We are now in the blessed time of Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, and one question that is often raised is about the sacrifice of Hazrat Abraham (may peace be upon him). Did he try to slaughter his son Ishmael or Isaac?
In the Muslim faith we say that it was Hazrat Ishmael (may peace be upon him), but in the Jewish and Christian faiths, they say it was Hazrat Isaac (may peace be upon him), so who was it?
There is great contention between Islam, Christianity and Judaism as to who was Zabeehullah (The slaughtered one) which one of his sons did Abraham attempt to sacrifice? Islam say that the facts in the Bible have been altered because of the jealousy between the Isaacites (the followers of Hazrat Isaac) and the Ishmaelites (the followers of Hazrat Ishmael) and to prove their claim they prove that the book of Moses (may peace be upon him) was in fact written after his death - therefore was not written by him:-
“So Moses, the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab according to the word of the Lord and he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor; but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day”
(Deuteronomy chapter 34, verses 5-6)
“And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face”
(Deuteronomy Chapter 34, verse 10)
How can books supposedly be written by Hazrat Moses (may peace be upon him) talk not only about his death, but also indicate that a long time has passed? Clearly, the book which talks about who got slaughtered was not written by Moses (may peace be upon him), so then who?
Islam says that Ishmael must have been the slaughtered one and it uses the following verses as proof:-
1) Ishmael was the first born and it was the first born who was sacrificed!
“And he said, take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou loved, 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 of”
(Genesis Chapter 22, verse 2)
Ishmael was born 13 years before Isaac, so for 13 years Ishmael was the only son. Isaac being 13 years younger than Ishmael, was never the only son.
We see that both Ishmael and Isaac outlived their father, so there is no way that Isaac become the ‘only son’ during the lifetime of Hazrat Abraham (may peace be upon him)
“And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him (Abraham) in the cave of Machpelah” (Genesis Chapter 25, verse 9)
The Jews will contend this and say that ‘because Ishmael was born of a bond woman, then he cannot inherit from his father Abraham and therefore cannot be counted as a son’; therefore Isaac automatically becomes the firstborn.
But this is against the Bible’s teaching which states:-
“If a man has two wives one ‘beloved’ and ‘another hated’ and they borne him children, both the ‘beloved’ and the ‘hated’, and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated, then it shall be when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved ‘firstborn’ before the son of the hated, WHICH IS INDEED THE FIRSTBORN” (Deuteronomy 21: 15-16)
We also see that Allah blessed both sons:-
Ishmael:- “I have blessed him….I will make him a great nation” (Genesis 17:20)
And that Abraham was very happy with Ishmael:-
“And Abraham said unto God, Oh that Ishmael might live before thee!
(Genesis 17:20) and that Ishmael was also circumcised and so in the covenant with God:-
“And God said unto Abraham, ‘Thou shalt keep my covenant, therefore thou and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant which ye shall keep between me and you and thy seed after thee. Every man-child among you shall be circumcised” (Genesis17:9-10)
“And the uncircumcised man-child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; HE HATH BROKEN MY COVENANT!” (Genesis 17:14)
“And Ishmael his son was 13 years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin” (Genesis 17:25)
2) The Holy Qur’an states that the sacrifice didn’t happen when he was a baby, but when he was a boy an Ishmael gladly accepted to be sacrificed by his father:-
And when he was old enough to ran along with him (Abraham), he said,
‘O my dear son, I have seen in a dream that I offer 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 please, steadfast in my faith.’
(Holy Qur’an Chapter 37, verse 103)
Then when he was about to sacrifice his son, Allah stopped him and told him he had already fulfilled the dream:-
“We called to him, ‘O Abraham Thou hast, indeed, fulfilled the dream.’
(Holy Qur’an Chapter 37, verses 105-106)
In fact the dream was about when Abraham left his wife Hagar and his son Ishmael in a barren desert without food or water and no one around. This was the sacrifice that was represented in the dream that Abraham had to kill his son, therefore Allah stopped him and told him that he had already done the sacrifice. It also abolished the practise of ‘human sacrifice’.
3) This great sacrifice of Abraham (may peace be upon him), his wife Hagar (may Allah be pleased with her) and his son Ishmael (may peace be with him) is celebrated every year by the Muslims during Eid ul Adhia when the Muslims slaughter an animal to mark this great sacrifice. This is something which was also celebrated before Islam by the Arabs, the descendants of Hazrat Ishmael.
