and this further supports the association of the two qualities. Forbearance is suited to patience, which was the character of the son to be sacrificed. Ishmael is described as patient in His words, Most High:

“And Ishmael, Idrīs, and Dhū al-Kifl—all were among the patient.”

This, too, is a third point, for He relates that the son to be sacrificed said:

“O my father, do what you are commanded. You will find me, if Allah wills, among the patient.”

Allah described Ishmael as being among the patient. Allah Most High also described Ishmael as true to his promise in His words:

“Indeed, he was true to his promise.”

This is because he promised his father that he would patiently endure being sacrificed, and he fulfilled that promise.

The fourth point:

The good tidings of Isaac were miraculous, because the elderly woman was barren. Thus Allah’s intimate friend—peace be upon him—said:

“Do you bring me good tidings when old age has overtaken me? What good tidings, then, do you bring?”

His wife said:

“Shall I bear a child when I am an old woman and this husband of mine is an old man?”

It has already been explained that the good tidings of Isaac came in old age, and that they were given to both Abraham and his wife.

The good tidings of the son to be sacrificed, however, were given to Abraham—peace be upon him—and it was he, rather than the mother who had been given good tidings of the child, who was tested by being commanded to sacrifice him. This accords with what is transmitted from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and his Companions in the Sahīh and elsewhere: when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, Sarah became jealous, so Abraham went