Jews, Christians and Muslims agree; Abraham, the friend of God, is an example
of pure and unconditional righteousness and faith. The love that Abraham
displayed towards God is clearly seen in Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his
only beloved son. All three religions do not dispute this fact. Where they do
disagree on, however, is the identity of the sacrificial child. The Bible states
that that child was Isaac:
"After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him, `Abraham!' And he
said, `Here am I.' He said, `Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom
you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt
offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you'." (Genesis
22:1-2, R.S.V.).
"By faith Abraham, when he was tested,
offered up Isaac, and he who
had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son ..."
(Hebrews 11:17, R.S.V.).
"Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up his son
Isaac upon the altar?" (James 2:21, R.S.V.).
Muslims on the other hand feel that Ishmael was the one offered up by
Abraham. This fact, they believe, is presumed by the Bible's declaration that
Abraham offered his only son (see above verses). It is therefore argued
that this could not be Isaac, since Isaac was never an only child seeing that
Ishmael was born fourteen years prior to him. (Cf. Genesis 16:16,
21:5).
Thus, Muslims believe that scribes later corrupted the original reading from
Ishmael to Isaac. This idea stems from the Muslim misunderstanding of the
phrase, "Only son", in reference to Isaac, since the title is used to affirm
Isaac's unique status, a status based on the following:
Isaac was the only promised child of Abraham, a fact which the Quran
agrees with (cf. Genesis 17:15-21; Sura 11:69-73, 37:112-113, 51:24-30).
Ishmael was never a promised child.
Isaac was conceived miraculously to Sarah when the latter was old and
barren, with the Quran likewise agreeing (cf. Genesis 17:15-17, 18:9-15,
21:1-7; Sura 11:69-73, 51:24-30). Ishmael was conceived in the normal process
of sexual reproduction.
God promised that it would be Isaac's descendants who would inherit the
land given to Abraham. (Genesis 13:14-18, 15:18-21, 28:13-14). Ishmael had no
part in the inheritance and promise given to Isaac through
Abraham.
It is for these reasons that Isaac is called Abraham's only son since God
himself reckoned him as the child of promise and blessings, an honor never
bestowed upon Ishmael.
Even more amazing is the fact that the Quran never mentions the name of the
sacrificial child; amazing indeed considering how overzealous some Muslims have
been in their attempts to prove that Ishmael, not Isaac, was that son:
"He said: `I will go to my Lord! He will surely guide me! O my Lord! Grant
me a righteous (son)!' So we gave him the good news of a boy ready to
suffer and forbear.
"Then, when (the son) reached (the age of) (serious) work with him, He
said: `O my son! I see in a vision that I offer thee in sacrifice: Now see
what is thy view!' (The son) said: `O my Father! Do as thou art commanded:
Thou will find me, if God so wills one practicing patience and constancy!'
"So when they had both submitted their wills (to God), and he had laid him
prostrate on his forehead (for sacrifice), we called out to him, `O Abraham!
Thou hast already fulfilled thy vision'- thus indeed do we reward those who do
right. For this was obviously a trial - And we ransomed him with a
momentous sacrifice ..." (Sura 37:99-106).
The ambiguity of the text has left many Islamic scholars guessing as to
whether the child was Isaac or Ishmael. Yusef Ali makes a note of this in his
commentary:
"This (i.e. the child promised to Abraham and later commanded to be
sacrificed) was in the fertile land of Syria and Palestine. The boy thus born,
was, according to Muslim tradition (which however is not unanimous on this
point), the first-born son of Abraham, viz Ishmael ..." (1: p. 1204, f.
4096).
Al-Tabari, considered to be one of the premiere Islamic historians, lists the
divergent views held amongst the Muslim umma (community) in regards to
this very issue:
"The earliest sages of our Prophet's nation disagree about which of
Abraham's two sons it was that he was commanded to sacrifice. Some say it
was Isaac, while others say it was Ishmael. Both views are supported by
statements related on the authority of the Messenger of God. If both groups of
statements were equally sound, then - since they both came from the Prophet -
only the Quran could serve as proof that the account naming Isaac is
clearly the more truthful of the two." (2: p. 82).
