Ismaili Interpretation (Ta’wil) of ‘Id al-Adha
Esoteric Meaning of Abraham’s Sacrifice according to Da‘i al-Qadi al-Nu‘man
“Do not forget that our branch of Islam is an esoteric branch of Islam. Esoteric means that what is written is there, but its meaning is not there to everyone. It is there only to those who are part of our Jamat. And it is important, therefore, that if you learn parts of the Qur’an, you should be able to explain the esoteric meaning of those parts… If you recite parts of the Qur’an, certain words must represent to you a concept. If you study the Qur’an-e-Sharif, this concept will become well known to you and through you to the Jamat at large. This takes many years of study, I do not want you to think that this can be learnt easily or without hard work.”
Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni,
Bombay, November 22, 1967
Precious Gems Vol. 1 (Karachi, 2008), 29
‘Id al-Adha commemorates the day when Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim)⁽ᶜ⁾ sacrificed his son Ishmael (Ismail)⁽ᶜ⁾ by the command of God. The exoteric version of the story as related in the Qur’an (Sura 37) describes how Abraham⁽ᶜ⁾ saw in a vision that God ordered him to sacrifice his son and as Abraham⁽ᶜ⁾ was about to slaughter Ishmael ⁽ᶜ⁾, God miraculously replaced Ishmael⁽ᶜ⁾ with a “momentous sacrifice” – which Muslim tradition identifies with a ram. According to the farmans of Mawlana Hazar Imam, Ismaili Muslims are required to understand the esoteric meaning of the story of Prophet Abraham’s sacrifice.
Contrary to the popular belief among many Muslims, Jews, and Christians, the Ismaili tradition has never understood the story of the sacrifice according to its literal apparent meaning. The true meaning of the story has nothing to do with God commanding His Prophet to literally kill his own child; such an order violates the eternal value of the sanctity of life and the immutable divine decree that prohibits the taking of an innocent life (Qur’an 5:32). Therefore, as Ismaili philosophers have always argued, there must be a deeper spiritual meaning to the story that conforms to the Qur’anic text, God-given intellect, and timeless divine values.