seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Quran 37:75. And Noah called out to Us, and We are the Best of responders.
76. And We saved him and his family from the great calamity.
77. And We made his descendants the survivors.
78. And We left mention of him among those who succeeded.
79. Peace be upon Noah among all people.
80. We thus reward the righteous.
81. He was one of Our believing servants.
82. Then We drowned the others.
83. Of his kind was Abraham.
84. When he came to his Lord with a sound heart.
85. He said to his father and his people, “What are you worshiping?
86. Is it falsified gods, instead of God, that you want?
87. So what is your opinion about the Lord of the Worlds?”
88. Then he took a glance at the stars.
89. And said, “I am sick.”
90. But they turned their backs on him, and went away.
91. Then he turned to their gods, and said, “will you not eat?
92. What is it with you, that you do not speak?”
93. Then he turned on them, striking with his right hand.
94. And they came running towards him.
95. He said, “Do you worship what you carve?
96. When God created you, and what you manufacture?”
97. They said, “Build a pyre for him, and throw him into the furnace.”
98. They wished him ill, but We made them the losers.
99. He said, “I am going towards my Lord, and He will guide me.”
100. “My Lord, give me one of the righteous.”
101. So We gave him good news of a clement boy.
102. Then, when he was old enough to accompany him, he said, “O My son, I see in a dream that I am sacrificing you; see what you think.” He said, “O my Father, do as you are commanded; you will find me, God willing, one of the steadfast.”
103. Then, when they had submitted, and he put his forehead down.
104. We called out to him, “O Abraham!
105. You have fulfilled the vision.” Thus We reward the doers of good.
106. This was certainly an evident test.
107. And We redeemed him with a great sacrifice.
108. And We left with him for later generations.
109. Peace be upon Abraham.
110. Thus We reward the doers of good.
111. He was one of Our believing servants.
112. And We gave him good news of Isaac, a prophet, one of the righteous.
113. And We blessed him, and Isaac. But among their descendants are some who are righteous, and some who are clearly unjust to themselves.
Here's today's commentary.The people with whom Abraham contended were not only worshippers of idols, but also worshippers of stars. Hence Abraham cast a glance at the stars and declared that he could not bear their worshipping others than God. LL gives the following as one of the explanations of the words saqßm (sick) on the authority of T: I am sick of your worshipping what is not God. But we also speak of a person as being saqßm, when he bears spite against another. Thus you say huwa saqßm al-©adr ‘alai-hi, meaning he is affected with spite against him. The words may thus be translated I bear spite to your false gods.
That the child spoken of here was Ishmael and not Isaac is made clear by v. 112, which states that it was after this incident that Abraham received the news of the birth of Isaac. This, no doubt, contradicts the Bible statement, but the fact that Ishmael’s descendants kept a memorial of this sacrifice in the annual pilgrimage to Makkah shows clearly that Ishmael, and not Isaac, was the son whom Abraham was commanded to sacrifice. Moreover, the Bible contradicts itself when it speaks of Isaac as “thine only son” (Gen. 22:2). Only Ishmael could be spoken of as “only son” before the birth of Isaac. The √adßth in which Isaac is spoken of as having been sacrificed is according to Ibn Kathßr gharßb, and must be rejected. The Holy Qur’ån makes it clear beyond all doubt that it was Ishmael whom Abraham was ordered to sacrifice.
The words, Thou hast indeed fulfilled the vision, show that the act of slaughtering was not needed for the fulfilment of the vision; the preparedness to do it amounted to its fulfilment. According to the Bible, Abraham cast out his son Ishmael and his mother Hagar in some wilderness when Ishmael was fourteen years of age (Gen. 21:9–21). The Holy Qur’ån is silent on this point, but, according to Bukhårß, the incident occurred when Ishmael was yet a suckling, and it was not in accordance with the wishes of Sarah but according to a Divine commandment that Abraham left Hagar and Ishmael in the wilderness near the Sacred House, and it was here, when Ishmael was in distress, that Zamzam was discovered. The reference in the words Thou hast indeed fulfilled the vision may be to this incident, Abraham being told that the dream had already been fulfilled by casting out Ishmael and leaving him at Makkah.
To commemorate Ishmael’s sacrifice, a great sacrifice was ordered. This was not only the sacrifice of a ram on this particular occasion, but the great institution of sacrifice now connected with the pilgrimage to Makkah. Perhaps there is also a reference here to the abolition of human sacrifice, which was prevalent among most ancient nations, and the significance is that the place of human sacrifice was now forever being taken by the sacrifice of a ram.
Sorry... gotta admit.... after 71 years on this earth.... the idea that Ishmael was sacrificed for Isaac.... not that Isaac was put on a pile of sticks just makes more sense. All over the world today fathers are adoring one child over another.... especially when the first child is a bastard. That song that Dolly Parton sings "I will always love you" is about a child she has given up.
Abraham's family was full of problems. When I first read this... I really enjoyed the first few verses about the worship of idols and starts. Noah was seriously making fun of them. He even smacked a few pieces ......so they would show themselves for what they really are... dust catchers..... and stars.... well they only come out at night.... so what good are they? If I need a miracle during the day... I'm stuck with dust collectors until sundown?
OK this is about Isaac, Ishmael, Idols, and Stars.
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