# Did the classical scholars ever question whether God would command Ibrahim to kill his son?

*The scholars of the past debated every side issue but not the elephant in the room*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/yruc09ajkeq/s/7/
- Date: 2020-10-28 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: "God did NOT ask Abraham to sacrifice his son" | Mufti Abu Layth (21:09–23:45)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRuC09ajKEQ&t=1269s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/yruc09ajkeq/

**Topics:** Tafsir and verse study; Stories of the prophets; Legal theory and method

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Mufti Abu Layth says earlier scholars debated the side issues, such as rulings coming through dreams or abrogation before an act, but none asked whether God would want a father to kill his son. He satirises the discussions as all grammar and no elephant in the room.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says the scholars of the past discussed every subsidiary question of the sacrifice story without ever asking whether God would want a father to kill his son.

**Evidence, his words at 22:54:** “uh nobody's discussing the fact that wait a minute god said kill your son i mean what to make me happy can somebody discuss this” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRuC09ajKEQ&t=1374s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth says he too grew up with the belief and only questioned it on reflection. He observes that the scholars of the past discussed everything around the story: whether the dream was a vision, whether God can command something and abrogate it before it is carried out, whether rulings can come through dreams or at night. He satirises the discussion as a meeting that covers every linguistic and grammatical point, down to whether the animal was a ram and which word is used for it, while nobody raises what he calls the elephant in the room, that God supposedly wanted a father to kill his son for his own pleasure. He says none of them discuss that and the chapter is concluded as if there were nothing more to say.

## Sources and names cited

- Ibrahim
- naskh (abrogation)
- ru'ya (dream vision)

## Transcript (machine tier, 21:09–23:45)

[20:57] yo as allah says in the quran now this is it's never acceptable honestly and i understand that many muslims do believe that because they've just been brought up with the judeo-christian stories and they're just going with it and they're not really thinking about it you know it's like many of those believe it's like when i grew up with it i didn't really think about it i just accepted it and it's only upon introspective kind of analysis that a person thinks that wait a minute this doesn't actually make sense uh and what's interesting the scholars of the past too i have scholars you know sometimes you got

[21:36] the scholars of the past are discussing all these things on it like and all these other they're debating all these things on it like they'll say hmm so you know like they'll discuss this does this mean that the dream that he saw it or did it come to him in a vision like was it was it so they'll discuss this and then they'll discuss all these other things like okay so there's the ruling that uh can god instruct something and abrogate it before he even uh has you acted out can god this also shows ah it shows the interesting masala of uh akam rulings can come via dreams uh oh another interesting point it covers

[22:15] the topic this is them the interesting point here that we can discuss uh rulings also come at night time or during sleep and they come out [Laughter] and the elephant in the room the elephant in the room is a cha cha cha so god wanted a dad to kill his son to get a kick out of it does anybody want to discuss this [Laughter] none of them discuss that they'll just go yes so it's really interesting is there anything out any other anything else on the agenda anything you're like

[22:54] they're like anything no no oh yeah there is there is there is there's a linguistic term we need to debate why was the word uh you know for they now used what uh what was the sheep that that that's an interesting point we before we conclude what was the sheep that was sacrificed was it a ram was it uh [Laughter] uh nobody's discussing the fact that wait a minute god said kill your son i mean

[23:32] what to make me happy can somebody discuss this nothing nothing else all linguistic any grammatical or grammar done okay so we've concluded this chapter nothing more to discuss here ah right so i think look i'm not blaming muslims who believe in this or look this belief is blasphemous but i'm not saying to individual muslims you guys are blaspheming because i genuinely don't think that they've

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment yRuC09ajKEQ/s/7. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/yruc09ajkeq/s/7/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.