Which of Abrahim’s son was sacrificed?

Abstract

The issue of the sacrifice of Abrahim’s son remain an important bone of contention among the followers of Abrahamic religions. The Jews and Christians believe that it is Ishaq while among the Muslims some opine in favour of Ismail while favours Ishaq. To a common man it seems to be not an important issue whether it is Ismail or Ishaq but when its implications are taken into account then it is of great value to Muslims, Jews and Christians that who was sacrificed? Ismail or Ishaq. In the following pages an effort is made to look the issue in the light of some contemporary researches conducted in the Indo-Pak Subcontinent in the first half of the 20th century. Different positions on the issue are evaluated with the Quran and other holy scriptures and in the contemporary western scholarships.