And when He praised Ibrahim - peace be upon him - for what he dealt with; of what has not happened to anyone else like it; and one of the greatest rewards for a righteous person is the blessing in his offspring; He said: ﴿And We blessed him﴾; meaning: upon the patient boy; and he is the sacrificial one mentioned; and all this speech was drawn from the narration about him; and the last pronoun that returned to him is the pronoun in ﴿And We ransomed him﴾ [As-Saffat: 107] then in: ﴿And We left for him among the later generations﴾ [As-Saffat: 108] and this, in my opinion, is more appropriate than returning the pronoun to Ibrahim - peace be upon him -; because he has fulfilled his praise; then I saw Hamzah al-Karmani do this; and he said: until Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him - and the Arabs are from his loins; ﴿And upon Isaac﴾; meaning: his brother; Hamzah al-Karmani said: until Israel of Allah and the tribes are from his loins; and others said: a thousand prophets emerged from his loins; the first of them is Yaqub; and the last of them is Isa - peace be upon him.

﴿And from their offspring﴾; meaning: the two brothers; and there is no doubt that this is closer; and more fitting than the pronoun being for the father; and the son; because the pairing of the two brothers in the narration about their offspring is more appropriate than the pairing of the son with his father in that; so the son would then be among those mentioned regarding the offspring of the father; ﴿Good-doer and wrongdoer to himself﴾; where he placed it with what is caused by sins in a place other than that which he loves; and this is what undermines the matter of natures; where the righteous can be found among the wicked; and the wicked can be found among the righteous.

And when man; even if he strives in good; must need forgiveness; for what he has of deficiency; because the rank of divinity cannot be reached by human obstacles; He clarified that the wrongdoing intended here is merely the transgression of limits; by the utmost desire; so He said: ﴿Clear﴾; and as for other than that, it is forgiven; as He established in the like of: ﴿To it belongs what it earns, and upon it is what it earns﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 286] "...and whoever intends to commit a sin and does not carry it out, a good deed is written for him"; ﴿If you avoid the major sins which you are forbidden, We will remove from you your misdeeds﴾ [An-Nisa: 31]

The story of the slaughter of Ibrahim for his son - peace be upon them both - from the Torah; and the clarification that they altered it; said their translator: (So Ibrahim planted a planting by the well of Sab'a; and built there in the name of the Lord, the God of the worlds; and Ibrahim dwelled in the land of Palestine - meaning near that well - for many days; and when after these events Allah tested Ibrahim; and said to him: O Ibrahim; he said: Here I am; then He said to him: Go with your only son; Ishaq; whom you love to the land of the Amoranis - and in one version: to the town of worship - and offer him to Me as a sacrifice on one of those mountains; which I will tell you about; so Ibrahim set out early; saddled his donkey; and departed with his two boys; and his son Ishaq; and he cut wood for the sacrifice; and he rose up; and went to the place which Allah had told him; and on the third day Ibrahim raised his eyes; and looked at that place from afar; and said to his boys: "Stay here with the donkey; and I and the boy will go yonder; we will pray and return to you"; so Ibrahim took the wood for the sacrifice; and Ishaq his son carried it; and he took with him fire; and a knife; and they both set out together; and Ishaq said to his father Ibrahim: "O my father"; he said to him: "Here I am"; and he said to him: "This fire and the wood; where is the lamb for the sacrifice?"; Ibrahim said: "Allah will provide for us a lamb for the sacrifice, my son"; so they both went until they reached the place which Allah had mentioned; so there Ibrahim built an altar; and arranged the wood on it; and bound Ishaq; and placed him on the top of the altar upon the wood; and Ibrahim extended his hand; and took the knife to slaughter his son; then the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven; and said: "O Ibrahim; O Ibrahim"; he said: "Here I am"; and he said: "Do not lay your hand upon the boy; nor do anything to him; for you have now shown that you fear Allah; since you have not withheld your only son from Me"; then Ibrahim raised his eyes; and behold, a ram was caught in a thicket by its horns; so Ibrahim went; and took the ram; and offered it as a sacrifice instead of his son Ishaq; and Ibrahim named that place "Allah provides"; as it is said: Allah provides on this mountain; then the angel of the Lord called Ibrahim a second time from heaven; and said: "By Me I have sworn; says the Lord: (Because you have done this deed; and have not withheld your only son from Me, I will surely bless you with a complete blessing; and I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven; and like the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gates of their enemies - and in one version: His enemies - and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because you have obeyed Me)"; then Ibrahim returned to his boys; and they all departed to the well of Sab'a; and he settled there - and in one version: and Ibrahim dwelled at the well of Sab'a; this is the end of what they have in its wording; so look at it; and combine it with what has preceded in "Al-Baqarah"; from the story of Isma'il; and Ishaq - peace be upon them both -; you will find that they have certainly altered it; because the words contradict each other; and that is because it said in this story: "Go with your only son"; and he repeated the description of him as the only one in various places; and this description can only be true for Isma'il - peace be upon him -; while Ishaq - peace be upon him - was never an