Sacrifice in Islam?

[Genesis315]

From as early as Cain and Abel, man offered sacrifice to God. In the OT every time one of the patriarchs goes someplace new, he builds an altar and offers sacrafice. Later, God commands the building of the temple, and sets up a priesthood to offer the sacrifices.

Do Muslims offer sacrifice? If not, why not?

Jews no longer do because the temple was destroyed (sidenote: I read somewhere that some Jews still offer small ones, is this true?)

Protestants no longer offer sacrifice to God because they believe the Crucifixion put an end to it.

Catholics offer Christ’s sacrifice to God every Mass.

How do Muslims offer sacrifice today, or if they do not, why do they not?

 

[hawk]

Genesis315:

From as early as Cain and Abel, man offered sacrifice to God. In the OT every time one of the patriarchs goes someplace new, he builds an altar and offers sacrafice. Later, God commands the building of the temple, and sets up a priesthood to offer the sacrifices.

Do Muslims offer sacrifice? If not, why not?

Jews no longer do because the temple was destroyed (sidenote: I read somewhere that some Jews still offer small ones, is this true?)

Protestants no longer offer sacrifice to God because they believe the Crucifixion put an end to it.

Catholics offer Christ’s sacrifice to God every Mass.

How do Muslims offer sacrifice today, or if they do not, why do they not?

The feast of Eid al-Adha (feast of the sacrafice)

There is however no sacrafice for the payment of sins.

Infact islam doesnt believe that one must pay for sins, but rather if one commits sins and repents, then Allah **may** forgive you. If you do not repent Allah will send you to jahanam (hell).

 

[Genesis315]

hawk:

The feast of Eid al-Adha (feast of the sacrafice)

There is however no sacrafice for the payment of sins.
 
Infact islam doesnt believe that one must pay for sins, but rather if one commits sins and repents, then Allah **may** forgive you. If you do not repent Allah will send you to jahanam (hell).

Would this feast be a sacrifice offered to God in the same way as the Jewish animal sacifice or the Mass? Or is it a feast to celebrate that Ishmael was spared? What do Muslims think of the early Jewish practice of sacrificing animals to God ( as atonement for sins, giving thanks, etc.)?

 

[r.gonzales]

hawk:

There is however no sacrafice for the payment of sins.

not true. you have to sacrifice if you make a mistake during hajj. and one of the payments for accidentally killing a person is to sacrifice 100 camels.

hawk:

Infact islam doesnt believe that one must pay for sins, but rather if one commits sins and repents, then Allah may forgive you. If you do not repent Allah will send you to jahanam (hell).

the more you post about it, the more you show just how little you know about the religion you left. i suggest you look up “kafaarah” (atonement) and see what you find. there are certain sins if you commit, that you must pay a kafaarah for.

feeding a certain number of needy people is usually one of the options and back during the time of prophet muhammad, sacrificing/slaughtering animals was done to achieve this. there is also the sacrifice that you do for your child when it’s born - the 'aqeeqah/naseekah, where you slaughter 1 sheep/lamb for a girl and 2 for a boy.

as for the stuff about being sent to hell, if you repent and your repentance is accepted, you have no punishment. if you commit a sin and die without repenting for it, you are at the will of Allah. if He wishes to forgive you, He’ll forgive you and if He wishes to punish you, you’ll be punished.

 

[hawk]

r.gonzales:

the more you post about it, the more you show just how little you know about the religion you left. i suggest you look up “kafaarah” (atonement) and see what you find. there are certain sins if you commit, that you must pay a kafaarah for.

You are quite right about expiation “kafaarah”.

I was however referring to sacrafice, as a means of averting spiritual death, as defined in the Bible.

 

[Reuben_J]

hawk:

The feast of Eid al-Adha (feast of the sacrafice)

Isn’t that Isaac? Or did Abraham make another near sacrifice of Ishmael but somehow was not mentioned in the OT?

Poor father Abraham who had to undergo double testings!

 

[Genesis315]

Reuben J:

Isn’t that Isaac? Or did Abraham make another near sacrifice of Ishmael but somehow was not mentioned in the OT?

Poor father Abraham who had to undergo double testings!

Haha, no, only one. It was Isaac (I think I said Ishmael too above ).

 

[hawk]

Reuben J:

Isn’t that Isaac? Or did Abraham make another near sacrifice of Ishmael but somehow was not mentioned in the OT?

Poor father Abraham who had to undergo double testings!

Interesting Reuben, you will find it surprising that the muslims can make a case even from the Bible…

In the Bible, God says take your ownly begotten son.

