Ibrahim (Abraham) and his son: the true s

Topic:	Ibrahim (Abraham) and his son: the true story (1 of 3), Read 29 times
Conf:	Islam: Basic Understanding
From:	Ibn Salim
Date:	Thursday, June 10, 2004 01:02 AM

I've written the true account of that famous story of Abraham (Ibrahim) (peace be upon him) and his son whom he was about to sacrifice. My account is based on the Quran and nothing else.

Please avoid asking petty questions or making petty objections to the text out of your previous beliefs about the incident. If you see the differences between the Biblical story and the Islamic one, you'll better grasp the high spiritual essence of this great event of obedience to Allah.

Ibrahim was a prophet of Islam, of submission to the will of Allah, as were all other prophets. So listen to his story quietly and thoughtfully:

Guide for the text:

Allah: God; Ibrahim: Abraham
Ismail: Ishmael; Is-haq: Isaac
Yaqub: Jacob; Yusuf: Joseph
Musa: Moses; Dawud: David
Sulaymaan: Solomon; Isa: Jesus
Bakkah: Mecca, Makkah
The seal/last of the prophets: Muhammad
___________________________

I am starting my truthful narration with the recitation of the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Acting-With-Mercy.

As the last Messenger of Allah, to whom peace and blessings of Allah be, informed us, any dream of a prophet is a revelation from Allah. So the prophet who receives a dream-revelation has to fulfil what the dream requires him to.

This divine rule is what Ibrahim must have faced with astonishment when that vivid dream came to him.

He was offering his only son, his forbearing and mild-mannered beloved son for sacrifice in his dream. At least, this was what he thought he was doing in the dream. The dream was lifelike, so he as a prophet of Allah didn't have the slightest doubt that he was being ordered by Allah to offer his son for sacrifice.

When the sorrowful father gently and hesitantly made his duty clear to his dear son, Ismail, the forbearing, good-natured boy answered him steadfastly and bravely: "O my father, do what you're commanded to". True men of Allah as they were, they had hearts and emotions just like other humans. But their love of Allah was their greatest emotion and their consciousness of their indebtedness to Allah the greatest part of their conscience.

The son promised to be patient and bear what obedience to the Creator entailed, if the Creator so willed.

So they submitted to Allah completely, absolutely. The father Ibrahim took the knife and laid the son Ismail prostrate on his forehead for the sacrifice. Everything was ready; a son was going to death for Allah the Creator and a father was sacrificing his beloved only son for Allah their Creator!

At that moment came the redeeming voice, the voice of good news and bliss! The voice called out to Ibrahim to tell him that he had already fulfilled the dream that had come to him!

But how? Allah had actually not commanded Ibrahim to kill his son. The dream just meant that Ibrahim must lay his son prostrate on his forehead and reach a position as if he would kill him. When he had done that, he had already fulfilled Allah's command.

Of course, Allah knew what Ibrahim would take the dream-revelation to mean. And He wanted to test Ibrahim's determination to obey Himself and thus his love for and gratitude to Himself.

Today, those who submit to Allah still commemorate this momentous event of faith by sacrificing lambs or other animals used for food. In this way, they feed poor people and hold a feast reminding them of that event of highest virtue.

O Ibrahim, you are blessed! The father of many prophets, you never needed to be sorrowful! You were not losing your long hoped-for son, you were winning a multitude of them! So many of your descendants would follow your path of faith in one God, of truth and justice. You would have Is-haq after Ismail. After them, you would be granted all the other great virtuous descendants. Yaqub, Yusuf, Musa, Dawud, Sulaymaan and all other Israelite prophets together with Isa.

And as to Ismail, your upright and mild-mannered and brave son that you would have to leave in the midst of the harsh climate of the desert, of the arid valley called Bakkah! What a descendant would be bestowed upon him! The seal of the prophets, the last of them who marked the end of the great chain of messengers of Allah is Ibrahim's son!

O Ismail, the little son of Ibrahim, how full of faith and good reason you were when you answered your father about his dream. O prophet and the father of the last prophet! You would live longer and be blessed and have such a great son!

Allah is the greatest!

When the sacrifices are offered, we recite Allah's greatness: Allahu akbar! Allah is the greatest!

Allah is the most beloved! Prophets of Allah were ready to sacrifice their most valuable property: a life and a long hoped-for son, to deserve His sublime pleasure and to show their gratitude for His limitless gifts.

Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest! There is no god but Allah; Allah is the greatest! Allah is the greatest and Allah's is all true praise!

With kind regards,
Ibn Salim

For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah.
(Quran, 6, 79)

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Topic:	Ibrahim (Abraham) and his son: the true story (2 of 3), Read 15 times
Conf:	Islam: Basic Understanding
From:	pathseeker111
Date:	Thursday, June 10, 2004 09:25 PM

Alhamdolillah Brother Ibn-Salim,

May be now is the time to express what one learns from this history.

I take the first:

1. Its much easier to grasp what Allah orders, but difficult to realise why HE does that.

2. What one thinks will happen......may not happen...even when it appears likely. Because, the ends are shaped as planned, not as organised. And none can know Allah's plans unless Allah(swt) wills.

3. Understand now that our abilities are primitive and limited, and almost insignificant on an Absolute scale. Don't reason After Divine certainty is achieved.

4. Allah(swt) does not need Sacrifice.....only its intention. For nothing is dearer than Life. And the most expressive way to express ones love and subservience to GOD is by thinking nothing of one's existence. If you give your life to GOD, HE takes death away. HE calls them Martyrs, the living souls who escaped death.

The account of Moses and Khizr is a similarly profound lesson.

AL-QURAN translation--24:35

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His Light: Allah doth set forth Parables for men: and Allah doth know all things.

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Topic:	Ibrahim (Abraham) and his son: the true story (3 of 3), Read 20 times
Conf:	Islam: Basic Understanding
From:	Ibn Salim
Date:	Sunday, June 13, 2004 05:09 AM

Thank you brother Pathseeker for your valuable contribution to the topic and to my understanding of the story.

With kind regards,
Ibn Salim

For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah.
(Quran, 6, 79)

Edited by Nausheen