only child at any time; rather, he was born when Isma'il - peace be upon him - was thirteen years old and more; as is testified by what they have in the Torah; and His saying at the end of the story: "and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed"; can only be most fitting for Isma'il - peace be upon him -; while Ishaq - peace be upon him - was only blessed through his descendants in the holy lands; and only a few followed them from others; rather, they were in every few following others in the worship of their idols; as testified by their Torah; and the books of their prophets; Yusha' ibn Nun; and those after him - peace be upon them -; while the descendants of Isma'il - peace be upon him - followed them in the true religion from all nations in numbers that cannot be counted; and they did not follow anyone from the nations after Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him - in the worship of other than Allah; this and in the earlier part of "Al-Baqarah"; that the gift of Sarah, her maid Hagar - may Allah be pleased with her - to Ibrahim - peace be upon him - was after he had dwelled in Canaan for ten years; and that Isma'il - peace be upon him - was born to Ibrahim - peace be upon him - when he was eighty-six years old; and that Allah (the Exalted) commanded him to be circumcised when he was ninety-nine years old; and that at that time he was given the good news of Ishaq - peace be upon him -; so he circumcised Isma'il - peace be upon him - when he was thirteen years old; then Ishaq - peace be upon him - was born to him; and he had reached one hundred years; then he said what is its text: (And Ibrahim made on the day he weaned his son Ishaq a great feast; and Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian; born to Ibrahim - peace be upon him - playing; so she said to Ibrahim - peace be upon him -: Cast out this maidservant and her son; for the son of the maidservant shall not inherit with my son Ishaq; and this matter distressed Ibrahim; because of his son; so Allah (the Exalted) said to Ibrahim - peace be upon him -: (Let it not be displeasing to you concerning the boy and your maid; obey Sarah in all that she says; for your descendants will be mentioned through Ishaq; and the son of the maid I will make into a great nation; for he is of your descendants); so Ibrahim - peace be upon him - rose early; and took bread; and a skin of water; and gave it to Hagar; and placed the boy and the food on her back...) to the end of what is in "Al-Baqarah"; so His saying: "Indeed, Hagar was cast out after the weaning of Ishaq; and she was carrying her son"; is not correct; and it has been established that his age on the day of the weaning of Ishaq was fifteen years; and it has also been established that Sarah commanded him to cast her out while she was pregnant; and that he delivered her to her; so she cast her out; and that the angel met her and gave her the good news of Isma'il; and it was not mentioned in my copies - which are very old - anything indicating her return; and as for in a version with them, it said: (Indeed, the angel said to her: Return to your mistress and submit under her hand); and it did not mention that she returned; and the news is confirmed with us by the words of our Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - that Ibrahim - peace be upon him - placed Hagar and her son Isma'il - peace be upon him - near the Sacred House while he was nursing; and they remained there until Hagar - may Allah be pleased with her - died; and Isma'il - peace be upon him - married; and built the house with his father - peace be upon them both -; and His saying: "for your descendants will be mentioned through Ishaq - peace be upon him -" is not in accordance with reality; for the fame of the Arabs with Ibrahim - peace be upon him - if it were not more than the fame of the children of Ishaq with that; it is like it; and the word of Allah does not differ; so all of this indicates that they altered the story; and distorted it; so there is no basis in it for them; and its indication that the one to be sacrificed is Isma'il - peace be upon him - is stronger than its indication of anyone else; for his description as "the only one"; and Allah knows how the story was before the alteration; and what indicates what I understood from their alteration of it is what Al-Baghawi said: Al-Qurazi - meaning Muhammad ibn Ka'b - said: Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz asked a man; who was from the scholars of the Jews; who had converted to Islam; and his Islam was good: Which of the two sons of Ibrahim - peace be upon him - was commanded to be slaughtered? He said: Isma'il; O Commander of the Faithful; indeed the Jews know that; but they envy you, O Arabs, that your father was the one commanded by Allah (the Exalted) to be slaughtered; and they claim that he is their father; and as evidence that it is Isma'il - peace be upon him - is that when Allah (the Exalted) gave the good news of Ishaq; He gave the good news that Jacob would be born to him; so the trial would not be fitting for him after knowing that he would not die until he had a son; and as evidence of that is that the horns of the ram were tied to the Ka'bah; in the hands of the children of Isma'il - peace be upon him - until the house was burned; and the horns were burned; in the time of Ibn al-Zubayr; and al-Hajjaj; Al-Sha'bi said: I saw the horns of the ram tied to the Ka'bah; and from Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with them both - he said: By Him in Whose Hand is my soul; indeed at the beginning of Islam; and indeed the head of the ram was hanging with its horns in the drain of the Ka'bah; and Al-Asma'i said: I asked Abu Amr ibn al-Ala about the one to be sacrificed: Was it Ishaq or Isma'il? He said: O Usaymi'a; where has your mind gone? When was Ishaq in Mecca? It was only Isma'il who was in Mecca; and he was the one who built the house with his father; this is the end of what Al-Baghawi said.

