The
auspicious occassion of Eid al-Qurban (the Islamic festival of
sacrifice) has just passed us this year. Every year we Muslims
commemorate the sacrifice of our patriarch Prophet Abraham (peace be
upon him). Islam is all about the spirit of sacrifice and dedication
to Allah Most Holy and Exalted. Regrettably, the vast majority of
Muslims today do not deeply reflect on the purpose of this
commemoration and the philosophy of sacrifice that is so intrinsic to
our Faith.
Due
to this woeful negligence, the overwhelming majority of Muslims
believe that the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) saw his son
Ishmael (peace be upon him) in the vision and had prepared to
sacrifice him. They are under the impression that this is the
explicit Islamic position, and that the Torah or Hebrew Bible, which
states that it was Isaac and not Ishmael, has been distorted by the
Jewish rabbis and scribes. But nothing could be further from the
truth!
The
fact of the matter is that the Holy Quran does not explicitly state
which of the two sons of Abraham was shown in the vision and prepared
to be sacrificed for the sake of Allah. This belief has been passed
down and inherited by Muslims generation to generation on the basis
of Arab tradition, magnified by recent trends of pan-Arab nationalism
and malice towards “Zionism”. There are also a few weak Hadith
and narrations that are the basis for this claim.
However,
based on my own research of the evidence, I come to the conclusion
that the son who was to be sacrificed was Prophet Isaac (peace be
upon him). First consider the fact that the very birth of Prophet
Isaac was miraculous, as stated by the Holy Quran:
فَأَوْجَسَ
مِنْهُمْ خِيفَةً قَالُوا لَا تَخَفْ
وَبَشَّرُوهُ بِغُلَامٍ عَلِيمٍ ﴿٢٨﴾ فَأَقْبَلَتِ
امْرَأَتُهُ فِي صَرَّةٍ فَصَكَّتْ
وَجْهَهَا وَقَالَتْ عَجُوزٌ
عَقِيمٌ ﴿٢٩﴾ قَالُوا
كَذَٰلِكِ قَالَ رَبُّكِ إِنَّهُ هُوَ
الْحَكِيمُ الْعَلِيمُ ﴿٣٠﴾
And
he felt from them apprehension. They said, "Fear not," and
gave him good tidings of a learned boy. (28)
And his wife
approached with a cry [of alarm] and struck her face and said, "[I
am] a barren old woman!" (29)
They said, "Thus
has said your Lord; indeed, He is the Wise, the Knowing."
(Surah 51:28-30)
وَامْرَأَتُهُ
قَائِمَةٌ فَضَحِكَتْ فَبَشَّرْنَاهَا
بِإِسْحَاقَ وَمِن وَرَاءِ إِسْحَاقَ
يَعْقُوبَ ﴿٧١﴾
الَتْ
يَا وَيْلَتَىٰ أَأَلِدُ وَأَنَا عَجُوزٌ
وَهَـٰذَا بَعْلِي شَيْخًا إِنَّ هَـٰذَا
لَشَيْءٌ عَجِيبٌ ﴿٧٢﴾ قَالُوا
أَتَعْجَبِينَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّـهِ
رَحْمَتُ اللَّـهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ
عَلَيْكُمْ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ إِنَّهُ
حَمِيدٌ مَّجِيدٌ ﴿٧٣﴾
And
his Wife was standing, and she smiled. Then We gave her good tidings
of Isaac and after Isaac, Jacob. (71)
She
said, "Woe to me! Shall I give birth while I am an old woman and
this, my husband, is an old man? Indeed, this is an amazing thing!"
(72)
They
said, "Are you amazed at the decree of Allah? May the mercy of
Allah and His blessings be upon you, people of the house. Indeed, He
is Praiseworthy and Honorable."
(Surah 11:71-73)
So
the miraculous birth of Prophet Isaac (peace be upon him) when his
parents, particularly his mother Sarah (peace be upon her) was well
beyond the age of giving birth, demands special consideration. It is
from human nature to cherish and love that which one has been granted
in extraordinary circumstances. To be instructed to sacrifice Prophet
Isaac would truly be the greater sacrifice since, unlike Prophet
Ishmael, the former's birth was extraordinary and miraculous.
