Abraham's Sacrifice

What is the truth about Abraham's Sacrifice? Who was the sacrifice for? Who was the dream that Abraham had from? Before going into the details of this subject, the reader is requested to put aside all his/her preconceptions about this issue and verify the subject purely on the merit of the Quranic evidence.

FIRST 

We are told in the Quran that Abraham had a dream in which he was to kill his son Ismail. However, there is nothing in the Quran that says that the dream was from God:

Sura 37

102. When he (Ismail) grew enough to work with him, he (Abraham) said, "My son, I see in a dream that I am sacrificing you.  What do you think?" He said, "O my father, do what you are commanded to do.  You will find me, God willing, patient."

103. They both submitted, and he put his forehead down (to sacrifice him).

104. We called him: "O Abraham.

105. "Have you believed the vision?" We thus reward the righteous.

106. That was an exacting test indeed.

107. We made a concession for a great slaughter.

108. And we preserved his history for subsequent generations.

109. Peace be upon Abraham.

110. We thus reward the righteous.

111. He is one of our believing servants.

SECOND

It is clearly decreed in the Quran that killing an innocent believing soul is a great sin:

"No believer shall kill another believer, unless it is an accident.... " 4:92

"Anyone who kills a believer on purpose, his retribution is Hell, wherein he abides forever, God is angry with him, and condemns him, and has prepared for him a terrible retribution." 4:93

THIRD

We are also told in the Quran that God NEVER advocates sin:

" .............. Say, "God never advocates sin. Are you saying about God what you do not know?" 7:28

If we put these 3 important facts side by side, we know that Ismail was a good believer, thus killing him would be a sin, and we know that God NEVER advocates sin. The truth becomes clear; the dream Abraham had was not from God but from Satan.

But because Abraham was a righteous believer "We thus reward the righteous" God intervened and saved Abraham from falling for Satan's trick. God intervened when Abraham failed to correctly interpret the source of the vision. This is indicated from God's words to Abraham "Have you believed the vision?" God intervened and saved Abraham from commiting a great slaughter and great sin (37:107).

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Let us analyse this truth in the light of the claim by some Muslims scholars. What they say is that God commanded Abraham to kill Ismail so as to test him. They add that God wanted to know if Abraham loved his son more than he loved God!

To expose this naive and totally irrational claim, let us consider the following analogy:

Suppose you have a 10 year old son and you taught him all his life that stealing is wrong and that he should never steal any money and not for any purpose. Now suppose that one day you wish to test your son, would you test him by commanding him to go and steal some money for you?  Would you command your own son to do what you taught him all his life to be wrong, to see how much he loves you?      

Obvioulsy not! Similarly God decreed in the Quran (and in all the scripture) that killing an innocent soul is a great sin.  Ismail was innocent and was a good believer, he committed no sin to be killed.

God would NEVER test Abraham by commanding him to do something that has always been decreed by God to be a great sin.

This is the message in 7:28, God would NEVER advocate sin.

Indeed God tests all of us, but God tests us in upholding His commandments, and not in breaking them!

As shown, the prohibition of killing is one of the major commandments in all the scripture. 

Moreover, the concept of sacrifices for God is a corrupt concept that has crept into the Old Testament. It is totally without any Quranic support. Nowhere in the Quran do we read of God asking us to offer sacrifices for Him.

It must be noted that the animal offering (which is one of the genuine rituals of Hajj) is not in any way connected to the alleged animal substitution of a sheep in place of Ismail (a story only supported by hadith and not Quran). This Hajj animal offering is given its true significance in the Quran in the following verses:

"The animal offerings are among the rites decreed by God for your own good." 22:36

"Neither their meat, nor their blood reaches God. What reaches Him is your righteousness." 22:37

By reading the words: "for your own good" and the words "Neither their meat, nor their blood reaches God. What reaches Him is your righteousness" it becomes clear that the ritual of animal offering during Hajj is not done because God is in need of sacrifice, but they are done for our own good. Such offerings, given to the poor and needy, are given to make us more righteous, and not because God is in need of any sacrifice.

FOURTH 

Perhaps the most glaring misunderstanding is a result of the mis-interpretation of 37:107. According to the traditional hadith-orientated interpretation we are told that God saved Ismail by substituting a sheep in place of Ismail for Abraham to slaughter. However, when we examine the relevant Quranic verses we find no justification or any evidence for such an understading. When we look at 37:107 we note that the verse is made of three words, they are:

1- Fadaynah

2- B'Zhabh

3- Azeem

1- FADAYNAH : The word fidya is used in the Quran to mean a concession, it does not mean sacrifice. The whole concept of sacrifice for God, or for that matter God sacrificing for the human is totally un-quranic. To demonstrate the correct Quranic use of the word fidya, please read the following:

".........If you re ill, or suffering a head indury, "fa fidya" (have a concession) by fasting, or giving to charity, or some other form of worship" 2:196.

As we can see, the word "Fidya" as used in 2:196 cannot mean sacrifice. This verse speaks of our rites during Hajj and specifically of obeying God's command not to shave our heads until the completion of the animal offering ritual. If we are ill or have a head injury (and we are forced to keep our heads shaved) then we are given a concession (not sacrifice) by fasting or giving to charity in place of the ritual we are not able to observe. We observe our rituals (or the given concessions) as an act of obedience to God and not as a sacrifice we give to God!

2- ZTHABH : This word means slaughter, this is confirmed in 2:67. The traditional Muslim thought depicts a sheep that God gave Abraham to slaughter in place of Ismail, but the Quran does not speak of any sheep or any animal being given! The only slaughter spoken of in connection to this incident is that Abraham was about to slaughter Ismail.

This leads us to believe that the word ZTHABH in 37:107 refers to the slaughter of Ismail which was about to take place, and not to a sheep or any other animal that is not metioned in these verses. This fact is further supported by the fact that the word "Azthbahak" which is used in 37:102 refers to the slaughtering of Ismail, so why should we interpret the same word in 37:107 to be speaking about an imaginery animal that is never mentioned in this incident?

3- AZEEM : Azeem means great

When we put the three words together we find the picture totally different from the traditional interpretation of this verse. The three words together say that God made a great concession (of intervening) to prevent the slaughter of Ismail. The concession is in the fact that God intervened so save Abraham from sin and also to save Ismail from having his head chopped off. God does not normally intervene to save anyone from commiting sin, but when Abraham failed to realise that this inspiration was not from God "Have you believed the vision?", God intervened since Abraham was a righteous prophet of God.

This is not any different from the time when God intervened to save Joseph from committing adultery with his master's wife (12:24). Once again, it was the devil who whispered to Joseph to commit the sin of adultery and NOT God, but God made a concession (of intervening) to save Joseph from sin. When the devil inspires any other human to commit adultery or any other sin, God does not normally intervene to save the human from sin. God gives the human the law of right and wrong and God gives the human the freedom for choosing right from wrong for himself.

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