It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abbas bin Abd al-Muttalib (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Prophet of Allah Dawud (peace be upon him) said: 'O my Lord, I hear people saying: the Lord of Ishaq.' So Allah Almighty said: 'Indeed, Ishaq gave his own life generously (in sacrifice) for Me.'" This hadith is sahih (authentic); people have narrated it from Ali bin Zayd bin Jud'an, and he is alone in narrating it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: "Sayyidah Sarah (peace be upon her) was ninety years old and Sayyiduna Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was one hundred and twenty years old. So when the fear left Ibrahim, and the glad tidings of Ishaq (peace be upon him) came to him, and he felt safe from those (angels) whom he had feared, he said: 'All praise is for Allah, who has granted me in old age Isma'il and Ishaq. Indeed, my Lord is the Hearer of supplication.' [Surah Ibrahim: 39] Then Jibril (peace be upon him) came to Sarah (peace be upon her) with the glad tidings and said: 'Receive the glad tidings of a child named Ishaq, and after Ishaq, of Ya'qub.' Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: So she struck her forehead in astonishment, and that is the saying of Allah Almighty: 'And she struck her face' [Surah al-Dhariyat: 29] , and she said: 'Shall I give birth while I am an old woman and this husband of mine is an old man? Indeed, this is an amazing thing.' They said: 'Are you amazed at the decree of Allah? The mercy of Allah and His blessings be upon you, O people of the house. Indeed, He is Praiseworthy, Glorious.' [Surah Hud: 72-73] ." Imam Bukhari used Ikrimah as evidence and Imam Muslim used al-Suddi as evidence, and the chain of this hadith is sahih (authentic), but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Ka'b al-Ahbar (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: "Then came Ishaq bin Ibrahim (peace be upon them both), whom Allah Almighty made a light, a radiance and a coolness of the eyes for his parents. He was the most handsome of people in face, the most beautiful, and the finest in speech. He was fair-skinned, with curly hair and beard, and he resembled Ibrahim (peace be upon him) in his outward form and his inner character (manners). Then Ya'qub and Aysa were born to Ishaq. Of the two, Ya'qub was the more handsome, the more eloquent, and the more beautiful and refined, while Aysa had much hair on his body, face and head, and he settled in Rum (the Byzantine lands), as Sayyiduna Samurah bin Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) concerning the saying of Allah Almighty: 'And We gave him glad tidings of Ishaq' [Surah al-Saffat: 112] , that he said: "This was the glad tidings of prophethood. He was given glad tidings of Ishaq (peace be upon him) twice: once when he was born, and a second time when he was made a prophet." The chain of this hadith is sahih (authentic), but the two Shaykhs did not record it. Mention of those who said that the one to be sacrificed (al-Dhabih) was Ishaq bin Ibrahim (peace be upon them both).

