Reference article:
http://www.quransmessage.com/articles/ishmael%20or%20isaac%20FM3.htmSalaam dear brother Joseph,
I went through your article on Prophet Abraham and the other links. You feel that it was Isaac that was taken to be sacrificed and you feel that Surah 37:101-112 was referring to Isaac. I went through the ayats several times from many translations, and it seems to me that ayats 101 - 111 are referring to Abraham's first born son Ishmael though the name isn't mentioned. I feel this way for two reasons. First, while going through the above mentioned ayats Allah narrates how he answered Abraham's prayers by giving him a righteous and patient son, He then goes on to narrate how Abraham had a dream and then with his sons knowledge and submission takes him to be sacrificed. Then goes on to say how he stopped him from sacrificing his son and instead provides him with an animal. Then concludes the incident by praising Abraham for his faith and submission and says he will be remembered and blessed by generations to come. With this we can clearly see the story comes to an end. Then Allah in ayah 102 starts with the word 'And' and goes on to say that he blessed him with Isaac. I personally feel this is in reference to a second son.
My second reason is --- Even though I was born a Christian and grew up with the story about Abraham sacrificing Issac, I never bothered to check it out from the Bible. However, Just before embracing Islam and when going through many articles, I did read about the sacrificial son being Ishmael. This came as a surprise to me and motivated me to investigate the matter further in the Bible and I was surprised to find that what I read was in fact true. I'm sure you must be having knowledge of the Biblical account, but kindly allow me to share with you my thoughts on the topic. Kindly go through the following verses from the book of Genesis:
Genesis ch 16:15 'Later on Hagar bore to Abraham a son and Abraham called the name of his son whom Hagar bore
Ishmael.
16-And Abraham was
eighty six years old at Hagar's bearing Ishmael to Abraham.'
Genesis ch 21:3 'Accordingly Abraham called the name of his son who had been born to him, whom Sarah had borne to him,
Isaac. 4- And Abraham proceeded to circumcise Isaac his son when eight days old, just as God had commanded him. 5- And Abraham was
a hundred years old when Isaac his son was born to him.'
Genesis ch 22:1 'Now after these things it came about the true God put Abraham to the test. Accordingly he said to him: 'Abraham!' to which he said: 'Here I am!'
2-And he went on to say: 'Take, please, your son,
your only son whom you so love, Isaac, and make a trip to the land of Moriah and there offer him up as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall designate to you.'
From the above verses it would be logical to come to the following conclusions:
1. Abraham's first born son is Ishmael.
2. His second son Isaac was born 14 years later.
3. For God to tell Abraham to take his 'only son', to be sacrificed, it would have to be before Isaac was born, when he had only Ishmael.
4. The name 'Isaac' appearing in Gen. 22:1 seems to be an error.
The argument that Christians put forward is that Ishmael was the illegitimate child of Abraham and cannot be counted as his first son is absolute nonsense to me because nothing on earth can change the fact that Ishmael was Abraham's first born son irrespective of the status of his mother. Further, God would never show such discrimination.
Kindly let me have your thoughts on the above issue.
Saalam brother,
[A sister in faith]
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