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Analysing Abraham’s Sacrifice in Genesis 22… A. M. Jacob (15


                      This knowledge would make it clear             This interaction shows that Prophet
                  that  Isaac  would  survive,  which  would     Abraham was testing his son to gauge
                  undermine the trial’s essence. Likewise,       his response. The son’s reply reflected
                  the sacrifice of Ishmael is also mentioned     not only his acceptance of the sacrifice
                  in supplications and Ziyarat texts, and it     but  also  a  reassurance  to  his  father,
                  has been widely recognized by scholars         indicating  his  lack  of  fear.  After  this
                  and  narrators  throughout  all  periods       exchange, both Prophet Abraham and

                  (Majlisi, 2000, Vol. 12, p. 135, 137).         his  son  obediently  prepared  to  carry
                      Moreover, this sacrifice shows the         out God’s command. Abraham laid his
                  peak  of  submission  where  Abraham           son down to sacrifice him, but at that
                  believed that what he saw in a dream           crucial  moment,  God  informed  him
                  did not need an interpretation. That is        that he had fulfilled the command.
                  why he hastened to fulfill what came in            The Holy Qur’an after recounting

                  his  dream,  sacrificing  his  son  Ismail.    the sacrifice of Abraham’s patient son,
                  Fulfillment  of  the  dream  showed  the       immediately announces the good news
                  perfection of faith and submission of          of Isaac’s birth. Thus, the patient's son
                  both  Abraham  and  his  son  before           is  believed  to  be  Ismail.  However,
                  Allah. The fulfillment of his vision was       some  Sunni  commentators  argue  that
                  a reason for  the emergence of a new           the  son  to  be  sacrificed  was  Isaac,
                  perfection and knowledge, which is the         interpreting  the  glad  tidings  as  a
                  knowledge  of  interpretation  in  which       reference  to  his  prophethood  rather

                  slaughter  and  closeness  to  the             than his birth. However, according to
                  Almighty  is  the  form  of  Abraham’s         the Old Testament, Abraham had kept
                  true Islam with ecstatic absorption in         his son Isaac ignorant of the fact that
                  Allah (Ali & Mustafa, 2023).                   he was the one Abraham intended to

                  A Comparison of the Biblical and the           sacrifice (Genesis 22: 8).
                  Qur’anic Narrative of the Sacrifice                Additionally, Abraham also bound
                  In the Holy Qur’an, we read that when          (tied) his hands before placing him on
                  Prophet  Abraham’s  son  reached               the altar to sacrifice (Genesis 22: 10),

                  maturity, Abraham said to him, “O my           this  shows  that  Abraham  was  doing
                  son, I have seen in a dream that I am          this without the consent of Isaac. In the
                  sacrificing you. What do you think?”           Holy  Qur’an,  when  addressing  the
                  His son responded, “O my father, do as         issue of the son’s sacrifice, it clearly
                  you are commanded; you will find me,           states  that  Prophet  Abraham  openly
                  if  God  wills,  among  the  patient”          discussed  the  matter  of  his  son’s

                  (Qarai, 2004; The Qur’an, 37: 102).            sacrifice  with  him  and  sought  his
                                                                 opinion. Abraham recognized his son’s
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