It is narrated from Ka'b al-Ahbar (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said to Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): "Shall I not tell you about the Prophet of Allah Ishaq bin Ibrahim (peace be upon them both)?" Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Certainly." Ka'b said: "When Ibrahim (peace be upon him) intended to sacrifice Ishaq (peace be upon him), Satan said (to himself): 'By Allah, if I do not tempt the family of Ibrahim on this occasion, I will never be able to tempt any of them.' So Satan appeared to them in the form of a man whom they knew. When Ibrahim (peace be upon him) went out with Ishaq (peace be upon him) to sacrifice him, Satan came to Sarah (peace be upon her), the wife of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), and asked her: 'Where has Ibrahim gone so early in the morning with Ishaq?' Sarah (peace be upon her) replied: 'He has gone for some errand of his.' Satan said: 'No, by Allah, he has not gone for that.' Sarah (peace be upon her) asked: 'Then why has he taken him?' He said: 'He has taken him in order to sacrifice him.' Sarah (peace be upon her) said: 'There is no such thing; he would never sacrifice his son.' Satan said: 'Yes indeed, by Allah (he will do so).' Sarah (peace be upon her) asked: 'Why would he sacrifice him?' He said: 'He claims that his Lord has commanded him to do so.' So Sarah (peace be upon her) said: 'If his Lord has commanded him to do so, then he has done very well to obey his Lord.' Satan left Sarah (peace be upon her) until he reached Ishaq (peace be upon him), who was walking behind his father, and said: 'Where is your father going so early in the morning?' He said: 'He is taking me along for some errand of his.' Satan said: 'No, by Allah, he is not taking you for some errand of his; rather, he is taking you in order to sacrifice you.' Ishaq (peace be upon him) said: 'My father would never sacrifice me.' He said: 'Yes indeed!' Ishaq (peace be upon him) asked: 'Why?' He said: 'He claims that Allah has commanded him to do so.' Ishaq (peace be upon him) said: 'By Allah, if Allah has commanded him, he will surely obey Him.' So Satan left him and hurried to Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and said: 'Where are you going so early in the morning with your son?' He said: 'I am going for some errand of mine.' He said: 'No, by Allah, you are taking him only to sacrifice him.' He said: 'Why would I sacrifice him?' He said: 'You claim that Allah has commanded you to do so.' So Ibrahim (peace be upon him) said: 'By Allah, if He has commanded me, I will certainly do it.' Ka'b said: Then when Ibrahim (peace be upon him) took hold of Ishaq (peace be upon him) to sacrifice him and Ishaq (peace be upon him) surrendered himself, Allah spared him and ransomed him with a great sacrifice. Ibrahim (peace be upon him) said to Ishaq (peace be upon him): 'O my son, get up, for Allah has excused (spared) you.' And Allah Almighty revealed to Ishaq (peace be upon him): 'I have granted you a supplication which I will answer for you.' Ishaq (peace be upon him) said: 'Then I supplicate You to answer this prayer of mine: whichever servant, from the first and the last, meets You in a state of not associating anything with You, admit him into Paradise.'" Imam al-Hakim says: The wording of this hadith is from the speech of Ka'b bin Mati' al-Ahbar, and had a chain (to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)) appeared in it, I would have judged it sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim), for this is a sahih chain on which there is no dust (doubt).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: "He is Ishaq (peace be upon him), meaning the one to be sacrificed (al-Dhabih, the one whom he was commanded to sacrifice)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: "The one whom Ibrahim (peace be upon him) intended to sacrifice was Ishaq (peace be upon him)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "The one to be sacrificed (al-Dhabih) was Ishaq (peace be upon him)." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs, but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: "Indeed, the rock which is at the foot of Mount Thabir, upon which Ibrahim (peace be upon him) intended to sacrifice Ishaq (peace be upon him), there a dusty-coloured ram descended upon him from the direction of Thabir, whose sound could be heard." Then he mentioned a long hadith.

Imam al-Waqidi (may Allah have mercy on him) says that it is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "When Ibrahim (peace be upon him) saw in a dream that he was to sacrifice Ishaq (peace be upon him), he took him by the hand." Then he mentioned the long hadith. Imam al-Hakim says: Al-Waqidi, with his chains of narration, has also mentioned this view from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah, Abdullah bin Salam, Umayr bin Qatadah al-Laythi, Uthman bin Affan, Ubayy bin Ka'b, Abdullah bin Mas'ud, Abdullah bin Amr and Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), and Allah knows best. And I have seen the shaykhs of hadith before us, and the shaykhs of all the cities in which we sought hadith, not differing on the point that the one to be sacrificed (al-Dhabih) was Isma'il (peace be upon him), and their basis for this is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "I am the son of the two who were to be sacrificed." For there is no disagreement that he (peace and blessings be upon him) is from the descendants of Isma'il (peace be upon him), and that the other one to be sacrificed was his immediate father, Abdullah bin Abd al-Muttalib. But now I find that the authors of this age prefer the view of those who say that the one to be sacrificed was Ishaq (peace be upon him). As for the narration reported from Wahb bin Munabbih, who is an authority in these branches of knowledge: