Surah as-Saffat (Those Lined Up) 37 : 103

Overview (Verses 103 - 113)

The scene moves further to show us the order being carried out: “When the two of them had surrendered themselves to the will of God, and Abraham laid him prostrate on his forehead.” (Verse 103) Once more, obedience, faith and acceptance of God’s will rise to a far nobler standard than anything known to humanity. The father puts his son prostrate before him and the son submits and shows no resistance. All this takes place in reality. Such is self surrender, which is the essence of Islam: complete trust, obedience, certainty, acceptance, submission and action. Both father and son experience nothing other than pure faith.
 
The point here is not one of bravery, courage, enthusiasm or heroic action which a warrior might feel in battle. A committed fighter may undertake a task knowing that his chance of survival is negligible. However, this is totally different from what Abraham and Ishmael were doing: for them, there is no boiling situation, no rush of enthusiasm prompting hasty action before weakness or hesitation can creep in. Theirs is a rational self surrender, with full knowledge of what they want, and complete reassurance about what will take place. More than that, they coolly appreciate the pleasure of obeying God’s orders.
 
At this stage, Abraham and Ishmael have done all that is required of them. They have submitted themselves and carried out the order. All that remained was the actual shedding of Ishmael’s blood and his death, which, in God’s scales, counted for little, compared with the energy, feelings and determination both father and son put into what was bidden of them. By this time, the test had reached its climax, its results were known and its objectives fulfilled. What remained was physical pain and a dead body, but God does not want His servants to endure suffering. He does not require them to torment or kill themselves. Once they have submitted themselves and shown their true willingness to do what He bids, then they have fulfilled what is required and passed the test successfully.
 
Deliverance
 
God witnessed the sincerity shown by both Abraham and Ishmael, and He considered them to have fulfilled all that was required of them:
 
We called to him: Abraham! You have already fulfilled the dream.’ Thus do We reward those who do good. All this was indeed a momentous trial. We ransomed [Ishmael] with a noble sacrifice. (Verses 104-107)
 
You have indeed fulfilled all you needed to fulfil. God wants nothing from His servants other than that they submit themselves to Him totally, so that they have nothing which they consider too dear or too precious to give up, not even an only son, or their own lives. You, Abraham, have done this, offering everything dear, with certainty and acceptance. What was left was flesh and blood, which could be substituted by any type of flesh and blood. Thus, God ransomed this young man who had submitted himself to His will by a great and noble sacrifice. It is reported that the sacrifice was a ram which Abraham found ready by God’s will and that he sacrificed this ram in place of Ishmael.
 
Abraham was then told: “Thus do We reward those who do good.” (Verse 105) We reward them by choosing them for such a test, directing their minds and hearts to rise to the necessary level, helping them in such fulfilment and then giving them the reward they deserve.
 
It is to commemorate this great event which serves as a symbol of true faith and submission to God that Muslims celebrate the `Īd of Sacrifice, or al-Adĥā. This event serves as a reference point for the Muslim community to know their first father, Abraham, whose faith it follows and to whom it traces its ancestry. It thus understands the nature of its faith, based on submission to God’s will with perfect acceptance and reassurance. It will never need to ask God why. It will never hesitate to do His bidding, once it realizes what He wants of it. It gives its all, withholding nothing, and choosing no particular way or form of offering. It simply does what He bids it to do. The Muslim community also knows that God does not wish to overburden it with the test, nor put it to hardship. All He needs is that Muslims should be ready to give whatever they are required to give, in full obedience and commitment, without hesitation. Once they prove such complete dedication, He will remove the need for their sacrifice and pain. He will consider that they have fulfilled their duty and reward them for that, replacing their sacrifice and honouring them as He honoured their father, Abraham.

“Peace be upon Abraham.” (Verse 109) It is a greeting of peace by his Lord, recorded in His hook and engraved in the book of the universe. “Thus do We reward those who do good.” (Verse 110) We reward them after testing them, and We fulfil Our promise to them and honour them. “He was truly one of our believing servants.” (Verse 111) Such is the reward of faith, and such is its nature as revealed by the momentous test.
 
God’s grace is bestowed once more on Abraham, as He gave him Isaac in his old age. He further blesses him and his son, making Isaac a prophet: “We gave Abraham the happy news of Isaac, a prophet and a righteous man; and We blessed him and Isaac.” (Verses 112-113) Their offspring goes on through generations, but its main criterion is not the relation of blood, but the relation of faith and a code of living: whoever follows in their footsteps does-good, and whoever deviates wrongs himself and cannot benefit from this blood relation: “Among their offspring there were those who do good and others who would glaringly sin against their souls.” (Verse 113)