Ismaili Interpretation (Ta’wil) of ‘Id al-Adha

Esoteric Meaning of Abraham’s Sacrifice according to Da‘i al-Qadi al-Nu‘man

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“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.

For Ismaili Muslims, the popular story of Abraham⁽ᶜ⁾’s sacrifice of Ishmael⁽ᶜ⁾ and Ishmael⁽ᶜ⁾’s replacement with a “momentous sacrifice” holds an esoteric meaning (ta’wil) which is the reality (haqiqah) of the entire story. According to the Holy Qur’an (2:124)¹, Hazrat Abraham⁽ᶜ⁾ was the Imam of the time appointed by God and this Imamat continues by divine appointment in Abraham⁽ᶜ⁾’s progeny (2:128-129, 21:73, 4:54). “Sacrifice” means to “make sacred”. The Imam who bears the weight of the Imamat has sacrificed his entire life, soul and being in the perpetual service of God and humankind and this is the ultimate spiritual sacrifice.

Thus, the divine command for Abraham⁽ᶜ⁾ to sacrifice Ishmael ᶜ⁾ does NOT mean to slaughter him physically; it means for Abraham⁽ᶜ⁾ to appoint his son Ishmael⁽ᶜ⁾ as the successor to the Imamat after him. The great Ismaili jurist and Da‘i al-Qadi al-Nu‘man (d. 974), in his esoteric work Asas al-Ta’wil, teaches the correct interpretation of the Qur’anic verses about Abraham⁽ᶜ⁾ sacrificing his son through expounding the ta’wil of the Qur’an as follows:

“‘We gave him good news of a forbearing boy,’ (Qur’an 37:101) means ‘We mentioned that the boy is the candidate for the Imamat (al-murashah li l-imamah) and the trustee for the reception of the Word [of God] and he is Ishmael.’

‘And when the boy reached the age of running with him, he said: O my son. I see in the dream that I am sacrificing you’ (Qur’an 37:102) means ‘I am taking upon you the Covenant of Imamat (mithaq al-imamah) and establishing you as an Imam for the divine law.”

Abu Hanifa al-Qadi al-Nu‘man, Asas al-Ta’wil (Foundation of Revelatory Exegesis), 125

The Holy Qur’an then discloses that God substituted the sacrifice of Ishmael⁽ᶜ⁾ with something else called “a great sacrifice” (dhib ‘azim) - which the Muslim tradition identifies with a ram (or sometimes with a goat or a lamb).

« Qur’an 37:107 »

وَفَدَيْنَـٰهُ بِذِبْحٍ عَظِيمٍۢ

Wa fadaynahu bi-dhibhin ‘azim

“And We substituted him with a momentous sacrifice”

Al-Qadi al-Nu‘man provides the ta’wil (esoteric exegesis) of the substitution of Ishmael with a “sacrificial ram” as follows:

“The sacrifice (al-dhibh) in the esoteric sense (fī al-baṭin) is a symbol of the taking of the covenant (al-mithaq) because slaughter brings forth death and it is the silence of the movement of the physical body. Thus, he [Abraham] appointed Ishmael to the rank of spiritual interpretation (ta’wil) and secrecy and the establishment of the esoteric da‘wa and he appointed the ranks for it and he [Ishmael] was silenced from public teaching, explanation, and disputation with the exoteric. For that, he [Abraham] appointed Isaac instead of him [Ishmael]. Ishmael was in the rank of Foundation (al-asasiyyah) and Isaac instead of him was in the rank of [trustee] Imamate. This is the word of God: “And we substituted him with a great sacrifice”. It is said in the exoteric sense that he was substituted with a “ram”. The Arabs say about a man who is the chief protecting regent of his nation – ‘so-and-so is the “ram” of his nation’. Thus, the sacrifice in the esoteric sense is the taking of the covenant (al-mithaq) according to what we said. This is taken upon the Prophets, the Founders, and the Imams when they inhabited that…. Thus, Ishmael was substituted with Isaac and appointed to the rank of Foundership and Isaac instead of him was appointed in the rank of [trustee] Imamat.”

Abu Hanifa al-Qadi al-Nu‘man, Asas al-Ta’wil (Foundation of Revelatory Exegesis), 125

This means that Abraham⁽ᶜ⁾ subsequently appointed his second son Isaac⁽ᶜ⁾ to the Imamat to share the burden of Imamat with Ishmael ᶜ⁾.² Thus Abraham⁽ᶜ⁾’s two sons, Ishmael⁽ᶜ⁾ and Isaac⁽ᶜ⁾, succeeded to the Imamat: Mawlana Ishmael⁽ᶜ⁾ was the Permanent Imam (imam mustaqarr) and Hazrat Isaac⁽ᶜ⁾ was the Entrusted Imam (imam mustawda) established as a deputy and veil (hijab) for the Permanent Imams. As Henry Corbin explains, the “ram” with which God substitutes Ishmael⁽ᶜ⁾’s sacrifice is none other than Isaac⁽ᶜ⁾ himself:

"Here again the whole body of Ismaili Gnosis may be taken as a guide. By this Gnosis, Ishmael is regarded as the Spiritual Heir, the Imam who holds the secret of the Gnosis, while Isaac is a Veil: the veil or screen of the Letter which is placed before the Imam. The relationship between them corresponds to the fundamental distinction between the appointed and permanent Imam (mustaqarr), and an Imam who is merely a depository or curator (mustawda), established as a kind of protection during periods of danger and apparently performing the functions of the true Imam, while the latter remains hidden. Ishmael was the Upholder of the mystical meaning, of the esoteric science of ta'wil, while Isaac was before him as a Veil, maintaining the science of tanzil, of the revealed Letter and of positive religion. The same relationship is perpetuated in the course of their respective lineages… Whereas Moses established a new Law (shari'at), a new positive religion, the descendants of Ishmael continued and transmitted the esoteric message of Gnosis.”

