Islam claims Abraham and Ishmael as its founders, with the Ka’ba predating Solomon’s temple.

Evidence

Abraham had been a monotheist (hanîf), and Islam was a continuation of his religion, hanîfîyya. Ishmael, far from being the rejected illegitimate son portrayed in Genesis, is, for the Koran, the first and favored son of Abraham, and the Ka’ba is the oldest and most holy shrine to the One God, predating Solomon’s temple at Jerusalem. This highlights the urgency of victory over the Meccans; the Ka’ba must be cleansed of idolatrous filth, returned to the pristine cult of the God of Abraham. The Hâjj, the ritual pilgrimage to the Ka’ba, was also instituted by Abraham and should be practiced by the faithful in its original form, cleansed of paganism. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 228

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s interest in how religious traditions legitimize themselves by claiming priority over rivals; parallels the Old Testament role-model discussion in para 232.