The Question of Prophet Ibrahim’s Sacrifice Son

Abstract

Abraham struggled with many people, especially the Babylonian ruler Nemrud, to spread the belief of oneness, his life passed in these struggles, and he faced many tests throughout his life. One of them, perhaps the most difficult one, is that he received the order to sacrifice his son, that is, he was tested with the issue of zabih. While zebh means sacrificing, slaughtering, zebîh means sacrificing, sacrificial/sacrificed. In the Qur'an, the expression 'zebîh' (the verb) is used for the son of Ibrahim, who was taken to the slaughter place for sacrifice. Although it is certain that this event actually took place, it is debatable which son was taken to the place of sacrifice. This study primarily aims to reveal which of these is the son chosen for sacrifice. There are two prominent candidates for the issue of zabih, which is expressed in the Qur'an's chapter of Saffat. While Ishmael (as) is the first candidate, his brother Isaac (as) is the other one. It will also be revealed which son was the one who learned from his father that he would be sacrificed and submitted to this order and was worried that his mother would be upset because of this order. The relevant verses of the Qur'an were examined and the literature on the subject was searched, and the sources were tried to be determined as a result of this scanning. Interpretations of Hadith scholars and commentators emphasizing the importance of this lived story were consulted, while scanning, not only was the Islamic sources contented, but also the sources of other religion members, which we call the Ahl al-Kitab, were examined and their views on this subject were also mentioned.