Henry Corbin, Temple and Contemplation, 167

The above Ismaili understanding of Abraham’s sacrifice of both Ishmael and Isaac as their respective appointments to the Imamat is also found in post-Fatimid Ismaili literature. The Syrian Ismaili poem known as The Healing by Abu Firas (ca. 13th century) offers the same ta’wil of Abraham’s sacrifice as al-Qadi al-Nu‘man:

So the Light was divided into two halves
he designated the affair to two individuals.

So he designated Ishmael with the Imamat,
the locus of the complete divine lights.

And he designated Isaac with the rank of proclamation (nutq),
he undertook the exoteric (al-zahir) among the people.

He made the two vow to fulfil
the covenant, as they were both followers

Of the master of the Book and the Law,
the owner of glory and the sublime rank.

Ishmael was redeemed from the slaying of death
and the righteous Isaac was the sacrifice instead.

Abu Firas, al-Qasida al-Shafiya
Sami N. Makarem, al-Qasida ash-Shafiya (The Healing Poem) of Shihab ad-Din Abu Firas. Edited and Translated with a Commentary). University of Michigan, Ph.D. Dissertation, 1963, 97

Prophet Muhammadﷺ and Imam ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib⁽ᶜ⁾ descend from the hereditary Imams of the progeny of Ishmaelᶜ⁾ son of Abraham⁽ᶜ⁾. Today the living Imam is Shah Karim al-Ḥusayni⁽ᶜ⁾, Aga Khan IV. Today the spiritual sacrifice of Prophet Abraham⁽ᶜ⁾ and his son Mawlana Ishmael⁽ᶜ⁾ continue to be embodied and renewed in the lineage of Ismaili Imams and the person of Mawlana Hazar Imam⁽ᶜ⁾.

The 48th Imam, Mawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah⁽ᶜ⁾, Aga Khan III, with his two grandsons, Prince Amyn Muhammad⁽ᶜ⁾ and the 48th Imam’s future successor, Prince Karim al-Husayni⁽ᶜ⁾, Aga Khan IV

When he assumed the office of Imamat on July 11, 1957, Mawlana Hazar Imam⁽ᶜ⁾ boldly declared that he was dedicating his entire life and existence to serving his followers and the world of Islam:

“I have dedicated my life to the uplift and progress of the Ismailis all over the world and I pray for all your happiness and success.”

Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni Aga Khan IV, quoted in Willi Frischauer, The Aga Khans, 217)

“My grandfather dedicated his life to the Imamat and Islam, both of which came first, and above all other considerations.... I follow a great man in a great responsibility and he could have given me no more appreciated honour than to bequeath me this spiritual leadership. My life, as his, will be dedicated to the service of my followers.”

Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni Aga Khan IV, July 11, 1957, quoted in 25 Years in Pictures Silver Jubilee Publication Vol. 1

In a candid interview given in 1969, Mawlana Shah Karim al-Ḥusayni⁽ᶜ⁾ describes the struggles that he undergoes in fulfilling the mission of the Imamat:

“I hardly have time to think about myself. I have my moments of fatigue, anxiety, but without the feeling of abandonment. I am engaged. I have to weigh, to consider, to try make a wise decision. But, with my advisers, I escape the isolation. ‘Responsibility is a burden we love.’ I received from my grandfather responsibilities that are heavy but not burdensome. This is not a burden. It is a pleasure to dedicate oneself (de se consacrer = “to sacrifice oneself”) to such a community, to work for people. The responsibilities are a burden that we love to wear.”

Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni, Elle Magazine Interview with Paul Giannoli, “The Mystery of the Aga Khan”, August 20, 1969 (translated from French)

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

1. From the wisdom-filled and blessed verse 2:124, it is clear that God had made Hazrat Abraham the Imam of all people by saying: “I am going to appoint you an Imam for humankind.” The exalted Imam is the inheritor of Adam (warith-i Adam), the Imam of humankind (imamu’n-nas), the Imam of the righteous (imamu’l-muttaqin), the guide and the lord of the spiritual resurrection. The above statement is wholly based on Qur’anic wisdom. As such it provides absolute satisfaction. Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all human beings! (‘Allamah Nasir al-Nasir Hunzai, The Wise Qur’an and the World of Humanity, Vol. 1, 10).

2. Question 13: Who was sacrificed in the path of God? Whose title is dhabihu’llah - Hazrat-i Isma‘il⁽ᶜ⁾ or Hazrat-i Ishaq⁽ᶜ⁾? What is meant by dhibhin ‘azimin (37:107)?
Answer: The command of sacrifice was about Hazrat-i Isma‘il⁽ᶜ⁾ when instead of his body being sacrificed his soul was sacrificed, and this spiritual sacrifice was performed Hazrat-i Ishaq⁽ᶜ⁾ as well. Thus, instead of one pure individual, the spiritual sacrifice of two great souls was called a ‘great sacrifice’. In fact, it is the soul of every Perfect Man which is sacrificed (‘Allamah Nasir al-Nasir Hunzai, Qur’anic Minarets, 104).