Until the time of Isaacs birth, the only son is and can only have been ishmael.

Therefore there is a case to suggest that the son is ishmael and not isaac.

 

[Reuben_J]

hawk:

Interesting Reuben, you will find it surprising that the muslims can make a case even from the Bible…

In the Bible, God says take your ownly begotten son.

Until the time of Isaacs birth, the only son is and can only have been ishmael.

Therefore there is a case to suggest that the son is ishmael and not isaac.

But Hawk, the Bible was already well established around the 7th century of Muhammad time. And it was Isaac.

What I mean, was it in the revelation to Muhammad that it was Ishmael? Or was it just an interpolation that arised from God says take your only begotten son?

Or is this a case where the Bible is corrupted and therefore Isaac being the son is a corruption?

 

[hawk]

Reuben J:

But Hawk, the Bible was already well established around the 7th century of Muhammad time. And it was Isaac.

What I mean, was it in the revelation to Muhammad that it was Ishmael? Or was it just an interpolation that arised from God says take your only begotten son?

Or is this a case where the Bible is corrupted and therefore Isaac being the son is a corruption?

Well the Quran does not say that the son in question is ishmael, so muslim scholars have not been able to say it with any authority, however it is a dogma of the faith.

 

[Reuben_J]

hawk:

Well the Quran does not say that the son in question is ishmael, so muslim scholars have not been able to say it with any authority, however it is a dogma of the faith.

I just read the quote in your thread Friday Sermons in Palestine. Maybe that explains it for the time being.

Peace

Reuben

 

[Joseph_Alison]

Salaam All;
The only sacrifice at the Muslim Umma (nation) level -as our Friend hawk pointed out- is Eid Al-Adha (feast of sacrifice).

Eid Al-Adha is celebrated as a commemoration and a remembrance of Prophet Ibrahim’s (Abraham) willingness to sacrifice his son Ismael (Ishmael) for Allah (SWT).
It reminds us of the tremendous test Abraham (PBUH), “the father of the prophet” as Muslims call him, had undergone.
It is in no way related to atonement for sins. In fact, it is not even Fard (obligatory) but a Sunnah -a way or a custom- established by the prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Only those who can afford to buy an animal (sheep, goat etc.) are called to make the sacrifice. For good practicing Muslims, only one third of the animal’s meat stays at home, the two other thirds are distributed to those who could not afford to make the sacrifice among the poor and needy.

It is reported that at Eid Al-Adha, prophet Muhammad (PBUH) upon enquiring about the slaughtered animal, his wife Aicha (RA) told him only a leg was left for them to eat from, the other parts she said were gone, she distributed them to the poor and needy; he however corrected her saying “ Don’t say only a leg is left, but say only a leg is gone, as the other parts are with Allah (SWT) counted as good deeds”

Abraham (PBUH) was so righteous and faithful to Allah (SWT), his prayers and supplications to Allah (SWT) as reported in the holy Qur’an were so powerful and so moving that when one reads them in Arabic, one can’t keep by break in tears.

Here is the story of the sacrifice as related by Allah (SWT) in the holy Qur’an:

“He ‘(Abraham) said: "I will go to my Lord! He will surely guide me!” (Qur’an 037.099)
“O my Lord! Grant me a righteous (son)!” (Qur’an 037.100)
”So We gave him the good news of a boy ready to suffer and forbear” (Qur’an 037.101)
”Then, when (the son) reached (the age of) (serious) work with him, he 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 will find me, if Allah so wills one practicing Patience and Constancy!” (Qur’an 037.102)
”So when they had both submitted their wills (to Allah), and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead (for sacrifice)” (Qur’an 037.103)
”We called out to him "O Abraham!” (Qur’an 037.104)
“Thou hast already fulfilled the vision!” - thus indeed do We reward those who do right.” (Qur’an 037.105)
”For this was obviously a trial- (Qur’an 037.106)
”And We ransomed him with a momentous sacrifice” (Qur’an 037.107)
”And We left (this blessing) for him among generations (to come) in later times” (Qur’an 37:108)
“Peace and salutation to Abraham!” (Qur’an 037.109)
”Thus indeed do We reward those who do right” (Qur’an 037.110)
”For he was one of our believing Servants”. (Qur’an 037.111)
”And We gave him the good news of Isaac - a prophet- one of the Righteous” (Qur’an 037.112)

The last verse I quoted shows that Isaac was not the one intended to be sacrificed, because Allah (SWT) gave the good news of Isaac (PBUH) after the trial undergone by Abraham (PBUH), that is why (among others) for Muslims it was Ishmael the object of trhe intended sacrifice.

