Prophet Jacob (Ya^qub) is the son of Isaac (Ishaq), the son of Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim). Prophet Jacob is also called Isra’il (Israel). The name Isra’il means “^Abdullah” (the slave of God).
Prophet Jacob married two sisters, who were his maternal cousins. They were two daughters of his uncle on his mother’s side. Marrying two sisters at the same time was permissible in his set of rules from God. (According to the rules given to Prophet Muhammad, men cannot marry two sisters at the same time.)
Prophet Jacob had 12 sons total from these two wives and from two women slaves he owned. (Again, in the time of Prophet Jacob it was permissible for the man to have sexual intercourse with slave women whom he owned.)
From these twelve sons the twelve tribes of Israel came. Their names are Rubil, Sham^un, Lawi, Yahudha, Zabalun, Lashhar, Yusuf (Joseph), Binyamin (Benjamin), Dan, Naftali, Jad, and Ashar. All the children of Israel come from these twelve sons and their children.
We tell more about Prophet Jacob, in the story of his son, Prophet Joseph (Yusuf).