Instead of listing both sides of the argument, our paper will therefore focus
on those who said it was Isaac. All the following quotations are found in
al-Tabari (2: pp. 82-86) [italics our emphasis]:
The account naming Isaac comes down to us through Abu Kurayb- Zayd
b. al-Hubab- al-Hasan b. Dinar- 'Ali b. Zayd b. Jud'an- al-Hasan- al-Ahnaf b.
Qays- al-'Abbas b. 'Abd al-Muttalib- THE PROPHET in a conversation in which he
said, "Then we ransomed him with a tremendous victim." And he also said,
"HE IS ISAAC."
'According to Abu Kurayb - Ibn Yaman-Mubarak - al-Hasan-al-Ahnaf b. Qays-al
- 'Abbas b. 'Abd al-Muttalib: The quote, "Then We ransomed him with a
tremendous victim," refers to Isaac.
According to al-Husayn b. Yazid al-Tahhan - Ibn Idris - Dawud b. Abi Hind -
'Ikrimah - Ibn 'Abbas: The one whom Abraham was ordered to sacrifice was
Isaac.
According to Ya'qub - Ibn 'Ulayyah - Dawud - 'Ikrimah - Ibn 'Abbas: The
victim was Isaac.
According to Ibn al-Muthanna - Muhammad b. Ja'far - Shu'bah - Abu Ishaq -
Abu al-Ahwas: A certain man boasted to Ibn Mas'ud, "I am so-and-so son of
so-and-so, son of the noble elders." And 'Abdallah said,"This is Joseph b.
Jacob, son of Isaac the victim of God, son of Abraham the Friend of
God."
According Ibn Humayd - Ibrahi, b. al-Mukhtar - Muhammad b. Ishaq - 'Abd
al-Rahman b. Abi Bakr - al-Zyhri - al-'Ala' b. Jariyah al-Thaqafi - Abu
Hurayrah - Ka'b: When God said, "Then We ransomed him with a tremendous
victim," He was speaking of Abraham's son Isaac.
According to Ibn Humayd - Salamah - Muhammad b. Ishaq- 'Abdallah b. Abi
Bakr - Muhammad b. Muslim al-Zuri - Abu Sufyan b. al-'Ala' b. Jariyah
al-Thaqafi, the confederate of Banu Zuhrah - Abu Hurayrah - Ka'b al-Ahbar:
The son whom Abraham was commanded to sacrifice was Isaac.
According to Yunus - Ibn Wahb - Yunus - Ibn Shihab - 'Amr b. Abi Sufyan b.
Usayd b. Jariyah al-Thaqafi: Ka'b said to Abu Hurayrah, "Should I tell you
about Isaac, the son of the prophet Abraham? Abu Hurayrah said, "Certainly."
So Ka'b gave the following account:
"When Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac, Satan said `By God!
If I cannot deceive the people of Abraham with this, I shall never be able
to do it.' So when Abraham went out with Isaac to sacrifice him, Satan
visited Abraham's wife, Sarah, in the shape of a man whom Abraham's people
knew, and asked her, `Where is Abraham going so early with Isaac?' She said,
`He went off early on some errand.' Satan said, `No, by God! That is not the
reason he left so early.' Sarah asked, `Then what is the reason?' He said,
`He took him out early to sacrifice him.' Sarah said, `There is no truth to
that, he would not ... sacrifice his own son.' Satan said, `By God it is
true.' Sarah said, `And why would he sacrifice him?' He replied, `He claims
that his Lord ordered him to do it.' Sarah said, `If his Lord ordered him to
do that, it is best that he obey.' Then Satan left Sarah and went to Isaac,
who was walking with his father, and said, `Where is your father taking you
so early?' Isaac answered, `He is taking me on some errand of his.' Satan
said, `No, by God, he is not taking you out on an errand. He is taking you
out early to sacrifice you.' Isaac said, `My father would not sacrifice me.'
