Short Answer:
- Muslims sacrifice an animal to commemorate the events that happened to Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), peace be upon him.
- Prophet Ibrahim submitted to the Will of Allah. His son did too. When he was about to slaughter his son, Allah spared him of doing so. He ransomed his son with a great sacrifice that He sent.
- The point of this whole event is not the animal itself, or its meat or blood, but rather God-consciousness. It’s an occasion of mercy, sharing and remembrance of the mercy of God.
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The answer is no.
This is not the purpose of sacrificing animals in ‘Eid Al-Adha, and this is not how sins are forgiven. We will discuss the two issues here briefly.
First, with regards to the purpose behind the sacrificed animals, this is what Allah Almighty says in the Quran:
Their meat will not reach Allah, nor will their blood, but what reaches Him is piety from you. Thus have We subjected them to you that you may glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and give good tidings to the doers of good. (Quran 22: 34-37)
Sacrificing the animal commemorates the events that happened to Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), peace be upon him.
The Story of Ibrahim
What happened to him illustrated the meaning of true and pure monotheism, full belief, trust and reliance upon The Creator Allah Almighty, and how He rewards His sincere slaves.
(The story is mentioned in Quran, Chapter 37, Verses 99-113, for your reference.)
For a little background, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) had left his own father and his people when he found that they associated others with Allah Almighty and weren’t monotheists.
He choose to worship Allah alone. He rejected any false gods even if this meant leaving his own people. They wanted to burn him for insulting their false gods.
So he decided to leave them and remain on the straight path of pure monotheism. Ibrahim asked The Creator for a righteous son. Allah Almighty gave him a son. But He tested him with this gift.
The gifts that Allah gives us are not to take us away from His path. We should continue loving Him primarily as The Giver and appreciating and being faithful to Him above all else.
So Allah asked Ibrahim to slaughter his dear son.
While this is quite a heavy and difficult command for him, his heart was in full reliance and trust in Allah. He knew that whatever Allah decrees is the best for His slaves because He is the Most Merciful, The All Wise, All Knowing and Owner of everything in the heavens and the earth.
So Ibrahim submitted to the Will of Allah. His son did too. When Ibrahim was about to slaughter his son, Allah spared him of doing so. He ransomed his son with a great sacrifice that He sent.
The point of this trial was testing the attachments in the heart of Ibrahim and his son. Are they dedicated and in full faith, trust and belief in Allah, or are they full of fears, doubts or love for things in the mortal worldly life?
The Gifts Allah Blessed Him With
When Allah saw their sincerity in faith (which is the purpose of the creation of all mankind), He saved Ibrahim and his son from the difficult trial.
He ransomed his son with a great sacrifice, “A ram which had grazed in Paradise for forty years” (Tafsir Ibn Kathir).
Then, he gifted Ibrahim with another son—Ishaq (Isaac).
Later, and for all time, he gave Ibrahim an honorable reputation in later generations. Until the end of time people will remember him and learn from his story.
Allah also said, “peace upon Ibrahim”. This shows that the ultimate peace from the Source of Peace Himself is granted to those who have deep faith in Him and are in true submission to Him.
This word, submission, means that one is in line with the purpose of his/her creation, not fighting against that purpose of creation, and this gives a feeling of peace, serenity, stability, satisfaction and gratitude.
The Point is God-Consciousness
So, the point of this whole event is not the animal itself, or its meat or blood, but rather the God-consciousness, the true, pure and sincere faith of the believers in their Creator, because this is the essence of a meaningful relationship with Him.
Allah says what means:
And whosoever has taqwa of Allah (God-consciousness), He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish his purpose. Indeed Allah has set a measure for all things. (Quran 65:2-3)
And this is what happened to Ibrahim: he proved his faith in Allah despite the difficult situation, and Allah made a way out for him from this difficulty.
Allah wants to see the minds, hearts, and actions of His slaves submitting to Him and deeply connecting with Him as He orders and instructs. This is the true belief in and humility before The Creator.
He created those sacrificed animals and all other creation. Their blood won’t do anything to him. Nor will it affect the created beings if they don’t fix their own hearts, minds and actions.
So in the feast of Al-Adha, for example, if you look at what actually happens with the sacrifice of an animal, it actually brings benefit to us, not to God. God is free of need.
What happens is that we eat from what He has provided for us, feed the poor and share with our families.
It’s an occasion of mercy, sharing and remembrance of the mercy of God.
Also, it serves as remembrance of His mercy on Prophet Abraham- peace be upon him- and the fact that He spared Him from having to slaughter his own son. It is the mercy we celebrate.
