Which son was about to be Sacrificed by Prophet Ibrahim?

Which son was about to be Sacrificed by Prophet Ibrahim?


Mohamad Mostafa Nassar

Twitter:@NassarMohamadMR

I understand that Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) intended to sacrifice his son, Prophet Ishmael (peace be upon him), according to Muslim belief.

However, a non-Muslim that I had a discussion with pointed out that this is not mentioned in the Quran, upon investigating this matter, it seems that the Quran is ambiguous as to which son is intended to be sacrificed (as least in my English translation-surah 37).

Please explain the Muslim position on Prophet Ibrahim and the sacrifice, using textual evidence.

Answer

Praise be to Allah.

Allah says of His slave and Close Friend (Khaleel) Ibrahim (peace be upon him) (interpretation of the meaning):

And he said (after his rescue from the fire): “Verily, I am going to my Lord. He will guide me!” My Lord! Grant me (offspring) from the righteous. “So, we gave him the glad tidings of a forbearing boy. And, when he (his son) was old enough to walk with him, he said: 

“O my son! I have seen in a dream that I am slaughtering you (offering you in sacrifice to Allah). So, look what you think!” He said: “O my father! Do that which you are commanded, Insha’Allah (if Allah wills), you shall find me of As-Saabiroon (the patient).”

Then, when they had both submitted themselves (to the Will of Allah), and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead (or on the side of his forehead for slaughtering).

We called out to him: “O Ibrahim! You have fulfilled the dream!” Verily, thus do We reward the Muhsinoon (good doers).

Verily, that indeed was a manifest trial. And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice (i.e., a ram). And We left for him (a goodly remembrance) among the later generations.

“Salaam (peace) be upon Ibrahim!” Thus, indeed do We reward the Muhsinoon (good doers). Verily, he was one of Our believing slaves. And We gave him the glad tidings of Ishaq (Isaac) a Prophet from the righteous. We blessed him and Ishaq (Isaac). And of their progeny are (some) that do right, and some that plainly wrong themselves.” [al-Saffat 37:99-113)

Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Allah tells us that when His Close Friend (Khaleel) Ibrahim migrated from the land of his people, he asked his Lord to grant him a righteous son, so Allah gave him the glad tidings of a forbearing boy.

This was Ismaeel (peace be upon him) because he was the first child who was born (to Ibrahim, peace be upon him). There is no dispute on this point among the followers of the various religions [Jews, Christians, and Muslims], that (Ismaeel) was the first child born to Ibrahim.

“And, when he (his son) was old enough to walk with him” means, when he grew up and was able to take care of himself, like his father. Mujaahid said: “And, when he (his son) was old enough to walk with him” means, when he grew up and was able to ride and walk and work like his father did.

When this happened, then Ibrahim (peace be upon him) saw a dream in which he was commanded to sacrifice this son of his. According to a hadeeth narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas and attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him):

“The dreams of the Prophets are Wahy (revelation).” So, Allah was testing His Close Friend by commanding him to sacrifice this beloved son who had come to him in his old age, when he was very old, and after he had been

commanded to settle the child and his mother in the desert, in a valley in which there was no noise, no people, no vegetation and no animals. So, Ibrahim obeyed the command of Allah and left them there, putting his trust in Allah, and Allah sent them provision, from an unexpected source.

After all that, when Ibrahim was ordered to sacrifice this son of his, who was his firstborn and his only child, he responded to his Lord and obeyed His command, hastening to do as He willed. So, he told his son about it so as to put him at ease and not sacrifice him by force.

“He said: ‘O my son! I have seen in a dream that I am slaughtering you (offering you in sacrifice to Allah). So, look what you think!’” The forbearing boy immediately responded:

“He said:

‘O my father! Do that which you are commanded, Insha’Allah (if Allah wills), you shall find me of As-Saabiroon (the patient).’” This was the best answer he could give, an example of obedience to his father and to the Lord of mankind.

Allah said (interpretation of the meaning):

“Then, when they had both submitted themselves (to the Will of Allah), and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead (or on the side of his forehead for slaughtering).” It was said that “when they had both submitted themselves” meant when they had both surrendered to the command of Allah. “and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead” means that he put him face down.

