Abstract:
Prophet Ibrāhīm is generally venerated as a symbol of monotheism and a break from pagan idolatry. While he is recognized as a hero of faith in Christianity, he is equally revered as the father of faith in Islam. Quite a good number of incidents in his life are used to justify this unique position of his as a sage. Part of his life experience is his childless marriage for years, and when he eventually had a child, he had a dream to slaughter and sacrifice him for Allah. This dream was to be actualized by him, as he took his only child out of the town and attempted to slaughter him for Allah. While Ibrāhīm’s faith is commendable, the command to slaughter his son generates some rhetorical questions, namely: why was he asked to slaughter his only son for Allah? Was it to test his Imān (faith) or a fulfilment of his vow to slaughter his son for Allah if given one? The objective of this study, therefore, is to explore the accounts of scholars on Prophet Ibrāhīm with a view to finding out the reasons for commanding him to sacrifice his only son and the implications of this on the personality of Prophet Ibrāhīm in particular and Islam in general.