Sarah in the Quran vs. the Bible: Patience Rewarded vs. Jealousy and Oppression
Sarah, the wife of Abraham, stands as a model of patience and faith in Islam — rewarded with Isaac and honored in Paradise — while the Biblical narrative presents her as a jealous oppressor of Hagar, raising profound questions about the integrity of the Biblical text and the consistency of prophetic character.
Sarah in Islam: Patience Rewarded
She is Mrs. “Sarah,” the first wife of the friend of God “Abraham,” peace be upon him, and a model of the faithful woman who is patient with God’s decree and judgment. She was barren and could not give birth, so she married her husband to Mrs. “Hagar,” and God Almighty, the Strong and Powerful, granted her a reward for her patience and gave her the good news of a righteous son, “our master Isaac,” and cooled her eyes with him.
The Quran records the angels bringing her the glad tidings in her old age.
And his wife was standing, and she laughed, so We gave her good tidings of Isaac and after Isaac, Jacob. (71) She said, “Woe to me! Shall I bear a child while I am an old woman and this, my husband, is an old man? Indeed, this is a strange thing.” (72) They said, “Do you wonder at the affair of Allah? The mercy of Allah and His blessings be upon you, O people of the House. Indeed, He is Praiseworthy and Glorious. (73)
The Quran also records her initial reaction of wonder, affirming that God’s power is not constrained by age or barrenness.
Then his wife came in a shriek and struck her face and said, “A barren old woman.” (29) They said, “Thus says your Lord. Indeed, it is He who is the Wise, the Knowing.” (30)
For her patience and acceptance, our Prophet Muhammad, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, informed us that she will take care of the children of the believers in Paradise with her husband, the friend of God, Abraham, as a reward for her patience.
Narrator: Abu Hurairah
Grade: Sahih · Al-Albani
Sarah in the Bible: Jealousy and Oppression
The Biblical narrative presents a starkly different portrait. “Sarah” in the Holy Bible is an extremely jealous woman. She resented her maid who married her husband — even though Sarai “Sarah” was the one who married her husband, which is an apparent contradiction. How could she marry him of her own free will and then resent this matter?
And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold, the Lord has kept me from bearing children. Go in to my maid; perhaps I may obtain children through her.” So Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife.
The contradiction is apparent: she married her husband to Hagar of her own free will, then resented Hagar when she conceived.
And Sarai said to Abram, “My oppression be upon you! I gave my maid into your bosom, and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between me and you.”
The oppression did not stop at words. Sarah humbled Hagar until she fled.
And Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your hand; do to her as you see fit.” So Sarai humbled her, and she fled from her face.
Abram was fully aware of this matter, and he was the one who sent Hagar to Sarah to do with her as she pleased — and he is supposed to be a prophet sent by the Lord.
The Migration of Hagar: Concealment and Distortion
Although it is correct and mentioned in Islam that our master Abraham was commanded by God to take his wife Hagar and his son Ishmael to the land of Hijaz so that the nation of Islam would emerge from the lineage of Ishmael, the Biblical account attributes Hagar’s flight solely to Sarah’s jealousy. Here we wonder how Christians forget that the story of Hagar is in their book without any clear meaning, purpose or value.
It is clear that the distorters of these texts knew the great importance of the migration of Lady Hagar and her son, the Prophet of God Ismail, to the Hijaz — the establishment of the Islamic nation there in this blessed spot. Therefore, they replaced the texts indicating the divine command to take Lady Hagar and our master Ismail to the Hijaz with other texts that attribute the reason for the migration of Lady “Hagar” to reasons related to Lady “Sarah“‘s jealousy of her.
The Biblical account replaces the divine command to migrate to the Hijaz with a narrative of human jealousy.
The Character of Sarah: A Question for Christians
After all that has been narrated, the Holy Book did not leave a single description that tells us: Why does the Christian love “Sarah,” the wife of “Abram” and the mother of “Isaac”… as long as she is in their view a jealous and unjust woman… and behaves in strange ways? Is this the state of women among you?
The Prophet’s Judgment on Distortion
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, spoke the truth regarding those who alter their scriptures and lie about their prophets.
He came to Ash-Sham and saw the Christians prostrating to their rabbis, scholars, and jurisprudents. He said, “Why are you doing this?” They said, “This is the greeting of the prophets.” We said, “We are more deserving of doing this to our Prophet.” When he came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, he prostrated. The Prophet said, “What is this, Muadh?” He said, “I came to Ash-Sham and saw the Christians prostrating to their bishops, priests, monks, and patriarchs, and I saw the Jews prostrating to their rabbis, jurisprudents, and scholars. I said, ‘Why are you doing this?’ They said, ‘This is the greeting of the prophets.’ I said, ‘We are more deserving of doing this to our Prophet.’” The Prophet of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “They lied about their prophets, just as they distorted their book.”
Sarah in Islam is the patient wife rewarded with Isaac and honored in Paradise; in the Bible she is a jealous oppressor whose actions necessitated the textual distortion of Hagar’s divinely commanded migration to the Hijaz.