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View Full Version : Ibraham and the Child of Sacrifice - Ismail or Issac?


ashequekamal76
Oct 30, 2012, 06:30 AM
Assalamualikum.

Which child of Ibrahim was taken for sacrifice? Was is Ismail or Issac? Is there any proof ?

joypulv
Oct 30, 2012, 10:35 AM
I'm not Muslim and I know there are Muslims who answer here, but I'll answer what I know just so your question doesn't get lost. Genesis in the Bible says that Isaac was the son of Abraham (Ibraham/Ibrahim) who was to be sacrificed. Ishmael (Ismael) was his first son.

There's no proof.

Acerfan
Oct 30, 2012, 06:12 PM
With due respect to friends of non-Muslim faith;

Abraham (peace be upon him) had seen a dream that he was slaughtering his only son. When Ishmael was twelve, Abraham (peace be upon him) mentioned the dream to him. The Holy Quran mentions the whole episode as follows: “And he prayed, My Lord, grant me a righteous son. So We gave him the glad tidings of a forbearing son. And when he was old enough to work and run along with him, he said, ‘O my dear son, I have seen in a dream that I am offering thee in sacrifice. So consider what thou thinkest of it!’ He replied, ‘O my father, do as thou art commanded; thou wilt find me, if Allah pleases, steadfast in my faith.’ And when they both submitted to the Will of God, and Abraham had thrown him down on his forehead. We called to him, ‘O Abraham. Thou hast, indeed fulfilled the dream.’ Thus, indeed, do we reward those who do good.” (37:101-106)

On the contrary the Bible says: “And He said, take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, who thou lovest and get thee into the land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee.” (Genesis 22:2)

In this self-contradicting statement Isaac has been mentioned as the only son, while the reality is that Isaac was at no time of his life Abraham’s only son. The only son was Ishmael who was thirteen years older than Isaac. It is clear from the Bible and the Holy Quran that the incident took place when the son was able to do some work along with the father. It sets the age of the child at the time of the incident at about twelve years. And it was Ishmael who was the only son of Abraham (peace be upon him) up to the age of twelve as Isaac was not yet born. However, after this incident God gave glad tidings about the birth of Isaac. The Holy Quran says: “And we gave him the glad tidings of Isaac, a prophet, and one of the righteous. ” (37:113)

A year later, when Abraham (peace be upon him) was hundred years old, Isaac was born. Genesis 22:6 tells us that the son offered as sacrifice was not a baby. He in fact carried the wood of the burnt offering on his head, and Genesis 22:12 describes that the son offered as sacrifice was the only son. Here it does not mention any name. At the time of sacrifice Abraham (peace be upon him) was ninety-nine years old and the only son he had at that time was Ishmael. It seems that the writers of the Bible, while claiming credit of sacrifice, have deliberately changed Isaac with Ishmael, and Moriah for Marwah, a hillock in the vicinity of Mecca. Moreover, in the religious ceremonies of the Jews and the Christians, no trace of the supposed sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham is found.

Arabs, who are the progeny of Ishmael, had been commemorating this intended sacrifice with great fervor for nearly 2700 years even before the advent of Islam and now the spiritual descendants of Abraham and Ishmael commemorate this event every year, by slaughtering rams and goats all over the world on the tenth day of Dhul-Hijjah. This universal sacrifice of quadruplets by Muslims establishes beyond dispute the fact that it was Ishmael and not Isaac whom Abraham (peace be upon him) offered for sacrifice.