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Is the boy of whom Abraham (peace be upon him) was given glad tidings in the Almighty’s saying, "with a forbearing boy," and "with a knowing boy," one person or two?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Allah gave Abraham, peace be upon him, the glad tidings of a forbearing boy (ghulam haleem) in Surat As-Saffat, and this was Ishmael, peace be upon him. And He gave him the glad tidings of a knowing boy (ghulam 'aleem) in Surats Adh-Dhariyat and Al-Hijr, and this was Isaac, peace be upon him.

Two points indicate this: 1. Lineage: The knowing boy was announced to Sarah, and her son was Isaac, whereas Ishmael was the son of Hagar. 2. Context of the Verses: The Forbearing Boy: This is Ishmael, because he was the one Abraham was commanded to sacrifice, and afterwards, Abraham was given the glad tidings of Isaac, as in His (Allah's) saying: ﴿وَوَبَشَّرْنَاهُ بِإِسْحَاقَ نَبِيًّا مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ﴾ (And We gave him the glad tidings of Isaac, a prophet from among the righteous). And describing him as "forbearing" (haleem) is appropriate for his patience in being sacrificed. The Knowing Boy: This is Isaac, because the glad tidings concerning him were given to Abraham's wife, Sarah, and her son is Isaac. And Surat Hud explicitly stated that the one for whom glad tidings were given was Isaac.

The majority of exegetes are in agreement on this distinction between the two boys. Only Mujahid dissented with a weak and rejected opinion.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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