Why Ibrahim Was Told to Sacrifice His Own Son, Explained

The Quran never names the son Ibrahim was told to sacrifice. So who was it, Ismail or Ishaq? An old man wakes from a dream: he must sacrifice his son. He goes to the boy and asks, "So see what you think." In Part 3 of the story of Prophet Ibrahim, we go through Surah As-Saffat (37:99-113): the prayer for a righteous child, why a prophet's dream is revelation, the moment father and son both submitted, and the great ransom. The Quran never says "ram". That comes from tafsir. Then the question people have asked for centuries: which son was it? Most scholars, including Ibn Kathir and Ibn Taymiyyah, say Ismail, and we explain why the order of verse 112 points that way. We also hear the other side fairly: al-Tabari's view and Genesis 22. We also cover Eid al-Adha and the stoning at Mina, the angels who brought the news of Ishaq and Yaqub, the four birds, and why Ibrahim is called Khalilullah, the friend of Allah. This is the Islamic perspective on the story of Ibrahim and Ismail, told from the Quran and authentic hadith. Next episode: Prophet Lut. SOURCES Quran 37:99-113, 22:37, 11:69-73, 51:24-30, 15:51-56, 14:39, 2:260, 4:125, 2:124, 53:37 Sahih al-Bukhari 3372, 5565. Sahih Muslim 162a. Sunan Abu Dawud 2030 Tafsir Ibn Kathir Allah knows best. If we got something wrong, tell us in the comments. #ProphetIbrahim #StoriesOfTheProphets #EidAlAdha Ibrāhīm (AS) — Part 3: The Dream, the Sacrifice and the Friend of Allah — credits IMAGES Paintings: the production's own image pool. Photos (free licences, used with credit; Wikimedia Commons): Minā, the tent city (title) — Mubeen Rahman — CC BY 3.0 — https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... The Ziggurat of Ur, Iraq — Amjedha95 — CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... The Kaʿbah, Makkah (close) — Basil D Soufi — CC BY-SA 3.0 — https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... The Grand Mosque, Makkah — Fadi El Benni of Al Jazeera English — CC BY-SA 2.0 — https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... Eid al-Aḍḥā prayers, Islamic Centre, Maldives (2023) — The President's Office, Maldives — CC BY 4.0 — https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... Eid al-Aḍḥā prayer near Al Asmakh Mosque, Doha — Alex Sergeev (www.asergeev.com) — CC BY-SA 3.0 — https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... Jamrat al-ʿAqabah, the Jamarāt Bridge, Minā — Aiman titi — CC BY-SA 3.0 — https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... The Kaʿbah during Hajj (wide) — GusJuned — CC BY-SA 3.0 — https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... Hebron (al-Khalīl) with the Ibrāhīmī Mosque — Madosophy Ahmad — CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... The Dead Sea — David Shankbone — CC BY-SA 3.0 — https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... MAPS Shaded relief and borders: Natural Earth (public domain). MUSIC & SOUND EFFECTS Original score (cello, piano and low drum) and all sound effects were composed and synthesized in code for this video. No samples, loops or existing melodies are used. SOURCES SHOWN ON SCREEN Qur'an: verse numbers are shown with every quote; the English is the meaning, not word for word. Al-Baqarah 2:124, 2:260 · An-Nisāʾ 4:125 · Hūd 11:69, 11:70, 11:71, 11:72, 11:73, 11:77 · Ibrāhīm 14:39 · Al-Ḥijr 15:54–56 · Al-Ḥajj 22:37 · Al-ʿAnkabūt 29:32 · Aṣ-Ṣāffāt 37:99–109, 37:112 · Adh-Dhāriyāt 51:26, 51:29 · An-Najm 53:37. Hadith: Sunan Abī Dāwūd 2030 ("I forgot to order you to cover the two horns"), graded ṣaḥīḥ by al-Albānī. Sahih al-Bukhari 5565 (the two horned rams, black and white, sacrificed with his own hands). Sahih al-Bukhari 3372 ("We are more liable to be in doubt than Ibrāhīm"). Sahih Muslim 162 (the Night Journey: Ibrāhīm resting his back against al-Bayt al-Maʿmūr; 70,000 angels enter it every day). Al-Mustadrak of al-Ḥākim 1713 (Ibn ʿAbbās: the stoning at the three spots; "You stone Satan, and you follow the religion of your father Ibrāhīm"), graded ṣaḥīḥ by al-Ḥākim, al-Dhahabī agreed. Tafsir and scholars: Ibn Kathīr (quoting ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr; the report of Ibn ʿAbbās on the ram; Sufyān and Ibn Kathīr on the horns), al-Ṭabarī, Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī, Ibn Taymiyyah, Imām Aḥmad. The Bible: Genesis 16:16, 18, 21:5, 22:2, 22:7, 22:13. FONTS Montserrat and Amiri — SIL Open Font License.