Prophet Shuʿayb: The Orator of the Prophets, and the Beginning of Yūsuf
Section 21 of 24 · Lives of the Prophets
Isḥāq, and Yaʿqūb, Who Is Isrāʾīl
وَبَشَّرْنَـٰهُ بِإِسْحَـٰقَ نَبِيًّا مِّنَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ
“And We gave him the good news of IsHāq (Isaac), a prophet from among the righteous.” (37:112)
Allah (swt), as we mentioned, has given Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) the glad tidings of Isḥāq and Yaʿqūb. And Allah (swt) says about Isḥāq: wa bashsharnāhu bi-Isḥāqa nabiyyan min al-ṣāliḥīn — and We gave him the glad tidings of Isḥāq, a prophet, and of the righteous.
فَأَوْجَسَ مِنْهُمْ خِيفَةً ۖ قَالُوا۟ لَا تَخَفْ ۖ وَبَشَّرُوهُ بِغُلَـٰمٍ عَلِيمٍ
“So he felt some fear in his heart. They said, “Be not scared.” And they gave him the good news of (the birth of) a knowledgeable boy.” (51:28)
And Allah (swt) says: wa bashsharnāhu bi-ghulāmin ʿalīm — and We have given him the glad tidings of a knowledgeable child****. So Allah has described Isḥāq as being knowledgeable, ʿalīm; and Allah (swt) described him as being min al-ṣāliḥīn, righteous; and Allah (swt) said nabiyyan: he is a prophet.
Isḥāq (peace be upon him) had a child, and that child is Sayyidunā Yaʿqūb. Yaʿqūb (peace be upon him) has another name also, and that is Isrāʾīl.
۞ كُلُّ ٱلطَّعَامِ كَانَ حِلًّا لِّبَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ إِلَّا مَا حَرَّمَ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلُ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِۦ مِن قَبْلِ أَن تُنَزَّلَ ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةُ ۗ قُلْ فَأْتُوا۟ بِٱلتَّوْرَىٰةِ فَٱتْلُوهَآ إِن كُنتُمْ صَـٰدِقِينَ
“Every (kind of) food was lawful for the children of Isrā’īl, except what Isrā’īl had made unlawful for himself, well before the Torah was revealed. Say, “Then, bring the Torah and recite it, if you are true.”” (3:93)
Illā mā ḥarrama Isrāʾīlu ʿalā nafsihi min qabli an tunazzala al-Tawrāh. Allah (swt) has mentioned the name Isrāʾīl in the Qur'an. And the mufassirūn say that Isrāʾīl means ʿAbdullāh, the servant of Allah. That's the explanation that they give to the word Isrāʾīl. So when we say Banū Isrāʾīl, the children of Israel, we're talking about the sons of Yaʿqūb. And when we talk about the twelve tribes, we're talking about the tribes that are the descendants of the twelve sons of Yaʿqūb. Yaʿqūb (peace be upon him) had twelve sons. The best of them is Yūsuf (peace be upon him), who is a Nabī of Allah (swt).