israil (name)

[IbnAbdulHakim]

i heard from sheikh abu usama that in the bible theres a story of jacob (or one of the prophets) wrestling with God and defeating him and then Allah asking for his name (like he doesnt kno it??) and then naming the prophet Israil (which apparently means "THE ONE WHO OVERPOWERED GOD"???"

btw this lecturer is brilliant mashaAllah, so i thought perhaps its true :eek:

[IzakHalevas]

i heard from sheikh abu usama that in the bible theres a story of jacob (or one of the prophets) wrestling with God and defeating him and then Allah asking for his name (like he doesnt kno it??) and then naming the prophet Israil (which apparently means "THE ONE WHO OVERPOWERED GOD"???"

btw this lecturer is brilliant mashaAllah, so i thought perhaps its true :eek:

The Name of "Israel" or in hebrew "yisrael" means one who has struggled with G-d. Not "overpower", so your brilliant lecturer was basically wrong.

"Yisra" in Hebrew means "to struggle with" and the last two letters "el" are one of G-d's names.

יִשְׂרָאֵל
Yisrael

[IbnAbdulHakim]

thanks so much for clearing that up .

can you please explain how does one struggle with God?

[MusLiM 4 LiFe]

i was gona ask da same question :-S

[Abu Ibraheem]

Still its important to know that Israel is actually a Biblical personality and not a state.

[IzakHalevas]

thanks so much for clearing that up .

can you please explain how does one struggle with God?

Jews are always struggling with G-d in a way, but the context and connotations of what it means in english may be different then in Hebrew.

It signifies that Jacob struggled but in the end accepted G-d as the supreme being. All people struggle with G-d at one point in their life, and to conquer there doubts and continue to belief is the greatest victory. Therefore, to "struggle with G-d" means that Jacobs struggle and triumph in the face of overwhelming odds in this story is actually a meaning of "G-d is superior".

[Abu Ibraheem]

theres evidence to suggest that Jacob submitted himsel to G-d before that.

[IzakHalevas]

theres evidence to suggest that Jacob submitted himsel to G-d before that.

He had doubts however at a certain points. He overcame them however, which is the whole point.

I must go now, any questions can be asked in the Judaism Q/A thread however.

[IbnAbdulHakim]

hmm i thought i made it clear that i meant "in christianity" when i said "the bible". lol but thanks anyway

[ManchesterFolk]

hmm i thought i made it clear that i meant "in christianity" when i said "the bible". lol but thanks anyway

It is irrelevant what religion it is from. Anyone who knows hebrew would know what it means. The lecturer (i will try to be as respectful as possible) either was lying or has no clue what he talking about.