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Religion, at its highest and best, is the devotion of the
total self, through service and adoration, to the Almighty Who
controls the universe. In this sense all the manifold rites,
consecrations, and purifications, offerings and sacred feasts,
all the working of asceticism and morality are only the
indirect expression of the inner experience of religion-the
experience of trust, surrender, yearning and enthusiasm.
Sacrifice, whether that of wealth or desires, is the practical
proof of man's devotion to his Creator. It is in fact religion
in action.
The Holy Qur'an expresses this attitude of mind and heart
in the following words:" Say: Truly, my prayer and my
service of sacrifice, and my living and my dying are for God
(alone), the Sustainer of all the worlds, in Whose Divinity
none has a share. Thus I have been bidden-and I am foremost
among those who surrender themselves unto Him" (vi.
162-163).
The 'Id al-Adha is commemorative of that unparalleled act
of devotion of that noble soul. Abraham (peace be upon him),
who, in obedience to the Command of his Lord, readily offered
the life of his son Isma'il. The Holy Qur'an narrates this
soul- stirring event in these words:" And when he (Isma'il)
attained the age to assist him in his (Abrahm's) work, he
(Abraham) said: O my son! I see in vision that I offer thee in
sacrifice. Now see what is thy view. The son said: O my
father, do as thou art commanded. Thou wilt find me, if God so
wills, patient. So when they both had surrendered themselves
to (Allah), and he laid him down prostrate on his forehead
(for sacrifice), We called out to him: O Abraham, thou hast
indeed fulfilled the vision. Thus do We reward the doers of
good. Surely this is a manifest trial. And We ransom- ed him
with a great sacrifice. And We left (this blessing) for him
among the later generations. Peace be upon Abraham I Thus
indeed do We reward those who do good; for he was one of Our
believing servants" (xxxvii. 102-111)
In the above-quoted verses 'axim (great), the adjective
qualifying" Sacrifice." may be understood both in
literal and figurative sense. In literal sense it implies that
a big ram was substituted. The figurative sense is even more
important. It was indeed a great and momentous occasion, when
two men with concentrated will ranged themselves in ranks of
those to whom self-sacrifice in the service of God was the
supreme thing in life. Similarly, the words" thou hast
indeed fulfilled the vision" show that it was not in fact
the act of slaughtering which was needed for the fulfilment of
the vision, but it was the attitude of submission and
surrender, an attitude of preparedness to sacrifice one's all
in the path of Allah. that was demanded of Abraham and his
illustrious son, and they eminently stood this test.
Readiness to Sacrifice One's Life. In Islam the act of
sacrifice is the symbol of a Muslim's readiness to lay down
his life, and to sacrifice all his interests and desires in
the cause of truth. The purpose of sacrifice is not fulfilled
only by shedding the blood of an animal, but it is really
fulfilled when a man submits himself completely to the command
of Allah. This has been clearly laid down in Sura Hajj, verse
37;" Not their flesh, nor their blood reaches Allah, but
it is the piety from you that reaches Him." This verse
eloquently speaks of the fact that sacrifice in Islam is
nothing else than a natural expression of homage and gratitude
to the Creator. It is the spirit of willing devotion and
cheerful obedience underlying sacrifices that is accepted by
Allah Who is the Fountainhead of all morality. It is only
piety of heart. nobility of soul and righteousness of conduct,
that is acceptable to Him. It is essentially symbolic, an
external symbol of dedication, devotion to Allah. Tafsir Ibn
Kathir stresses this point:" The man who offers sacrifice
should keep this fact uppermost in his mind that the most
important motive behind this is the willing submission to
Allah" ' (Vol. VI, p. 183).
Such truths, so self-evident to the Muslim readers, needed
a clear and emphatic enunciation in view of the horrible
misconceptions which had crowded round the act of sacrifice
before Islam.