Satan told him, `Certainly he would.' Isaac asked, `Why?' Satan told him,
`He claims that his Lord ordered him to do it.' Isaac answered, `By God! If
the Lord told my father to do that, he should certainly obey him.' So Satan
left him and went on to Abraham, saying, `Why are you taking your son out
early?' Abraham said, `I am taking him on an errand.' Satan answered, `By
God, you took him out early only to sacrifice him.' Abraham asked, `Why
would I do that?' Satan said, `You claim that your Lord ordered you to do
it.' Abraham said, `By God, if my Lord orders me to do that, I will surely
do it.' When Abraham took Isaac to sacrifice him, God stayed his hand and
ransomed him with a `tremendous victim.' Abraham said to Isaac, `Arise, my
little son, for God has released you.' And God said to Isaac, `I will grant
you any prayer you choose to make now.' Isaac said, `My God! I pray to you
that I be granted this, that you grant entry into Paradise to any
worshipper, past or present, who encounters you and does not make anything a
partner with you'."
According to 'Amr b. Ali - Abu 'Asim - Sufyan - Zayd b. Aslam - 'Abdallah
b. 'Ubayd b. 'Umayr - his father: Moses said, "O Lord! Why are you addressed
as `O God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?'" God answered, "Abraham never
considered anything at all equal to Me, but put Me above all things; Isaac was
generous to Me in the matter of the sacrifice and in other matters; and
as for Jacob, the more tribulations I inflicted upon him the more good
thoughts he thought about me."
According to Ibn Bashshar - Mu'ammal - Sufyan - Zayd b. Aslam - 'Abdallah
b. 'Ubayd b. 'Umayr - his father: Moses asked God, "O Lord! Why did you give
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob what you gave them?" And God's answer was the same
(as that given above).
According to Abu Kurayb - Ibn Yaman - Isra'il - Jabir - Ibn Sabit: He was
Isaac.
According to Kurayb - Ibn Yaman - Sufyan - Abu Sinan al-Shaybani - Ibn Abi
al-Hudhayl: The victim was Isaac.
According to Abu Kurayb - Sufyan b. 'Uqbah - Hmaza al-Zayyat - Abu Ishaq -
Abu Maysarah: Joseph told the king to his face, "You wish to eat with me when
I, by God, am Joseph son of Jacob the prophet of God, son of Isaac the
victim of God, son of Abraham the friend of God."
According to Abu Kurayb - Waki' - Sufyan - Abu Sinan - Ibn Abi al-Hudhayl:
Joseph said to the king... The same (rest of the) account is roughly the same.
According to Musa b. Harun - 'Amr b. Hammad - Asbat - al-Suddi - Abu Malik
and Abu Salih - Ibn 'Abbas and Murrah al-Hamdani - Ibn Mas'ud and some of the
companions of the Prophet: Abraham was instructed in a dream to "carry out
your promise that if God granted you a son by Sarah you would sacrifice
him."
According to Ya'qub - Husahym - Zakariya' and Shu'bah - Abu Ishaq - Masruq:
When God said, "The We ransomed him with a tremendous victim," that was Isaac.
Finally, Tabari himself:
"As for the above-mentioned proof from the Quran that it really was
Isaac, it is God's word which informs us about the prayer of His friend
Abraham when he left his people to migrate to Syria with Sarah. Abraham
prayed, `I am going to my Lord who will guide me. My Lord! Grant me a
righteous child.' This was before he knew Hagar, who was to be the mother of
Ishmael. After mentioning this prayer, God goes on to describe the prayer and
mentions that he foretold to Abraham that he would have a gentle son. God also
mentions Abraham's vision of himself sacrificing that son when he was old
enough to walk with him. The Book does not mention any tidings of a male child
given to Abraham except in the instance where it refers to Isaac, in which God
said, `And his wife, standing by laughed when we gave her tidings of Isaac,
and after Isaac, Jacob', and `Then he became fearful of them'. They said.
