Did God promise the Holy Land (land of Canaan/Palestine) to the Jews? If so, was this promise exclusively for the Jews?
Arben Tabaku
Views expressed here are solely my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my past, present and future employers. “He that has full knowledge Of (all) that is hidden.”
Below, you'll find an enlightening explanation by the late Shaikh Ahmed Deedat, a distinguished scholar of Comparative Religion. He draws solely from the references in the Bible. And as we know, the Bible comprises of the Old Testament, that is the five books (Genesis,?Exodus,?Leviticus, Numbers and?Deuteronomy) given to the prophet Moses (PBUH) i.e., Torah, the book of authority for the Jewish faith; as well as the New Testament, the book of authority for the Christian faith. ??
God is speaking to the prophet Abraham (PBUH): “And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan (today’s Palestine), for an everlasting possession; And I will be their God” (Genesis 17:8)
This is the key verse from the Bible that some Jews use to assert their claim that the land of Palestine belongs exclusively to them. And with this verse, they have influenced the Christian world, propagating the belief that God Almighty promised the land solely to the Jewish people.
Did God indeed make such a promise? Did He speak of granting the entire land of Palestine/Canaan to the prophet Abraham (PBUH)? How can we ascertain whether such a promise was truly made by God or not?
The Bible provides us with a criterion (test) to discern whether a message has been conveyed by God Almighty or not. “When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath has spoken. But the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously; Thou shalt not be afraid of him” (Deuteronomy 18:21- 22). In other words, if God Almighty makes a promise, His promise is true and must come to pass. If the thing did not happen then that is the promise that was not made by God Almighty.?
Let’s now apply this test to the biblical prophecy that prophet Abraham (PBUH) was going to get the whole of Palestine/Canaan for an everlasting possession, for him and his children:?
The day when the prophet Abraham (PBUH) died, “His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in cave; The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of heth: There was Abraham buried … “ (Genesis 25:9-10). In other words, prophet Abraham (PBUH) had nothing; “he did not have enough land to rest his foot upon, not one square foot of land he owned; he had to purchase with hard cash the place to be buried”.?
Also, in the Book of Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 13, we read “These all died in faith, nor having received the promises, but having seen them afar off …“ (Hebrews 11-13).
Therefore, this promise could not be of God.?
However, Shaikh Deedat asserts that “I am prepared to conceive that God did make such a promise”. In other words, he is ready to accept that God did promise the land of Palestine/Canaan to the Jews. But, did God promise it to the Jews only??
Let’s go back to the promise again referenced from the Book of Genesis, Chapter 17, verse 8. “Unto thee” means prophet Abraham (PBUH) and “to thy seed after thee” means the seed of prophet Abraham (PBUH). Now, who is the seed of Abraham? Are only the Jews the seed of Abraham? In the book of Genesis, in no less than 12 places, Ishmael is described as the son and seed of Abraham.
“Abraham took Ishmael his son …” (Genesis 17:23).
“… because he (Ishmael) is thy seed” (Genesis 21:13).
“Twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation” (Genesis 17:20).
In other words, Jews are the seed of prophet Abraham (PBUH) as well as the Arabs/Muslims are the seed of prophet Abraham (PBUH).
Therefore, if God indeed promised the Holy Land (the land of Palestine/Canaan) to a particular nation, then that promise extends to all Jews, Christians, and Arabs/Muslims alike.
Considering this, why can't they coexist in peace and harmony, sharing the land of Palestine as they have done for thousands of years?
Source: Arabs & Israel: Conflict or Conciliation, a lecture delivered by Shaikh Ahmed Deedat in 1986. The full video can be retrieved from: Arabs And Israel: Conflict Or Conciliation - Sheikh Ahmed Deedat (youtube.com)