Now
let us examine the evidence of the opposing side. Their strongest
explicit evidence is the Hadith of Mu'awiya b. Abi Sufyan as reported
in the Mustadrak of Imam al-Hakim:
ثنا عَبْدُ
اللَّهِ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ الصُّنَابِحِيُّ ،
قَالَ :
حَضَرْنَا
مَجْلِسَ مُعَاوِيَةَ بْنِ أَبِي سُفْيَانَ
فَتَذَاكَرَ الْقَوْمُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ
وَإِسْحَاقَ بْنَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ ، فَقَالَ
بَعْضُهُمُ :
الذَّبِيحُ
إِسْمَاعِيلُ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ :
بَلْ
إِسْحَاقُ الذَّبِيحُ ، فَقَالَ مُعَاوِيَةُ :
سَقَطْتُمْ
عَلَى الْخَبِيرِ ، كُنَّا عِنْدَ رَسُولِ
اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ
وَسَلَّمَ ، فَأَتَاهُ الأَعْرَابِيُّ
، فَقَالَ :
" يَا
رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ، خَلَّفْتُ الْبِلادَ
يَابِسَةً وَالْمَاءَ يَابِسًا هَلَكَ
الْمَالُ وَضَاعَ الْعِيَالُ ، فَعُدْ
عَلَيَّ بِمَا أَفَاءَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكَ
يَا ابْنَ الذَّبِيحَيْنِ ، فَتَبَسَّمَ
رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ
وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَلَمْ يُنْكِرْ
عَلَيْهِ "
،
فَقُلْنَا :
يَا
أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ، وَمَا
الذِّبِيحَانِ ؟ قَالَ :
إِنَّ
عَبْدَ الْمُطَّلِبِ لَمَّا أَمَرَ
بِحَفْرِ زَمْزَمَ نَذَرَ لِلَّهِ إِنْ
سَهَّلَ اللَّهُ أَمْرَهَا أَنْ يَنْحَرَ
بَعْضَ وَلَدِهِ ، فَأَخْرَجَهُمْ ،
فَأَسْهَمَ بَيْنَهُمْ ، فَخَرَجَ
السَّهْمُ لِعَبْدِ اللَّهِ ، فَأَرَادَ
ذَبْحَهُ ، فَمَنَعَهُ أَخْوَالُهُ مِنْ
بَنِي مَخْزُومٍ ، وَقَالُوا :
ارْضِ
رَبَّكَ وَافِدِ ابْنَكَ ، قَالَ :
فَفَدَاهُ
بِمِائَةِ نَاقَةٍ ، قَالَ :
فَهُوَ
الذَّبِيحُ ، وَإِسْمَاعِيلُ الثَّانِي .
The
purport of this Hadith is that in the presence of Mu'awiyah b. Abi
Sufyan, the people were disputing about Ishmael and Isaac. Some said
it was Ishmael who was to be sacrificed and others said it was Isaac.
So Mu'awiya related a Hadith that a Bedouin came to the Prophet
(peace be upon him) and addressed him as “O son of the two
sacrificed ones”, referring to the Prophet's (peace be upon him)
father, Abdullah, who was to be sacrificed by his grandfather Abdul
Muttalib, and his ancestor Ishmael (peace be upon him).
However,
this Hadith is weak and baseless, as the great Muhaddith, Imam
Nasiruddin al-Albani has explained (See Silsilah Ahadith ad-Da'ifah
#1677).
Contrary
to this, there are narrations from the Prophet (Sallallahu alayhi
wasallam) which prove that the one to be sacrificed was Isaac, as
mentioned in the Hadith of Ibn Abbas as reported in the Musnad of
Imam Ahmad:
فَلَمَّا
أَرَادَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ أَنْ يَذْبَحَ
ابْنَهُ إِسْحَاقَ
“When
Abraham intended to sacrifice his son Isaac...”
Reference:
Musnad Imam Ahmad; Hadith #2795, Isnaduhu Hasan
Furthermore,
in his Tafsir, Imam Ibn Jarir al-Tabari has reported narrations from
Abdul Muttalib (the Prophet's paternal grandfather), from Ibn Abbas,
the great scholar of the Salaf, Ka'ab al-Ahbar, Masrooq, Ubaid b.
Umair, Ibn Abi Hudhail, Ibn Sabit, and Abi Maysarah and others all
expressing the opinion that the child to be sacrificed was Isaac not
Ishmael.
Reference:
Tafsir Ibn Jarir; v.19, p.580-581, 588-590, 592
No comments:
Post a Comment