It was said that he wanted to slaughter him from behind so that he would not see his face at the time of slaughter. This was the view of Ibn ‘Abbas, Mujaahid, Sa’eed ibn Jubayr, Qatadah and al-Dahhaak… “They both submitted themselves” means that Ibrahim said Bismillaahi’r-Rahmaan ir-Raheem and said Allahu akbar and the boy said La ilaha ill-Allah because he was about to die. Al-Saddi and others said that (Ibrahim) passed the knife over the boy’s throat, but it did not cut him at all.

It was said that a sheet of copper was placed between the knife and his throat, and Allah knows best. Then it was called out from Allah:

“’O Ibrahim! You have fulfilled the dream!’” meaning, the purpose has been achieved, you have been tested and your obedience and willingness to do what your Lord commands have been proven. An alternative sacrifice will be provided instead of your son, just as you willingly submitted your body to the flames, and you spent your wealth to honour your guests. 

Hence Allah said:

“Verily, that indeed was a manifest trial” meaning that it was an obvious test.

“And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice” means, we provided a ransom for his son, an alternative to be sacrificed in his stead. 

According to the best-known opinion of the majority of scholars, this was a fine white horned ram. Al-Thawri narrated from ‘Abd-Allah ibn ‘Uthmaan ibn Khaytham from Sa’eed ibn Jubayr that Ibn ‘Abbas said: It was a ram that had grazed in Paradise for forty years.

It was also narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that the dried ram’s head was still hanging on the downspout of the Ka’bah. This alone is evidence that the one who was to be sacrificed was Ismaeel, because he was the one who was settled in Makkah and we have never heard that Ishaaq ever came to Makkah from the time he was little. And Allah knows best.

See Al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah by Ibn Katheer, 1/157-158.

The one who was to be sacrificed was Ismaeel and not Ishaq=Isaac, because of the reasons stated above. In his Tafsir (commentary) on these verses, Ibn Kathir also mentioned a number of points which prove that it was Ismaeel who was to be sacrificed. 

These points may be summed up as follows:

1.     Ismaeel was the first child of whom glad tidings were given to Ibrahim. He was older than Ishaq=Isaac according to the consensus of the Muslims and the People of the Book (Jews and Christians). 

According to the scriptures of the People of the Book, it was stated that Allah commanded Ibrahim to sacrifice his only son, and in some manuscripts, it says that he was to sacrifice his first-born son.

2.     The first son is usually more dear than other children, so the command to sacrifice him is a more exacting test.

3.     It is mentioned that glad tidings of a forbearing boy were given, and that he was the one who was to be sacrificed. Later in the passage it says (interpretation of the meaning): “And We gave him the glad tidings of Ishaq (Isaac) a Prophet from the righteous.” 

When the angels brought the glad tidings of Ishaq to Ibrahim, they said: “We give you glad tidings of a boy (son) possessing much knowledge and wisdom” [al-Hijr 15:53 – interpretation of the meaning].

4.     Allâh said (interpretation of the meaning): “But We gave her glad tidings of Ishaq=Isaac, and after him, of Yaqoob=Jacob.” (Hud 11:71) meaning that a child called Yaqoob=Jacob would be born during their (Sarah and Ishaan’s) lifetimes, and he would have many descendants… and it does not sound right for Ibrahim to be commanded to sacrifice him when he was little, because Allah had promised that he would have many descendants.

5.     Ismaeel is described here (in chapter al-Saffat in the Noble Quran) as being “forbearing” because this is very appropriate in this context.

Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 4/15.

Allah knows Best

Typical example of corruption- The book of Genesis proves Isaac was not the chosen son to be sacrificed.

Jesus’ purported Death Was Not a Sacrifice

Ritual Human Sacrifice in the Bible

Human sacrifice

Paul the False Apostle of Satan

Almighty Allah is the highest and most knowledgeable, and the attribution of knowledge to him is the safest.

Right from Almighty Allah and wrong from me and Satan

Prepared by Mohamad Mostafa Nassar-

www.IslamCompass.com 

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Arrogance is not only a sign of insecurity, but also a sign of immaturity. Mature and fully realised persons can get their points across, even emphatically without demeaning or intimidating others.