And God loves those who are grateful to Him, and those who observe what He is doing, what He is giving and are thankful.
In the next part, we will discuss sin and repentance.
If God is The Just, why would He accept that I throw my sins on someone/something else?
If He is Al-Ghany (The Free of Need) why would the blood, flesh, etc. benefit Him?
How could blood remove my sin or how could it realistically fix the problem or make me sincerely lead a righteous life as God ordered?
(From Ask About Islam’s archives)
Ask yourself this: if God is The Just, why would He accept that I throw my sins on someone/something else?
If He is Al-Ghany (The Free of Need) why would the blood, flesh, etc. benefit Him?
How could blood remove my sin or how could it realistically fix the problem or make me sincerely lead a righteous life as God ordered?
True Justice
Imagine if a judge in your district—instead of imprisoning and punishing a rapist/criminal/thief—imprisons and punishes an innocent person.
Does this make him a good judge? More importantly, will this really solve the problem when the innocent is punished and the wrongdoers are spared? Wouldn’t this spread more corruption?
The best thing to do is to have the wrong-doers rectify what THEY have done. This is beneficial to them and to everyone else.
How would someone else’s blood, or some animal’s blood, change my heart? It’s like we wish to delegate our own work to someone else or something else to avoid taking responsibility and sincere actions to fix our lives.
Allah won’t allow injustice by having someone else who is innocent carry other’s sins. It goes against God’s Justice and Mercy.
He says:
If you disbelieve, then God is not in need of you; He likes not disbelief for his slaves. And if you are grateful, He is pleased therewith for you. No bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another. Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you what you used to do. He is the All-Knower of that which is in the breasts (Of men). (Quran 39:07)
Allah is capable of forgiving easily, and He is not in need of spilled blood.
He wants to see His slaves working sincerely in rectifying their affairs because when they lead a righteous meaning life as He prescribes, they’ll be able to learn more about Him and connect with Him, know and love Him deeply and yearn for the eternal life near Him.
So, each person is responsible for his/her own action, no one carries any body’s burden or sins,Allah who created each and every person with love, dignity and honor wants to see His created beings living up to the purpose they were created for.
No Original Sin
The Quranic perspective illustrates that human beings are innocent in nature, not sinful.
Allah doesn’t judge you on how bad you’ve been in the past or how bad your ancestors have been, but on how good you strive to become.
This goes back to the story of Adam and Eve- peace be upon them both. Take a look at what their story says in one location in the Quran for example:
And We said, “O Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in Paradise and eat therefrom in [ease and] abundance from wherever you will. But do not approach this tree, lest you be among the wrongdoers.”But Satan caused them to slip out of it and removed them from that [condition] in which they had been. And We said, “Go down, [all of you], as enemies to one another, and you will have upon the earth a place of settlement and provision for a time.”Then Adam received from his Lord [some] words, and He accepted his repentance. Indeed, it is He who is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful. (Quran 2:35-37)
So, as you see, repentance is important, and acceptance of repentance is based on correcting one’s acts and leading righteous life with sincerity and perseverance.
God Wants Piety
God wants piety in that He wants His creations to lead righteous life out of true knowledge of Him, true understanding, genuine love of Him, and patience and perseverance on His path.
So, salvation in Islam is through knowledge and action, not symbolic terms. It is a life journey. It’s a process. Repentance and God’s Mercy and Forgiveness are essential to understanding this point.
Allah’s Names include The Perpetual Forgiver. He forgives sins so long as people do the following:
1- Repent sincerely and wholeheartedly.
2- Stop the sin and do not go back to doing it.
3- Regret it and acknowledge how wrong it was.
4- Continue to do righteous deeds and remain on the path of righteousness.
This is how one rectifies his own life and make conscious intellectual, emotional and physical effort to stop a sin.
The Doors of Forgiveness Are ALWAYS Open
Allah said in a Hadith Qudsi:
“O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it. ”
The doors of forgiveness are always open, but you’ll notice here that the key is sincerity in continuing on the right path. If you slipped, you repent again and again.
God wants His creations to lead righteous lives out of true knowledge of Him, true understanding, genuine love of Him, and patience and perseverance on this path.
And this is what we’re living for and striving to achieve.
This is why we celebrate and commemorate Prophet Ibrahim as a noble Prophet who proved his true and sincere belief, commitment and faith in the Creator and perseverance on His path.
I hope this answers your question.
Salam and please keep in touch.
(This is from AboutIslam’s archives and was published previously)
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