through his father’s love for him. Yet Allah Most High had taken Abraham as His intimate friend, and intimate friendship is a station that requires exclusive love for the Beloved, with no one else sharing in that love. When the son claimed a portion of his father’s heart, the jealous protectiveness of this intimate friendship came to wrest it from the heart of Allah’s intimate friend, and He commanded him to slaughter his beloved son. When Abraham proceeded to slaughter him, his love for Allah being greater than his love for his son, that intimate friendship was purified of every trace of competing attachment. There was then no further purpose in the slaughter itself, since the purpose lay solely in his resolve and readiness to carry it out. The intended purpose had been achieved, so the command was abrogated, the son marked for sacrifice was ransomed, Allah’s intimate friend fulfilled the vision, and the will of the Lord, glorified be He, was accomplished. It is evident that this trial and test concerned the firstborn; it would not have concerned the later-born son rather than the first. Indeed, the later-born son did not give rise to any competing attachment that would warrant a command to slaughter him. This is abundantly clear.

Furthermore, Sarah, the wife of Allah’s intimate friend—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was intensely jealous of Hagar and her son. Hagar was a slave woman, and when she bore Ishmael and his father loved him, Sarah’s jealousy intensified. Allah, glorified be He, therefore commanded Abraham to take Hagar and her son far away from Sarah and settle them in the land of Mecca, so that the heat (2) of Sarah’s jealousy might cool (1). This was an expression of His mercy and compassion towards her. How, then, could He subsequently command Abraham to slaughter her son while leaving the slave woman’s son untouched? Given His mercy towards Sarah, His removal of her rival, and His comforting of her, how could He then command the slaughter of her son rather than the slave woman’s son? Rather, His consummate wisdom—glorified be He—required that He command the slaughter of the concubine’s son. Her mistress would then feel compassion for her and her son, and the harshness of jealousy would turn to mercy. The blessedness of this slave woman and her son would become apparent to Sarah, as would the fact that Allah would not abandon a household to which this woman and her son belonged; and so that He might show