The Un-Recorded Sacrifice

… the voice of a young boy calling, Father, This was followed by a much older male voice asking, what is it, Isaac, We have the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering, and the father replied, The lord will provide a lamb as the burnt offering.

About three days ago, at most, he had said to Abraham, the father of the young boy carrying the firewood on his back, Take your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of Moriah and offer him up for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, later I will tell you which one.

The logical, natural and simply human response would have been for Abraham to tell the lord to piss off, but that isn't what happened. The following morning, that unnatural father rose early to saddle up the donkey, prepared wood for the sacrificial fire and set off to the place the lord had indicated, taking with him two servants and his son Isaac.

When he reached the place of which the lord had spoken, Abraham built an altar and placed the wood on it. He then tied up his son and lifted him on to the altar, on top of the wood. Without pausing, he took up his knife in order to sacrifice the poor boy and was just about to slit his throat (Saramago, 2011: 64-65).

In his novel Cain, José Saramago in his distinctive style recounts the story of Abraham taking his son Isaac to be sacrificed. According to the Surah As-Saffat in the Qur'an:

When his son was old enough to work with him, he said, ‘My son, I have had a dream that I must sacrifice you. What do you think of this?’ He replied, ‘Father, fulfill whatever you are commanded to do and you will find me patient, by the will of God’. When they both agreed and Abraham had lain down his son on the side of his face (for slaughtering), We called out to him, ‘O Abraham! You have already fulfilled the vision.’ Indeed, this is how We reward the good-doers. That was truly a revealing test. And We ransomed his son with a great sacrifice.1 (Sarwar: 102-107)

According to Sûrah Sâffât in th