Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 3 – Issues of Tawḥīd and Sunnah, p. 20
Some speakers claim that among the ancestors of the Prophet ﷺ there were two “dhabīḥ” (offered for sacrifice):
❀ First — Prophet Ismāʿīl عليه السلام
❀ Second — the Prophet’s father, ʿAbdullāh (RA)
They cite the famous narration about ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib’s vow as evidence. This report’s authenticity requires examination.
Among Ṣaḥābah, Tābiʿīn, and later scholars, there was a difference whether the intended sacrifice in the Qurʾān (Ṣāffāt 101–107) was Ismāʿīl or Isḥāq عليهما السلام.
The stronger, majority opinion:
The dhabīḥ was Ismāʿīl عليه السلام, not Isḥāq.
① Ibn ʿAbbās (RA):
“He is Ismāʿīl.”
(Tafsīr Ibn Jarīr 9/518, ḥadīth 29579 – ṣaḥīḥ; al-Mustadrak 2/555, ḥadīth 4038 — declared authentic by Ḥākim on the conditions of Bukhārī & Muslim; agreed by al-Dhahabī)
② al-Shaʿbī (Tābiʿī):
He was Ismāʿīl, and the two horns of the ram were hung in the Kaʿbah.
(Tafsīr Ibn Jarīr 9/519, ḥadīth 2957 — ṣaḥīḥ)
③ Detailed in: Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr 5/350–351 (Ṣāffāt: 101)
④ Musnad Aḥmad:
When Ismāʿīl was laid down for sacrifice, he was wearing a white shirt.
(Musnad Aḥmad 1/297, ḥadīth 2707 — ṣaḥīḥ)
⑤ Trustworthiness of narrators:
Abū ʿĀṣim al-Ghunawī declared thiqah by Yaḥyā b. Maʿīn (al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl 9/414).
⑥ Muḥammad b. Kaʿb al-Qurazī (thiqa Tābiʿī) also held Ismāʿīl as the dhabīḥ (al-Mustadrak 2/555, ḥadīth 4039 — ḥasan).
The wording: “Anā ibn al-dhabīḥayn” — “I am the son of the two sacrificed ones” — has no authentic chain; it is baseless.
(See: Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Ṣaḥīḥah of al-Albānī, no. 331)
Summary:
When ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib dug the Zamzam well, he vowed that if he completed the task, he would sacrifice one of his sons. The lot fell upon ʿAbdullāh, father of the Prophet ﷺ. His maternal relatives advised that instead of killing him, 100 camels be offered, which was done.
Main references:
Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr (transl.) 4/442; al-Mustadrak 2/554, ḥadīth 4036
Date of Fatwā: 20 November 2010
Final Note: Hādhā mā ʿindī, wa-Allāhu aʿlam bi-al-ṣawāb
The Question
Some speakers claim that among the ancestors of the Prophet ﷺ there were two “dhabīḥ” (offered for sacrifice):
❀ First — Prophet Ismāʿīl عليه السلام
❀ Second — the Prophet’s father, ʿAbdullāh (RA)
They cite the famous narration about ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib’s vow as evidence. This report’s authenticity requires examination.
1. The Dispute Over Who the “Dhabīḥ” Was
Among Ṣaḥābah, Tābiʿīn, and later scholars, there was a difference whether the intended sacrifice in the Qurʾān (Ṣāffāt 101–107) was Ismāʿīl or Isḥāq عليهما السلام.
The stronger, majority opinion:
The dhabīḥ was Ismāʿīl عليه السلام, not Isḥāq.
Evidence from Early Authorities
① Ibn ʿAbbās (RA):
“He is Ismāʿīl.”
(Tafsīr Ibn Jarīr 9/518, ḥadīth 29579 – ṣaḥīḥ; al-Mustadrak 2/555, ḥadīth 4038 — declared authentic by Ḥākim on the conditions of Bukhārī & Muslim; agreed by al-Dhahabī)
② al-Shaʿbī (Tābiʿī):
He was Ismāʿīl, and the two horns of the ram were hung in the Kaʿbah.
(Tafsīr Ibn Jarīr 9/519, ḥadīth 2957 — ṣaḥīḥ)
③ Detailed in: Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr 5/350–351 (Ṣāffāt: 101)
④ Musnad Aḥmad:
When Ismāʿīl was laid down for sacrifice, he was wearing a white shirt.
(Musnad Aḥmad 1/297, ḥadīth 2707 — ṣaḥīḥ)
⑤ Trustworthiness of narrators:
Abū ʿĀṣim al-Ghunawī declared thiqah by Yaḥyā b. Maʿīn (al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl 9/414).
⑥ Muḥammad b. Kaʿb al-Qurazī (thiqa Tābiʿī) also held Ismāʿīl as the dhabīḥ (al-Mustadrak 2/555, ḥadīth 4039 — ḥasan).
Evidence from the Bible (Tawrāh)
- Ismāʿīl born when Ibrāhīm was 86 years old (Genesis 16:16)
- Isḥāq born when Ibrāhīm was 100 years old (Genesis 21:5)
- At the time of the sacrifice, the child was described as “your only son” (Genesis 22:15–16) — this can only refer to Ismāʿīl.
2. Ḥadīth “I am the son of the two dhabīḥ”
The wording: “Anā ibn al-dhabīḥayn” — “I am the son of the two sacrificed ones” — has no authentic chain; it is baseless.
(See: Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Ṣaḥīḥah of al-Albānī, no. 331)
3. The Story of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib’s Vow
Summary:
When ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib dug the Zamzam well, he vowed that if he completed the task, he would sacrifice one of his sons. The lot fell upon ʿAbdullāh, father of the Prophet ﷺ. His maternal relatives advised that instead of killing him, 100 camels be offered, which was done.
Main references:
Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr (transl.) 4/442; al-Mustadrak 2/554, ḥadīth 4036
Authenticity of the Report
- The chain contains ʿAbdullāh b. Saʿīd al-Ṣanābiḥī — majhūl (unknown).
(Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl 2/428, no. 4348) - al-Dhahabī: “Isnāduhu wāh” (Its chain is very weak). (Talkhīṣ al-Mustadrak 2/554)
4. Conclusion
- The stronger evidence shows Ismāʿīl عليه السلام was the original dhabīḥ in Qurʾānic history.
- The story of ʿAbdullāh (RA) being “sacrificed” due to ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib’s vow is weak and unproven.
- The phrase “two dhabīḥ” is not established from the Prophet ﷺ.
Date of Fatwā: 20 November 2010
Final Note: Hādhā mā ʿindī, wa-Allāhu aʿlam bi-al-ṣawāb
