Voice of British Muslim Women

Today we celebrate Eid ul Adha, also known as the Eid of sacrifices. The concept of sacrifice in Islam related to Eid ul Adha stems from the forefather of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him), namely Prophet Abraham (peace be on him).

To give some perspective to the incident of the ultimate sacrifice which we commemorate on Eid ul Adha, we go back and trace the story of Prophet Abraham (peace be on him). He was commanded to lead both his wife Hagar and infant child Ishmael to an isolated, dry strip of land between the two hills of Safa and Marwa, which is where Mecca is situated today. He was commanded to leave them there. Hagar asked Prophet Abraham why he was leaving them there, he could not say a word. She could not a see any living being around neither a source of water to replenish her waterskin. She asked this question several times, but Prophet Abraham was full of emotions. In the end Hagar asked if he was doing so because of Allah, and Prophet Abraham pointed to the heavens. Hagar was determined that she and Ishmael will not perish even in such drastic conditions, as Allah was with them. When Prophet Abraham had gone further atop the hill and could not see his wife and child, he recited this prayer mentioned in the Holy Quran in chapter 14 verse 38:

“Our Lord, I have settled some of my children in an uncultivable valley near Thy Sacred House,—our Lord,—that they may observe Prayer. So make men’s hearts incline towards them and provide them with fruits, that they may be thankful.”

The mother and son were struggling in that wilderness and as the child became hungry, he started crying. The mother placed the child under a shrub to protect him from the scorching sun and then went to search for water. She went back and forth running between the hills to no avail. On her return she found that there was a spring of clear water gushing out from under the stamping feet of Ishmael. As the years went by, the trading caravans, having come to know of a spring of water, made it a resting place. The Bedouin tribes who used to wander about with their flocks of sheep, goats and camels in search of water, settled there. In the course of time, there grew up a community around these solitary dwellers of that wilderness and they thrived in it.

Many years later when the son Ishmael (peace be on him) was grown, another trial by Allah to Prophet Abraham came to pass. It is mentioned in the Holy Quran chapter 37 verses 103 to 112 that:

“And when he was old enough to work with him, he said, ‘O my dear son, I have seen in a dream that I am slaughtering thee. So consider, what thou thinkest of it!’ He replied, ‘O my father, do as thou art commanded; thou wilt find me, if Allah please, steadfast in my faith.

And when they both submitted to the Will of God, and he had thrown him down on his forehead,

We called to him: ‘O Abraham,

‘Thou hast indeed fulfilled the dream.’ Thus indeed do We reward those who do good.

That surely was a manifest trial. And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice. And We left for him a good name among the following generations —‘Peace be upon Abraham!’ Thus do We reward those who do good. Surely, he was one of Our believing servants.”

In commemoration of this great spirit of sacrifice, on the day of Eid ul Adha those Muslims who can afford to sacrifice an animal are enjoined to do so after Eid Prayer. The Holy Qur’an explains the real object and purpose of sacrifice and teaches a supreme lesson, that it is not the outward act of sacrifice which pleases God but the spirit underlying it and the motive behind it. The flesh or blood of the slaughtered animal does not reach God, it is righteousness of the heart which is acceptable to Him. God demands and accepts total sacrifice of all that is near and dear to us—our material possessions, the ideals that are so dear to us, our honour and life itself. In reality, God wants and demands no offering from us in the form of flesh and blood of animals but the offering of our hearts.

The Promised Messiah (peace be on him), founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community described this concept of sacrifice in a sermon he delivered at the occasion of Eid ul Adha which is called the Revealed Sermon. He explained that the action of sacrificing an animal is counted as one of those that draws one near to Allah. And it is for this reason that the animals to be sacrificed are called in Arabic as Qurbani, the root word for this being Qurb meaning nearness in Arabic; all those who perform this sacrifice sincerely and devotedly and faithfully become nearer to Allah.

Ref: Muslim Sunrise 1953 edition