" Throughout the Semitic field," observes
Robertson Smith, in his well known book. The Religion of the
Semitics, the fundamental idea of sacrifice was that of
communion between the God and his worshipper by joint
participation in the living flesh and blood of a sacred
victim" (p. 49).
" The Greeks also looked upon sacrifice as a
'Communion feast' with the Divinity, in which the God and his
people became of one flesh by partaking together of the flesh
of the victim; the animal was regarded, as in some degree,
divine, as having the divine spirit incarnate in it. Among the
Babylonians the gods feast in heaven, they eat the offerings,
they scent the savour, like flies do they gather themselves
together with the offerers" (Hastings, Encyclopedia of
Rdigion & Ethics, Article" Sacrifice" ).
The Holy Qur'an strikes at the very root of such wrong
concepts of sacrifice and asserts that" it is neither the
flesh nor the blood of (animals) that reaches Allah, but it is
your piety that reaches Him," for God does not stand In
need of food or blood. What He, in fact, desires is the
devotion and piety of our hearts. and, as a symbol of such
offer, the visible institution of sacrifice has been
instituted. The Holy Qur'an has further elucidated the main
parpose of the institution of sacrifice." For every
people did We appoint rites (of sacrifice) that they might
celebrate the name of God over the sustenance He gave them
from animals (fit for food). But your God is One God. Sub- mit
then your wills to him (in Islam).... The sacrificial camels
We have made for you as among the symbols from God. In them is
(much) good for you So mention the name of Allah on them
standing in a row. Then when they fall down on their sides,
eat of them, feed the contented one and the beggar. Thus have
We made them subservient to you that you may be grateful"
(xxii. 34-38).
The Qur'an testifies to the historical fact that whatever
may be the outward symbols of sacrifice, it has been accepted
in one form or another by all the nations of the world. It had
been a fundamental element of both Jewish and Gentile
religions, and Christianity. It had been corrupted by many
wrong practices and been overlaid by many wrong notions before
the advent of Islam. Islam purifies it from all wrong notions
and practices connected with it, and makes it explicitly clear
that the act of sacrifice is an outward symbol of man's
readiness to lay down his life, if required, and to surrender
all his interests in the cause of truth and righteousness.
The words" We have made them (subservient) to
you" have a very wide significance. A Muslim has been
awakened to the realisation of the fact that if they offer as
a sacrifice an animal over which they hold control, it is
their bounden duty to lay down their lives in the way of
Allah, Who is not only their Master, but also their Creator
and Sustainer and Who. therefore, exercises a far greater
authority over them than they do over the animals. This should
be the true motive of sacrifice, and it is with this spirit
that this act should be performed.
The Qur'anic words" To Him is acceptable observance of
duty on your part" make it abundantly clear that the
prevalent idea of atonement that" it is the blood that
maketh an atonement for the soul" (Leviticus; 17: 11) has
no foundation in Islam. The expiation of sin in Islam rests
entirely on the good deeds of men, repentance of the Winners
and the Forgiving and Merciful nature of God 'This fact cuts
the ground from under the feet of any theory of an atoning
sacrifice.
The opening verse" For every people did We appoint
rites (of sacrifice) that they might celebrate the name of God
over the beast cattle wherewith He bath provided them,"
speaks of the fact that the very idea of human sacrifice is
repugnant to the true religion and Allah has never given it
sanction.
This practice of human sacrifice was not uncommon before
Islam." Both on the mainland of Greece and in the Greek
colonies human sacrifice was practised, usually as a means
towards expulsion of evil" (Encydopaedia Britannica,
Article'on" Sacrifice" ). it occupied a prominent
place in the ritual of the mother goddesses of ancient times.
" The ordinary form of sacrifice," says E. O.