`Fear not!' and gave him tidings of a wise son. Then his wife approached,
moaning, and smote her face, and cried, `A barren old woman'. Thus, wherever
the Quran mentions God giving tidings of the birth of a son to Abraham, it
refers to Sarah (and thus to Isaac) and the same must be true of God's
words `So we gave him tidings of a gentle son', as it is true of all such
references in the Quran." (Ibid. p. 89).
According to Muslim writer al-Massoudy, Ibn Abbas and Akrama debated each
other over the identity of the son:
"Akrama asked: `Who was supposed to have been slain?'
Abdallah answered: `Ishmael!'
'Why?' asked Akrama.
Ben Abbas answered: `Because how can God pass the good news of Isaac's
birth to Abraham, then order that he be killed?'
`I can bring you proof from the Koran that Isaac was supposed to have
been slain'. Said Akrama, `Thus will thy Lord prefer thee and teach thee
the interpretation of events, and perfect His grace upon thee and upon the
household of Jacob as He perfected it upon thy fathers, Abraham and Isaac. Lo!
Thy Lord is All-Knowing and All-Wise'. (Joseph 6).
`God's blessing to Abraham was by choosing him, and saving him', said
Akrama, `and to Isaac by redeeming him from slaying'." (3: pp. 52-53).
Also,
As the Kur'an verse above quoted does not state which son was to
have been sacrificed, many Muslim theologians refer the intended sacrifice to
Isma`il ... But it may be said that the oldest tradition - al-Tha`labi
expressly emphasises the ashab and tabi`un, i.e. the Companions
of the Prophet and their successors from `Umar b. al-Khattab to Ka`b al-Ahbar
- did not differ from the Bible on this question. (Gibb and Kramers, A
Shorter Encyclopaedia of Islam, p. 175).
The differing views held amongst the Muslims as to the identity of the child
only proves that the Bible is truly authoritative and reliable since what the
Quran does not clarify, the Bible corrects and addresses, leaving no guesswork
for scholars to work through.
Further, the Bible's superiority is once again demonstrated by virtue of the
fact that it even mentions the site where these events took place, Mt. Moriah,
the future site of the Solomonic Temple (cf. Gen. 22:2; 2 Chron. 3:1); whereas
with the Quran we are not given even the slightest hint as to where this
sacrifice was to take place. This has also caused controversy and confusion
amongst Muslim scholars as they desperately try to figure this problem out.
Yusef Ali notes:
"Where did this vision occur? The Muslim view is that it was in or near
Mecca. Some would identify it with the Valley of Mina, six miles north
of Mecca, where a commemoration sacrifice is annually celebrated as a rite of
the Hajj on the tenth of Zul-Hijja, the Id of sacrifice, in memory of this
sacrifice of Abraham and Ishmael ...; Others say that the original
place of sacrifice was near the hill of Marwa ...; which is associated with
the infancy of Ishmael."
"At what stage in Abraham's history did this occur? ... It was obviously
after his arrival in the Land of Canaan and after Ishmael had given up years
of discretion. Was it before or after the building of the Kabah ...? There
are no data on which this question can be answered. But we may
suppose it was before that event, and that event may itself have been
commemorative." (1: p. 1204, footnotes 4098, 4099).
As Ali states, there is no data, especially from the pre-Islamic period or
archaeology, which confirms the fact that either Abraham or Ishmael were ever in
Mecca, let alone support the notion that Abraham instituted the rites of the
pilgrimage. The late Egyptian Professor, Dr. Taha Husayn, considered one of the
foremost authorities on Arabic literature, acknowledges this when commenting on
the story of Abraham and Ishmael building the Kabah:
"The case for this episode is very obvious because it is of
recent
date and came into vogue just before the rise of Islam. Islam exploited
it for religious reasons." (quoted in Mizan al-Islam by Anwar al-Jundi, p.
170). [italics ours, quoted as found in
Behind the
Veil, (4: p. 184).]
