The Qur’an

“Abraham Sacrifices his Son”

Sura 37

The Rangers

99. And he said: Surely I fly to my lord; He will guide me.
100. My Lord! grant me of the doers of good deeds.
101. So We gave him the good news of a boy, possessing forbearance.
102. And when he attained to working with him, he said: O my son! surely I have seen in a dream that I should sacrifice you; consider then what you see. He said: O my father! do what you are commanded; if Allah please, you will find me of the patient ones.
103. So when they both submitted and he threw him down upon his forehead,
104. And We called out to him saying: O Ibrahim!
105. You have indeed shown the truth of the vision; surely thus do We reward the doers of good:
106. Most surely this is a manifest trial.
107. And We ransomed him with a Feat sacrifice.
108. And We perpetuated (praise) to him among the later generations.
110. Thus do We reward the doers of good.
111. Surely he was one of Our believing servants.
112. And We gave him the good news of Ishaq, a prophet among the good ones.
113. And We showered Our blessings on him and on Ishaq; and of their offspring are the doers of good, and (also) those who are clearly unjust to their own souls.

The Bible

“Abraham Sacrifices his Son”

Genesis

Chapter 21

1. And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
2. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
3. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
4. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.
5. And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.
6. And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
7. And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.
8. And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
9. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.
10. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
11. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.
12. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
13. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.
14. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.
15. And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
16. And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
17. And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
18. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.
19. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
20. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
21. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
22. And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:
23. Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.
24. And Abraham said, I will swear.
25. And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away.
26. And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.
27. And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.
28. And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
29. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?
30. And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.
31. Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they sware both of them.
32. Thus they made a covenant at Beer-sheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
33. And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
34. And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines’ land many days.

Genesis

Chapter 22

1. And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
2. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom 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 of.
3. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
4. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
5. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you,
6. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
7. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
8. And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
9. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
10. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
13. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
14. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
15. And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
16. And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
17. That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
19. So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.
20. And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor;
21. Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,
22. And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
23. And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.
24. And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.

COMMENTARY

In the Qur’an:

1. Ibrahim (Abraham) asked God for a son. And God  “…gave him the good news of a boy, possessing forbearance.”

2. Abraham saw a vision of his son being sacrificed and told his son about it. His son agreed with the will of God and encouraged his father to offer himself as a sacrifice.

3. God rewarded Abraham because of his obedience.

4. After that event, God gave Abraham “…the good news of Ishaq, a prophet among the good ones.”

In the Bible:

1. God Himself gave Abraham this promise:

“….I will make of thee a great  nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing”- (Genesis 12:2). “…And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall  Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?” (Genesis 17:15-17)

 Abraham did not expect to have a child from Sarah.

2. God said unto Abraham:

“…Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom  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 of...”. “And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

Isaac did not know until the last moment that it was he who was to be sacrificed.

3. God actually tested Abraham’s faith and it became a great blessing not only for the nation of the Israel, but for all believers, regardless of nationality and race:

 “…That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;  And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou  hast  obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:18)

4. In the Bible we read that Ishmael was sent away before Isaac was about to be sacrificed. Most, if not all Muslim scholars believe that it was Ishmael who was about to be sacrificed, not Isaac. The Qur’an does not mention any name, but in ayat 112 it looks as if Isaac was born after that event would have taken place. Meanwhile, the Bible gives us the exact sequence of events:

a) Isaac was born.

b) Later, Ishmael was caught  mocking Isaac and Sarah demanded that Abraham send Hagar and Ishmael away. God  approved it and it was done.

c) After that event Abraham “…sojourned in the Philistines’  land many days...”

d) God specifically asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac.