Page 46 - Perished Nations

reaching as far as Harran, and stretching into presentday Turkish lands.
Therefore, even if we accept that the expression "Mesopotamian plain" in
the Old Testament is right, it would be misleading to think that the
Mesopotamia of two millennia earlier and the Mesopotamia of today are
exactly the same places.
Even if there are serious doubts and disagreements on the city of Ur
being Ibrahim’s (as) birthplace, there is a common agreement on the fact
that Harran and its environs region was the place where Ibrahim (as) lived.
Moreover, a short research made of the Old Testament itself yields some
information supporting the view that Ibrahim's (as) place of birth was
Harran. For instance, in the Old Testament, the region of Harran is desig-
nated as the "Aram region" (Genesis, 11:31 and 28:10). It is stated that
those who came from Ibrahim's (as) family are "sons of an Arami"
(Deuteronomy, 26:5). The identification of Ibrahim (as) as an Arami shows
that he led his life in this region.
In the Islamic sources, there is strong evidence that Ibrahim's (as) place
of birth is Harran and Urfa. In Urfa, which is called the "city of Prophets",
there are many stories and legends about Ibrahim (as).

Why was the Old Testament Altered?
As is revealed in the Qur’an, Ibrahim (as) was sent to an idolatrous peo-
ple as a messenger. His people worshipped the heavens, stars, the moon
and various idols. He struggled against his people, tried to get them turn
away from their superstitious beliefs, and inevitably stirred up the enmity
of his whole community including his father.
Actually, none of these points are mentioned in the Old Testament. The
throwing of Ibrahim (as) into the fire, his breaking his community's idols
are not mentioned in the Old Testament. Ibrahim (as) is in general depict-
ed as the ancestor of the Jews in the Old Testament. It is evident that this
view in the Old Testament was taken by the chiefs of the Jewish commu-
nity seeking to bring the concept of "'race"' to the foreground. The Jews
believe that they are a people eternally chosen by God and rendered supe-
rior. They deliberately and willingly altered their Divine Book and made

Harun Yahya
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