Review of the Article “Yaqub” (A.S) in the Leiden Quran Encyclopedia

Andrew Rippin in the article “Jacob” in the Leiden Encyclopedia of the Quran could not explain the character of Hazrat Ya’qub (A.S) well, he has not even provided a detailed account of Ya’qub’s role in Hazrat Yusuf’s story, and he was influenced by Old Testament in giving the name as Ya’qub. This article has criticized the themes of Ya’qub’s article with a descriptive-analytical method and a comparative study between the teachings of the Quran and the text of the Old Testament. The importance and necessity of criticizing this issue is because the authors of the encyclopedia are influenced by the views of the Bible. Therefore, contrary to the popular opinion that the face of Prophet Ya’qub (A.S.) is depicted as a helpless person who is always sad and crying, the Holy Quran introduces Prophet Ya’qub as powerful, insightful, righteous, devout and knowledgeable in the interpretation of hadiths. One of the important findings of this research is that in the Quran, unlike in the Old Testament, Israel is not Jacob’s title, and these two are distinct from each other. Just as their two families: “Ale Ya’qub” and “Bani Israel” are mentioned in the Quran as distinct from each other. According to the Quran, Israel is one of the companions of Noah (A.S) in the ark, who, after being saved, suffered deviations, including banning certain foods, and this problem spread widely in his lineage - the Israelites