Noted Christian Apologist, John Gilchrist states:
"Secular history knows of only one form of pre-Islamic veneration of the
Ka'aba and that is the Idolatry of the pagan Arabs. There is no
corroborative evidence whatsoever for the Qur'an's claim that the Ka'aba was
initially a house of monotheistic worship. Instead there certainly is evidence
as far back as history can trace the origins and worship of the Ka'aba that it
was thoroughly pagan and idolatrous in content and emphasis ... the Ka'aba
was purely a shrine of thriving pagan idolatry." (6: p. 16).
Therefore, it is purely wishful thinking for Muslims to use the rites of the
Hajj as proof that Abraham offered up Ishmael at Mecca near the Kabah, since
pre-Islamic history indicates that these rites were nothing more than pagan
customs adopted by Muhammad into Islam. Further, as was noted, Islamic
scholarship strongly disagrees and much confusion still exists over the identity
of the son, with some arguing for Isaac and others for Ishmael.
The lack of uniformity of opinion and the ambiguity of the Quran in regards
to this issue helps to solidify the Biblical narrative as vastly superior and
more trustworthy.
Finally, the Quran gives no clear reason why God would test Abraham in this
fashion, and yet the Bible does. Abraham and Isaac were shadows of what was to
eventually come nearly two thousand years later on the same mountain site where
Isaac was offered.
Just as Abraham displayed unconditional love for God in his willingness to
sacrifice his one and only son, God also gave up his only beloved Son on the
cross of cavalry to prove to the world that He is the true source of
unconditional, infinite love. Whereas God withheld the hand of Abraham from
completing the sacrifice, He did not withhold his own hand from sacrificing his
only Son, going to the extremes in displaying his love for mankind, an extreme
that even Abraham did not cross.
Interestingly when Abraham was leading Isaac to the mountainside, Isaac asked
his father where the Lamb was that was to be sacrificed, to which Abraham
replied, "God will provide himself the Lamb for a burnt offering, my
son." (cf. Gen. 22:7,8)
Yet instead of finding a Lamb, a ram was given. (cf. Gen. 22:13) This is
primarily due to the fact that the Lamb of God was to arrive two thousand years
later:
"The next day he (John) saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, `Behold,
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!' ... `Behold the Lamb of
God'." (John 1:29,36).
Here was the Lamb of God sent to atone for the sin of the world. This is the
awesome ransom that the Quran alludes to: Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word of the
Father, offering himself as a ransom of infinite value, covering the debt of sin
from beginning to end and throughout eternity.
Tabari notes that the Islamic practice of animal sacrifice done in
commemoration of Abraham and his son, "wards off an evil death, so
sacrifice, O servants of God!" (2: p. 96).
How much more, then, will Christ's sacrifice atone for mankind's wickedness
seeing that man's worth is far greater in the eyes of God than animals. Because
Christ is the Eternal Word animal sacrifices are no longer needed, since
Christ's atonement is sufficient for all time:
"When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already
here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not
man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by
means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place
once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood
of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are
ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much
more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from the acts that lead to
death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the
mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised
eternal inheritance - now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from
the sins committed under the first covenant." (Hebrews 9:11-15).
"But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat
down at the right hand of God." (Hebrews 10:12).
Thus, Abraham and Isaac were shadows of the things that were to come,
pointing to the Father and Son's willingness to sacrifice themselves in the
greatest display of love the world has ever seen; the Father's willingness in
sacrificing his eternal love, with the Son giving up his own life on behalf of
fallen humanity:
"For God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet
sinners Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8 R.S.V.).
"... For God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among
us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so we might live through him.
In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son
to be the expiation for our sins." (1 John 4:8b-10 R.S.V.).
This is indeed the greatest love story the world has ever known:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16
R.S.V.).
--------------------------------------------------
-
A. Yusef Ali, The Holy Quran, Translation and Commentary
-
Al-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari, Vol. II,
Prophets and
Patriarchs (trans. William M. Brenner), State University of New York
Press, Albany 1987
-
Brother Mike, Islam in the Balance
-
N.N.,
Behind the
Veil
-
John Gilchrist,
The Christian
Witness to the Muslim, Vol. II
-
John Gilchrist,
The Temple, The
Ka'aba, and the Christ
---------------------------------------------------------
Further articles by Sam
Shamoun
