Zād al-Maʿād - Ibn al-Qayyim - (1/57)

Zād al-MaʿādIbn al-Qayyim

to his coming into existence would be all the more fitting and appropriate.

Furthermore, there is no doubt that the sacrifice took place in Mecca. This is why sacrificial offerings on the Day of Sacrifice were instituted there, just as walking between al-Safā and al-Marwa and stoning the pillars were instituted to commemorate Ishmael and his mother and to establish the remembrance of Allah. It is well known that Ishmael and his mother lived in Mecca, not Isaac and his mother. Thus, the place and time of the sacrifice were linked to the Sacred House, which Abraham and Ishmael built together. Sacrifice in Mecca was an integral part—in both time and place—of pilgrimage to the House whose construction (1) was undertaken by Abraham and his son Ishmael. Had the sacrifice taken place in Syria, as the People of the Book and those who received their accounts claim (2), sacrificial offerings and slaughter would have been instituted in Syria, not Mecca.

Moreover, Allah, glorified be He, described the son who was to be sacrificed as “forbearing,” for no one could show greater forbearance than someone who surrendered himself to be slaughtered in obedience to his Lord. When He mentioned Isaac, however, He described him as “knowledgeable,” saying:

“Has the story of Abraham’s honoured guests reached you (24), when they entered his presence and said, ‘Peace.’ He replied, ‘Peace. You are people unknown to me.’”

Then, further on, He said:

“They said, ‘Do not be afraid,’ and gave him glad tidings of a knowledgeable boy.” [al-Dhāriyāt: 24–28]

This was undoubtedly Isaac, because he was born to Abraham’s wife, and she was the one who received the glad tidings of his birth; Ishmael, by contrast, was born to his concubine. Moreover, they both received these glad tidings in their old age, when they had lost hope of having a child. This was unlike Ishmael, who had been born earlier.

Furthermore, Allah, glorified be He, has made it the natural human tendency for parents to love their firstborn more than the children who follow. When Abraham asked Allah for a child and He granted him one, the boy took hold of a part of his heart

(1) “Bināʾuhu” (its construction) is omitted from manuscripts mb and nūn. (2) Manuscript jīm reads “tazʿum” (claim); manuscripts kāf and ʿayn read “zaʿama” (claimed).

على وجوده أولى وأحرى. وأيضًا فلا ريب أن الذبح كان بمكة، ولذلك جُعِلت القرابين يوم النحر بها، كما جُعِل السعي بين الصفا والمروة ورمي الجمار تذكيرًا بشأن إسماعيل وأمه، وإقامةً لذكر الله. ومعلوم أن إسماعيل وأمه هما اللذان كانا بمكة دون إسحاق وأمه، ولهذا اتصل مكان الذبح وزمانه بالبيت الحرام الذي اشترك في بنائه إبراهيم وإسماعيل، وكان النحر بمكة من تمام حجِّ البيت الذي كان بناؤه (١) على يد إبراهيم وابنه إسماعيل زمانًا ومكانًا. ولو كان الذبح بالشام كما يزعم (٢) أهل الكتاب ومن تلقَّى عنهم لكانت القرابين والنحر بالشام لا بمكة. وأيضًا فإن الله سبحانه سمَّى الذبيح «حليمًا»، لأنه لا أحلم ممن سلَّمَ نفسَه للذبح طاعةً لربه. ولما ذكر إسحاق سماه «عليمًا»، فقال: ﴿هَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ ضَيْفِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْمُكْرَمِينَ (٢٤) إِذْ دَخَلُوا عَلَيْهِ فَقَالُوا سَلَامًا قَالَ سَلَامٌ قَوْمٌ مُنْكَرُونَ﴾ إلى أن قال: ﴿قَالُوا لَا تَخَفْ وَبَشَّرُوهُ بِغُلَامٍ عَلِيمٍ﴾ [الذاريات: ٢٤ - ٢٨] وهذا إسحاق بلا ريب لأنه من امرأته، وهي المبشَّرة به؛ وأما إسماعيل فمن السُّرِّيَّة. وأيضًا فإنهما بُشِّرا به على الكبر واليأس من الولد، وهذا بخلاف إسماعيل، فإنه وُلِد قبل ذلك. وأيضًا فإن الله سبحانه أجرى العادة البشرية أن بكر الأولاد أحبُّ إلى الوالدين ممن بعده، وإبراهيم لما سأل الله الولدَ ووهبه له تعلَّقَ شعبةً من قلبه

(١) «بناؤه» ساقط من مب، ن. (٢) ج: «تزعم». وفي ك، ع: «زعم».