But the Jews nor the Christians celebrate the sacrifice of Isaac, why?
It shows that the sacrifice was connected to the Arabs not the Jews, but the Jews changed the name in their Holy Book to promote Isaac.
In fact during the Eid ul Adhia sermons, Muslims are reminded of the great sacrifices of Hazrat Abraham, his wife Hagar and his son Ishmael so that Muslims should also be prepared to make sacrifices to win God’s pleasure.
As we have mentioned, the first sacrifice was that Hazrat Abraham took his wife and only son, Ishmael, whilst Ishmael was still a baby and left them in a barren desert with little water and food and no one around. This was in fact the place where the city of Mecca later developed, but at that time there was no one around.
When Hazrat Hagar asked her husband Hazrat Abraham that why was he leaving her and their baby in that barren place without much provisions, he did not answer. Then she asked whether it was due to Allah informing him to do so? And he indicated that it was. On becoming aware of this, she accepted her fate and put her trust in Allah.
That was a tremendous sacrifice on all sides.
Hazrat Abraham was very old at that time and his other wife Sarah was barren and there seemed little hope that he would have another son, yet, to win the pleasure of the One God, he made this sacrifice and left his wife and only son in the hands of God’s protection. Allah was very pleased with this sacrifice and later on blessed him with other sons, but that was later on and he was not aware of that, at that time. Likewise for his wife Hagar, to be left with a baby in her arms and very little provisions, in a barren desert with no one else around, but she accepted her fate and put her full trust in Allah, was again a tremendous sacrifice to make.
God saved her and made the water of Zam Zam appear and then that brought travellers to that spot who were in need of water. They found Hagar and Ishmael at that waterhole and requested to allow them to stay there. Hence the town of Mecca developed at that spot.
Hazrat Abraham kept returning to see his family and when Ishmael was still a young boy and Hazrat Abraham still did not have any more children, he came to fulfil a dream he saw, which indicated that he was to slaughter his boy, to win the pleasure of Allah. He informed his son Ishmael of the dream and he showed tremendous love for God, that he accepted this and told his father that he should carry out the dream and God will find him (Ishmael) steadfast and ready to accept his fate.
When Hazrat Abraham was about to slaughter his son Ishmael, the One God stopped him and told him that he had already fulfilled the dream! The dream actually meant that he had already sacrificed his son Ishmael, when Abraham had left him for certain death in the barren desert. Therefore Abraham slaughtered an animal instead, and this great sacrifice is being remembered every year, as Muslims slaughter an animal at the time of the end of Hajj. It also put an end to the barbaric practice of those days of slaughtering the firstborn.
Therefore, all Muslims remember the great sacrifices done by all three – Hazrat Abraham, his wife Hagar and his son Ishmael.
I hope this has given some food for thought with this debate.
Incidentally, when Hazrat Ishmael grew to be a young man, Hazrat Abraham visited him and asked him to help rebuild the Holy Ka’aba. Now we believe that the Holy Ka’aba was the very first house for the worship of the One God, as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an:-
“Surely, the first House founded for all mankind is that at Becca, abounding in blessings and guidance for all people” (Holy Qur’an Chapter 3, verse 97)
Becca is the name given to the Valley of Mecca. We don’t know who actually built it originally, but as it was the first house of worship, then it would seem that Hazrat Adam (may peace be upon him), being the first prophet, needed to worship Allah somewhere, therefore perhaps he originally built this house?
Again we read that Hazrat Abraham prayed:
“Our Lord, I have settled some of my progeny in an uncultivated valley near Thy Sacred House” (Holy Qur’an Chapter 14, verse 38)
This shows that when Hazrat Abraham left his family at the valley in the desert, at that time it was ‘uncultivated”, it was a barren desert, yet apparently it was near to the Sacred House, which indicated that by that time the Sacred House had been destroyed and could not be seen.
This is supported by another verse:-
“And remember the time when Abraham and Ishmael raised the foundations of the House” Holy Qur’an Chapter 2, verse 128)
From this verse, it seems to indicate that Hazrat Abraham and his son Ishmael found the foundations of the previous Sacred House and then rebuilt it on its foundations, to become the place which is still there to this day – the Holy Ka’aba.
It is the Holy Ka’aba that Muslims visit every year to perform the Hajj ceremony and are then reminded of these tremendous sacrifices.