THE CHANGE IN THE COMMAND TO SACRIFICE ISHMAEL: ABROGATION (NASKH) OR ALTERATION OF DIVINE DECREE (BADĀ’)?

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Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah the Almighty be upon you.

My noble master, may Allah reward you abundantly for all your efforts toward the intellectual advancement of the religion and the school of thought.

I am not worthy of commenting, but if you would kindly permit me to ask a question regarding what you graciously clarified: based on my limited understanding, you mentioned the example of badā’ in relation to the sacrifice of Ismail and how it changed...

This humble questioner finds that this type of reasoning falls under the domain of legislation and religious obligation (taklīf), and therefore would be considered an example of naskh (abrogation), not badā’, since it involved a divine command to Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to perform the sacrifice.

With this, I extend to you my sincere appreciation and respect.

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Peace and blessings of Allah be upon you,

There are two aspects to the story of the sacrifice (al-Dhabīḥ, peace be upon him):

1. A legislative aspect (janbah tashrīʿiyyah): As you graciously mentioned, this relates to the divine command to perform the sacrifice. Compliance with this command is an act of obedience to Allah and submission to His decree. This indeed aligns more appropriately with the concept of naskh (abrogation), since the ruling was changed and the command to sacrifice was lifted.

2. A creational (ontological) aspect (janbah takwīnīyyah): This pertains to whether Ismail’s (peace be upon him) life was to end or continue. If we view this story and the change in decree from the perspective that the original divine will (qadar) was for Ismail to be sacrificed, and then Allah altered that decree to a new one in which he was not sacrificed and remained alive—then this serves as a clear example of the transformation of destiny, the alteration of decrees, and their change based on obedience or disobedience. This, without any doubt, falls under the concept of badā’.

Thus, the concept of bada’ (apparent change in divine will) applies to this story, because Allah Almighty is capable of altering the lifespan of Isma'il and of extending it — especially after his complete submission to this matter, despite its difficulty and bitterness, along with the submission of his father, Ibrahim (peace be upon him), despite his deep love for his son who was born as a divine miracle.

So when we interpret bada’ from a Shi'i perspective as a matter of 'manifestation' or 'disclosure' (rather than actual change in divine knowledge), then this story fits under that definition and serves as an instance of bada’. Therefore, it is valid to cite it as an example and proof of bada’. It is a testimony to how things appeared to us — and to Ibrahim and Isma'il (peace be upon them) — based on the apparent meanings of the texts, their general wording, and certain contextual clues, that the slaughter would indeed occur, and that Isma'il’s life would come to an end.

But we did not know that this was not a decreed inevitability (qat‘i), but rather a conditional, suspended, and contingent decree — dependent on submission and obedience, for example — and that the apparent meaning was not the true intent. In reality, the event would not occur, and what would manifest and become evident in the realized outcome would be something else, contrary to what appeared. All of this was nothing but a pure test, a trial, and an examination — and Allah knows best.

Thus, it becomes clear that this example is valid as an instance of bada’. We thank you for your attention, participation, and communication with the center.

May you remain under the protection of Allah.

Reference

The original text in Arabic can be found here

_________________________________________

Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah the Almighty be upon you.

My noble master, may Allah reward you abundantly for all your efforts toward the intellectual advancement of the religion and the school of thought.

I am not worthy of commenting, but if you would kindly permit me to ask a question regarding what you graciously clarified: based on my limited understanding, you mentioned the example of badā’ in relation to the sacrifice of Ismail and how it changed...

This humble questioner finds that this type of reasoning falls under the domain of legislation and religious obligation (taklīf), and therefore would be considered an example of naskh (abrogation), not badā’, since it involved a divine command to Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to perform the sacrifice.

With this, I extend to you my sincere appreciation and respect.

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