The Story of Abraham, the Intimate Friend—peace be upon him

He is Abraham, son of Tāriḥ, who lived 250 years; son of Nāḥor, 148 years; son of Sārūgh, 230 years; son of Arghū, 239 years; son of Fālig (Peleg), 439 years; son of ʿĀbir (Eber), 464 years; son of Shāliḥ (Shelah), 433 years; son of Arfakhshadh (Arphaxad), 438 years; son of Sām (Shem), 600 years; son of Noah—peace be upon him.

This genealogical notice is taken verbatim from the scriptures of the People of the Book. I have recorded, in Indian numerals beneath each name, the length of life they assign to each figure, exactly as those sources present it. We have already discussed the lifetime of Noah—peace be upon him—so there is no need to repeat it.

Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAsākir, in the biographical entry on Abraham the Friend contained in his History, relates—on the authority of Isḥāq ibn Bishr al-Kāhilī, author of Al-Mubtadaʾ—that Abraham’s mother was called “Āmīlah.” He then cites from him a lengthy account concerning her pregnancy and delivery. Al-Kalbī, however, says that her name was “Būnā,” daughter of Karbanā son of Karli, one of the descendants of Arfakhshadh son of Sām son of Noah.

Ibn ʿAsākir also transmits through other chains, from ʿIkrimah, that Abraham—peace be upon him—was known by the kunya Abū Ḍayfān, “Father of the Guests.”

They report that when Tāriḥ reached seventy-five years of age he fathered Abraham—peace be upon him—together with Nāḥor and Hārān, and that Hārān’s son Lot was born thereafter. According to them, Abraham was the middle of the three brothers, and Hārān died during his father’s lifetime in the very land where he had been born—the land of the Chaldeans, that is, Babylon.

This is the sound and widely-accepted account among the scholars of biography, history, and traditional reports, and Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAsākir affirmed its correctness.