They thus reinforced the glad tidings and affirmed them to him, conveying to them both the promise of “a knowledgeable boy” (al-Ḥijr 15:53)—namely Isaac. His brother Ishmael, by contrast, is described as “a forbearing boy,” a quality that befits his situation and patience; indeed, the Lord characterized him with truthfulness in promise and steadfast endurance.
In another verse Allah says, “So We gave her good news of Isaac, and after Isaac, Jacob” (Hūd 11:71). Muhammad ibn Kʿab al-Quraẓī and others cited this as evidence that the intended sacrificial son was Ishmael, for it would be inconceivable to command the sacrifice of Isaac once the glad tidings had already been given of his birth and of the birth of his son Jacob—whose name is derived from the idea of “coming after.”
According to the People of the Book, Abraham served with the roasted calf (ḥanīdh) a loaf baked in the embers made from three measures of flour, together with butter and milk. They also claim that the angels ate, which is sheer error. Some have maintained that the angels merely pretended to eat, while the food vanished into the air.
They further report that Allah said to Abraham: “As for your wife Sarai, her name shall no longer be Sarai but Sarah. I shall bless her and give you a son by her, and I shall bless him; nations and kings of peoples will come from him.” Abraham then fell on his face—prostrating—and laughed within himself, saying, “Shall a child be born to a man one hundred years old? Shall Sarah bear, seeing she is ninety?” Abraham said to Allah, “If only Ishmael might live before You!” Allah replied, “Truly, your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you shall name him Isaac. At this same time next year I shall establish My covenant with him forever and with his descendants after him. As for Ishmael, I have heard you: I have blessed him, made him fruitful, and multiplied him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make of him a great nation.” We have discussed this previously; Allah knows best.
Thus His words, “So We gave her good news of Isaac, and after Isaac, Jacob” (Hūd 11:71), prove that she would enjoy the presence of her son Isaac and then, after him, the son of her son, Jacob—that is, Jacob would be born during their lifetime so that their eyes might delight in him just as they had delighted in his father. Had this not been intended, there would have been no point in mentioning Jacob explicitly, to the exclusion of the rest of Isaac’s progeny. By naming him in particular, the verse indicates that they would rejoice in him and find joy in his birth, just as they had rejoiced when his father was born.
Allah, Exalted is He, also says: “We granted him Isaac and Jacob—each of them We guided—and We had guided Noah before” (al-Anʿām 6:84); and He says: “When he withdrew from them and from what they worshipped besides Allah, We granted him Isaac and Jacob” (Maryam 19:49).
This, God willing, is manifest and strong, and it is further supported by the rigorously authenticated report in the two Ṣaḥīḥs, transmitted by Sulaymān ibn Mihrān al-Aʿmash from Ibrāhīm ibn Yazīd at-Taymī, from his father, from Abū Dharr. He said: “I asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, which mosque was set down first?’ He replied, ‘The Sacred Mosque.’ I said, ‘And then which?’ He said, ‘The Farthest Mosque.’ I said, ‘How long was the interval between them?’”