The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 785
PT. 23 AȘ-ṢĀFFĀT CH. 37 وَنَادَيْنَهُ أَنْ يَابْرُ هِيمُة 105. And we called to him: 'O Abraham, قَدْ صَدَّقْتَ الرُّؤْيَا إِنَّا كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي Thou hast indeed fulfilled. 106 الْمُحْسِنِينَ إِنَّ هَذَا لَهُوَ الْبَلوُا الْمُبِينُ وَفَدَيْنَهُ بِذِبْحٍ عَظِيمٍ the dream. Thus indeed do We reward those who do good. 3338 107. That surely was a manifest trial. 3339 108. And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice. 3340 Abraham offered Isaac for sacrifice and not Ishmael. descendants Furthermore, the fact that whereas no trace is to be found in the religious ceremonies of Jews and Christians of the supposed sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham, the Muslims, spiritual of Ishmael, commemorate with great fervour his intended sacrifice, by slaughtering every year rams and goats all over the world on the tenth day of Dhul- Hijjah. This universal sacrifice of rams and goats by Muslims on a specific day in commemoration of Abraham's preparedness to slaughter Ishmael, establishes beyond dispute or doubt that it was Ishmael whom Abraham offered for sacrifice and not Isaac. In a sense Abraham had already fulfilled his vision by leaving Ishmael while yet a child with his mother, Hagar, in the bleak and barren valley of Mecca where at that time there was to be found no sign of life, nor even a blade of grass or a drop of water. That brave act, in fact, had symbolised the sacrifice of Ishmael. fulfilled the dream" show that Abraham was not required to fulfil his vision in actual fact but that it was only a practical demonstration of his intention and preparedness to slaughter his son which was desired of him. The vision, as stated above, had already symbolically been fulfilled in Hagar and Ishmael having been left by Abraham in the valley of Mecca which was at that time an arid and barren waste. The leaving behind of a weak and helpless woman with a child, in a place completely devoid of all signs of life and even of water or any other means of subsistence, did indeed constitute a great sacrifice on the part of the noble Patriarch. 3339. Commentary: It was indeed a supreme trial for Abraham to have left his dear wife and his only son, unprovided for and unprotected, in a place where, humanly speaking, they were sure to perish. 3340. Commentary: Abraham's preparedness to sacrifice Ishmael was perpetuated in the Islamic institution of "Sacrifice" which forms an integral part of the The words "Thou hast indeed ceremonies of Ḥajj. As long as Islam 3338. Commentary: 2699