Although the association between the Prophets and Pharaonic sovereigns has triggered heated debate among scholars, it cannot be dismissed as irrelevant since the holy books of Judaism, Christianity and Islam establish clear links between ancient Egypt and prophets like Moses and Joseph.
And so when a devoted researcher advocated delving into ancient Egyptian history to learn more about Islam in his book “Akhenaton, the Father of All Prophets (published in 2000), arguing that the monotheistic king of the 18th dynasty was none other than Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH), his work couldn’t be dismissed as a mere divination.
Yet author Saad Abdel Mutalab El-Adel faced rejection that overshadowed the little support he had garnered from very few members of the intellectual elite. Regrettably, this rejection came from top Egyptian archaeologists rather than from Al-Azhar – the bastion of Sunni Islam – which had wholeheartedly welcomed his work as “ijtihad.
Lack of scientific evidence was the reason behind this impatient dismissal by archaeologists, some of whom refused to even comment on this bewildering revelation. Nationalistic chauvinism also played its role in sidelining the research, for the Saudi Arabian Wahabi institution and its supporters were not comfortable with a fresh twist that would place Prophet Ibrahim for the first time in a tangible historical context.
Neither could many believing Jews swallow the hypothesis since they had always attempted to link the escape of Akhenaton from Tal El Amarna with their own Exodus.
What El-Adel had attempted to do was find historical, linguistic and Quranic evidence to establish the hair-raising similarity between the story of Prophet Ibrahim and that of the monotheistic sovereign Akhenaton.
At an early age Akhenaton, meaning “Close to Aton – who was formerly called Amenophis VI – had revolted against the apotheosis of his father, King Amenophis III, interestingly known in Asian courts as Namoria, Nammorus or Namrud as the name appeared later in the Arabic version of the story.
El-Adel argued that the prince regent and heir to the throne of the Egyptian Empire had demolished all the idols sheltered in the Temple of Amenophis III on the west bank of Luxor, two defaced statues of which survive to our day and are known as Memnon.
Both these idols, which later became a sanctuary for the Greeks and Romans, were paradoxically left behind to set an example for generations to come, explained the author.
Ironically, from whichever angle you look, the Temple of Luxor, which was also created to celebrate the apotheosis of Namoria, you would come across a reminder to counter that type of idolatry.
My fascination with “Akhenaton, The Father of All Prophets was the highlight of my recent visit to Luxor. The temple was built by Namoria but it remains debatable whether it was intended as a replacement for the one demolished by Akhenaton. According to Egyptologists and tourist guides, many of the busts of the mammoth statues of Amenophis III were replaced with those of Ramses II, arguably the most powerful and tyrannical of ancient Egyptian kings.
If Islam had marked the triumph of monotheism and the worship of the unseen God, Creator of Heavens and Earth and all those who thrive on them, that triumph could never be illustrated more realistically than at the Temple of Luxor.
From any angle, in the middle of the ruins on the temple’s two yards would feature a dome, a minaret, or a wall that made up part of Abu El Hagag sanctuary and mosque. The mosque was built atop the temple in the Fatimid era on a large area of land that concealed the temple underneath it. But when the temple was uncovered it was impossible to remove the mosque. If removed, significant parts of the temple would have come down.
The obelisk flanked by two colossal statues of Ramses II on the eastern yard of the temple is countered by the shrine and mosque of Abu El Hagag that could be reached through the Lion Alley on the western yard. A passage made up by two lines of magnificent columns in the east yard amazingly ends with a minaret.
Finally, on the outer part of that same yard, the shattered statue of King Ramses II lies on its back after it was reassembled by archaeologists.
Those accustomed to the scene might have failed to heed that significant juxtaposition. They might have needed El-Adel’s eye-opener to reckon with its implications. His research triggered one of the most controversial issues in ancient history: Prophet Ibrahim called for monotheism, and while uncovering the history of ancient Egypt, archaeologists found a king who also preached a significant phase of this belief system.
So what is the connection between the two?
It has been argued that both lived in different ages, but the age in which Ibrahim lived remains unknown. What is known, however, is that both revolutionaries lived some 25 centuries ago. And the fact that Ibrahim’s historical background has never been established makes it all the more urgent to find out exactly where he lived. The research in question places him historically and linguistically in the Amenophis III/Akhenaton era.
This was a time when idols were said to have been perfected and demolished, while others were dwarfed and disfigured by Akhenaton, paving the way for true monotheism – the worship of one God.
Although some experts stress that their objections are based on the lack of hard evidence, they can’t dismiss altogether this exciting, mind-storming historical venture. Moreover, it has, for the first time, drawn attention to the need for historians, archaeologists, theologians and linguists to join forces in unraveling the mysteries surrounding such subjects.
Each group is either rushing to have the final say, simply rejecting the hypothesis altogether or forgetting that other specialists must weigh in with their own research before reaching a consensus.
But the most unequivocal statement is that Egypt has managed to become one of the cornerstones of Islam simply because it was prepared for monotheism over the course of its long ancient history.
This belief was accentuated with the Islamic conquest of Egypt; unlike the case in other cultures in Asia, where the new Muslims had to struggle to reconcile it with old beliefs.
