وَسُلَيْمَانَ وَآتَيْنَا دَاوُودَ زَبُورًا؛
We have indeed revealed to you as We revealed to Noah and the prophets after him, and [as] We revealed to Abraham and Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, Jesus and Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon—and We gave David the Psalms— (Nesaa: 163)
قُولُوا آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالْأَسْبَاطِ وَمَا أُوتِيَ مُوسَى وَعِيسَى وَمَا أُوتِيَ النَّبِيُّونَ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ؛
Say, ‘We have faith in Allah and what has been sent down to us, and what was sent down to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes, and that which Moses and Jesus were given, and that which the prophets were given from their Lord; we make no distinction between any of them and to Him do we submit.’ (Baghare: 136)
Among the divine prophets, the prophet Ya’qub has the characteristic that he is considered the head of his following prophets and the prophets after him are viewed as “the family of Ya’qub”.
ذِكْرُ رَحْمَتِ رَبِّكَ عَبْدَهُ زَكَرِيَّا؛ إِذْ نَادَى رَبَّهُ نِدَاءً خَفِيًّا؛ قَالَ … فَهَبْ لِي مِنْ لَدُنْكَ وَلِيًّا؛ يَرِثُنِي وَيَرِثُ مِنْ آلِ يَعْقُوبَ وَاجْعَلْهُ رَبِّ رَضِيًّا؛
[This is] an account of your Lord’s mercy on His servant, Zechariah, when he called out to his Lord with a secret cry. He said, ‘My Lord! Indeed my bones have become feeble, and my head has turned white with age, yet never have I, my Lord, been disappointed in supplicating You! Indeed I fear my kinsmen, after me, and my wife is barren. So grant me from Yourself an heir who may inherit from me and inherit from the House of Jacob, and make him, my Lord, pleasing [to You]!’ (Maryam: 2-6)
Contrary to the holy Qur’an, the Torah considers Ya’qub to be a person who did not deserve to be a prophet after his father Isaac, but deceived his father with a trick and took his father’s place and replaced him with his brother Isu.[1]
Ya’qub’s naming after Israel
In many verses, the Qur’an interprets the family of Ya’qub as the child of Israel, but does not mention why they called him Israel.
And it came to pass in the evening, that Ya’qub arose, and took his two wives, and his maidservants, and his eleven sons, and all his goods, and came unto the river Jordan, and sent them by the way of the plain of Jabbok, and left them alone. Then a man came to him and wrestled with him until dawn. When the man saw that he could not overcome Ya’qub, he struck him on the thigh and injured his leg. Then the man said, “Let me go, because the dawn has blown.” But Ya’qub said, “I will not let you go until you have blessed me.”
The man asked, “What is your name?”
Answered: “Ya’qub.”
He said to him, “After this, your name will no longer be Ya’ghoub, but Israel, because you have stood with God and the people and won.”
Ya’qub asked him, “What is your name?”
The man said, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Ya’qub there.
“Here I have seen God, and yet I am still alive,” said Ya’qub. So he called that place Pheniel (meaning “the image of God”).
The story of his son Yoosef the prophet
The biography of the honest Yusef and the role of Ya’qub is one of the most beautiful stories of the holy Qur’an, which we will talk about in the future.
Ya’qub’s will to his children
The prophet Ya’qub bequeathed his children to die as Muslims. This will is mentioned in the holy Qur’an from the words of Ibrahim Khalil and Ya’qub the prophet, whose mention in the holy Qur’an shows its importance:
وَوَصَّى بِهَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بَنِيهِ وَيَعْقُوبُ يَا بَنِيَّ إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَى لَكُمُ الدِّينَ فَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ؛ أَمْ كُنْتُمْ شُهَدَاءَ إِذْ حَضَرَ يَعْقُوبَ الْمَوْتُ إِذْ قَالَ لِبَنِيهِ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ بَعْدِي قَالُوا نَعْبُدُ إِلَهَكَ وَإِلَهَ آبَائِكَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ إِلَهًا وَاحِدًا وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ؛
Abraham enjoined this [creed] upon his children, and [so did] Jacob, [saying], ‘My children! Allah has indeed chosen this religion for you; so do not die except as those who have surrendered themselves [to Allah]. Were you witnesses when death approached Jacob, when he said to his children, ‘What will you worship after me?’ They said, ‘We will worship your God and the God of your fathers, Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac, the One God, and to Him do we submit.’ (Baghare: 132-133)
[1] Bible, Creation: 25