Former Prophets
The Sacrifice at Mina
The ransom of Ismail (peace be upon him) by a great sacrifice (Q 37:107)
The time of Ibrahim and Ismail (peace be upon them)
Educational historical reconstructionWhere
Mina, in the Makkah valley
21.4133, 39.8933 · View on OpenStreetMap
Background
The Qur'an records the trial of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and his son in Surat al-Saffat (Q 37:99-113). Ibrahim (peace be upon him) saw in a dream that he was sacrificing his son; on telling his son (whom the Sunni tradition unanimously identifies as Ismail peace be upon him), the son consented (Q 37:102, ya abati if'al ma tu'maru sa-tajiduni in sha'a Allahu min al-sabirin). Father and son submitted; when Ibrahim (peace be upon him) had laid his son down to perform the sacrifice, the divine voice called: qad saddaqta al-ru'ya, 'You have already fulfilled the vision' (Q 37:105). Allah ransomed Ismail (peace be upon him) with a great sacrifice (Q 37:107, wa-fadaynahu bi-dhibhin 'azim); the Sunni tafsir tradition records this as a ram descended from Jannah. The Sunni qisas tradition (Ibn Kathir's Qisas al-Anbiya', al-Tha'labi's 'Ara'is al-Majalis, al-Tabari's Tarikh opening volumes) locates the event in the valley of Mina, between the plain of Arafat to the east and the shrine valley of Makkah to the west; the same tradition preserves that Shaytan attempted to dissuade Ibrahim (peace be upon him) three times during the journey to the sacrifice site, and Ibrahim (peace be upon him) drove him off by stoning him on three occasions, the foundational event of the rami al-jamarat (the stoning of the three pillars), the central rite of the Hajj on the 10th-12th of Dhul Hijjah. The annual sacrifice of al-Adha on the 10th of Dhul Hijjah re-enacts the foundational event, both the Hajj pilgrims at Mina and Muslims worldwide. The site of the original sacrifice is the valley of Mina; the dating is by anchor (the time of Ibrahim and Ismail peace be upon them), with no firm year in the Sunni qisas tradition. This scene depicts the moments after the divine ransom: the ram caught by its horns in the underbrush, the knife laid aside, the three jamarat pillars in the middle distance, no figures in the scene.
What you see
A narrow rocky valley in the bare sandstone hills east of the shrine valley, the valley of Mina. The sun is high; the floor of the valley is dressed stone and dust.
On a small rocky knoll in the valley, a ram caught by its horns in the underbrush, the ransom that descended at the divine command (Q 37:107, wa-fadaynahu bi-dhibhin 'azim). The knife is laid aside on a flat stone.
The Qur'anic narrative of the trial of Ibrahim and Ismail (peace be upon them): Ibrahim (peace be upon him) saw in a dream that he was sacrificing his son (Q 37:102); he told his son, who consented; Allah ransomed Ismail (peace be upon him) with a great sacrifice and declared the trial completed. The Qur'an: 'O Ibrahim! You have already fulfilled the vision' (Q 37:104-105).
The three jamarat, the three stone pillars commemorating Ibrahim's (peace be upon him) stoning of Shaytan when Shaytan tried to dissuade him from the sacrifice, are visible in the middle distance, standing in their original form (much smaller than the modern Saudi infrastructure). The Sunni hadith tradition records the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stoning the same pillars at the Farewell Hajj.
The light is the high light of central Arabian noon. The dating is by anchor: the time of Ibrahim and Ismail (peace be upon them). The valley of Mina lies between the plain of Arafat to the east and the shrine valley of Makkah to the west; the central rite of the Hajj traces this exact geography.
The narrative: Q 37:99-113. The Sunni qisas: Ibn Kathir, Qisas al-Anbiya'; al-Tha'labi; al-Tabari. The continuing rite: the sacrifice of 10 Dhul Hijjah at the Hajj re-enacts the foundational event.
Primary sources
The Qur'an, Surat al-Saffat 37:99-113: The principal Qur'anic narrative of the trial and the divine ransom.
Ibn Kathir, Qisas al-Anbiya' (14th c.): Standard Sunni stories of the prophets; the chapter on Ibrahim and Ismail (peace be upon them) preserves the narrative and the jamarat origin.
al-Tabari, Jami' al-Bayan (early 10th c.) and Tarikh: Standard Sunni tafsir and history.
Further reading & cross-references
al-Tha'labi, 'Ara'is al-Majalis: Sunni qisas compilation.
The continuing Hajj ritual: The annual sacrifice of 10 Dhul Hijjah at Mina, the rami al-jamarat, the standing Sunni religious practice preserving the foundational narrative in lived form.
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