And in the Book of Hajj; from the Sunnah of Abu Dawood; "That the Prophet ﷺ said to Uthman - who is the Hujbi - may Allah be pleased with him -: 'Indeed, I forgot to command you to cover the two horns; for it is not appropriate for there to be anything in the house that distracts the one praying.'" And it was narrated by Abdul Razzaq; in his Musannaf; and its wording is "That Uthman ibn Shaiba - may Allah be pleased with him - said: Indeed, the Prophet ﷺ said to him: 'Indeed, I saw the two horns of the ram; and I forgot to command you to cover them; for it is not appropriate for there to be anything in the house that distracts the one praying.'" Thus said: Uthman ibn Shaiba; and perhaps he is the son of Talha; and the mention of his father Shaiba is a mistake; or it could be Shaiba ibn Uthman; and he is the cousin of the one mentioned in Abu Dawood; and it was reversed; and Allah knows best; and Abdul Razzaq also narrated; from Ibn Jurayj who said: Abdullah ibn Shaiba ibn Uthman informed us; and I asked him: Was there in the house the horns of a ram? He said: Yes; they were in it; I said: Did you see them? He said: I thought so; but Abdullah ibn Babayah informed me that he had seen them; he said: And others had seen them in it; he said: And they say: Indeed, they are the horns of the ram which Ibrahim - peace be upon him - slaughtered; Ibn Jurayj said; and Safiyyah the daughter of Shaiba said: There were the horns of the ram in it; Ibn Jurayj said: And I was informed that Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with both of them - said: They were in it; he said: And I was informed by an old woman who said: I saw them in it; and what supports the saying that it is Ismail - peace be upon him - is Allah's description (the Most High) of him as being truthful to his promise; and there is no truth in a promise greater than his truthfulness in his promise of patience upon the slaughter; and among those who said from the Children of Israel: Indeed, he is Ismail - peace be upon him - is Abdullah ibn Salam - may Allah be pleased with him - as narrated by Ibn al-Jawzi; and he counted those who said both of the two sayings from the companions; and others; and he said: Indeed, those who say that it is Ishaq: are Umar; and Ali; and Abbas; and Ibn Mas'ud; and Abu Musa; and Abu Huraira; and Anas - may Allah be pleased with them -; and that it is Ismail: is Ibn Umar; and indeed the narration differed from Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with both of them -; for it was narrated from him by Ikrimah that it is Ishaq; and Ata; and Mujahid; and Al-Sha'bi; and Abu al-Jawza; and Yusuf ibn Mihran; that it is Ismail; so it is known from this the preponderance of the saying that it is Ismail; because Ibn Umar; and Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with both of them - came after those mentioned from the senior companions - may Allah be pleased with all of them -; so if it were not that it was preferred by them; they would not have opposed their fathers; and the narration of Ikrimah from Ibn Abbas in agreement with his father does not detract from that; rather it supports it; because the majority; as you see; narrated from him the second; so if it were not that it was established with him he would not have turned away from the first; which is in agreement with the opinion of his father; and for the sake of his steadfastness upon it it became famous from him; and Allah knows best.