James, in his famous book, The origins of Sacrifice,"
consisted in stripping the victim of his ornaments, stretching
him over the convex sacrificial stones and while fare priests
held his arms, legs, head, the high priests or sacrificer cut
open his breast with a flint or obsidian knife, and tore out
the heart. This was held up to the sun to provide it with
nourishment, before it was cast into a basin of Copal placed
in a position to enable the blood and incense to ascend to the
gods. The body was hurled down the steps of the temple to the
court where it was seized by the priest or by the warrior who
captured the victim. Some times a solemn feast was then held
on the flesh, the skin having first been removed to be worn
ceremonially by men who seem to have acquired thereby the
fertilising nd health-giving qualities of the victim. Some of
the blood was carried to certain temples and smeared on the
hips of the images of gods" (pp. 84-6).
Islam has not only exterminated the very idea of human
sacrifice, but has completely ended all such inhuman practices
which were very common with the people before Islam. The Holy
Qur'an makes a pointed reference to the fact that this
sacrifice of animals is commemorative of Abraham's offer of
his son's life at the Command of Allah, who was substituted by
a ram, and it has been perpetuated by Islam. It is narrated
that once the Companions of the Holy Prophet (may peace be
upon him) asked him about the sacrifice. He replied:"
This is commemorative Sunnah of your father Abraham"
(vide Ibn Kathir, Vol. III, p. 221). That this practice of
sacrifice was already prevalent amongst the people before
Islam can be well borne out by the fact that we find clear
references to it in the poetry of pre-Islamic Arabia. The
well. known poet Umayya observes:
Abraham was one who would fulfil the pledges and offer
sacrifices for Allah's sake.
Thus he offered the life of his only son whose separation
and whose risk of life, he could not bear.
He said," O my son I have pledged you to Allah.
May I sacrifice my life for you!
Be steadfast and firm."
He had hardly taken off the shirt of his son, when Allah
substituted Isma'il by a stout ram.
Not only this practice of sacrifice has been preserved in
Islam, but even the way of Abraham's has been declared to he
one of righteousness and truthfulness:
" Say: Behold, my Lord has guided me to a way that is
straight-a religion of Right Path-the Path (trodden) by
Abraham, who was wholly devoted to God, and was not of those
who ascribe divinity to any beside him" (vi. 161).
Even the Millat has been assigned a name after the name of
Abraham:
" He hath selected you and hath not placed upon you
any hardship in religion-the religion of your father, Abraham.
He named you Muslims before this, and in this, that the
Messenger may be a witness to you and you may he witnesses to
mankind" (xxii. 78).
Historical Continuity, The constant reference to the
earlier Prophets and the Qur'anic testimony to their
righteousness and the preservation of some of their religious
practices have been done to awaken the people to the
realisation of a fundamental fact, i. e. the fact of the
historical continuity of religious experience. The Muslims
have been asked to believe in that which has been revealed
unto Prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon him) as well as in
that which was revealed before him. Life-so the Qur'an teaches
us-is not a series of disconnected parts but a continuous,
organic process: and this law applies also to the law of the
mind, of which man's religious experience (in its cumulative
sense) is a part. To make religious experience more living, to
set Allah the Ever-living with loving vividness before the
eyes of living men, to make them feel Him as actually and
eternally present in their lives, man needs a path, clear-cut
path, lightened with glories of the Messengers of Allah-a path
on which one should not feel lonely but the strength of
comradeship of those noble souls upon whom Allah has bestowed
His choicest blessings.
A few words may be said about the way how an animal should
be slaughtered according to the teachings of Islam. Three are
the aims which should be kept before the mind while
slaughtering the animal:
It should be slaughtered by reciting the name of Allah and
glorifying Him.
It should be slaughtered with a sharp knife so that its
jugular vein may be cut with the minimum possible pain and its
skin should not be removed and limbs should not be cut so long
as there is any sign of life in it.
The head should not be removed from the body abruptly but
only the jugular vein should be cut so that even the last drop
of blood flows out of its body. If the animal is beheaded with
a stroke, the blood congeals in its veins which makes the
flesh distasteful and pernicious to health
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