Brother Gonzales talked also about other forms of expiation of sins at individual level, for mistakes done unintentionally for example; all of them are intended to benefit the community at large.
Allah (SWT) knows best.

Salaam.
Joseph.

 

[Genesis315]

So what is the view of Muslims concerning the old Jewish temple? Would Muslims use it if it were still around? Do they believe the command of God to build it and offer sacrafice there was a corruption of ancient Scripture? Or do they believe Allah shut it down for a reason and did away with such sacrifice? Why did He shut it down? Was it replaced by anything?

 

[Joseph_Alison]

Genesis315:

So what is the view of Muslims concerning the old Jewish temple? Would Muslims use it if it were still around? Do they believe the command of God to build it and offer sacrafice there was a corruption of ancient Scripture? Or do they believe Allah shut it down for a reason and did away with such sacrifice? Why did He shut it down? Was it replaced by anything?

Salaam Friend Genesis;
I don’t have handy the answers to your questions, but I will do some research and InCha’Allah come back to you.

Salaam.
Joseph.

 

[r.gonzales]

let’s start from the beginning again and answer the original questions one by one.

Genesis315:

From as early as Cain and Abel, man offered sacrifice to God. In the OT every time one of the patriarchs goes someplace new, he builds an altar and offers sacrafice. Later, God commands the building of the temple, and sets up a priesthood to offer the sacrifices.

(1) Do Muslims offer sacrifice? If not, why not?

1. yes, muslims offer sacrifice to Allah and there are various times and situations where this is done.

the main sacrifice that most know about is the sacrifice that takes place on the day of 'eid al-adhaa (pronounced ad-haa), which is at the end of the hajj (pilgrimage to mecca). contrary to what my brother joseph mentioned of it being on a nation-wide level, the sacrifice done here is a personal sacrifice done by pilgrims as a ritual of hajj. the only thing that makes this a sacrifice on a nation wide level is the timing and the sheer number of pilgrims performing this act. there is debate and discussion regarding the obligation of sacrificing on this day for those who are not taking part in the hajj, thus, to say that this is a nation-wide sacrifice is not entirely correct.

another sacrifice that muslims offer is the sacrifice done when a child is born. this is called the 'aqeeqah or the naseekah. when a child is born, it is legislated that the parents slaughter a lamb or sheep on behalf of the child as a sacrifice to Allah; one for a girl and two for a boy. the sunnah is for this to be done on the seventh day after the birth of the child, or any day after that. (this is also the day that the male child is to be circumsized).

there are also various other instances where sacrifice is legislated as a means of “kafaarah” - expiation or atonement. one such instance is violating the conditions for ihraam (the state ritual consecration for hajj). among these violations are: intentionally removing hair or nails, having sexual relations with your spouse, hunting game, and others.

Genesis315:

Jews no longer do because the temple was destroyed (sidenote: I read somewhere that some Jews still offer small ones, is this true?)

Protestants no longer offer sacrifice to God because they believe the Crucifixion put an end to it.

Catholics offer Christ’s sacrifice to God every Mass.

(2) How do Muslims offer sacrifice today, or if they do not, why do they not?

1. sacrifice is offerred by slaughtering an animal from the various types of cattle and livestock. they are no longer slaughtered upon stone altars as this has been prohibited in the Quran, nor is there any special place such as a temple or its like required for it. there are certain conditions for sacrificing, which i’m sure you could find if you did a search on islam-qa.com. to my knowledge, the sacrifice can be performed by just about anyone. i’ll have to check on this to make sure, but i don’t know of any restrictions for who can and cannot do it. it is also generally allowed for sacrifices to be done on behalf of others - there might be some things restricting this, but i’ll have to check on that too.

as for your new questions:

quote=Genesis315 So what is the view of Muslims concerning the old Jewish temple? (4) Would Muslims use it if it were still around? (5) Do they believe the command of God to build it and offer sacrafice there was a corruption of ancient Scripture? (6) Or do they believe Allah shut it down for a reason and did away with such sacrifice? Why did He shut it down? Was it replaced by anything?
[/quote]

1. i’m not aware of any “view” held by muslims or islam concerning the old jewish temples, so i can’t comment on this.
2. probably not, since there are no specific legislations for where sacrifices must performed. there is also a general prohibition from taking other religions’ places of worship as our own (although there are some exceptions to this, which i won’t get into here).

5 & 6. nothing has been mentioned in islamic scriptures regarding this command is from the corruptions of their texts or not, nor has anything been mentioned regarding your other questions (to my knowledge) thus no muslim can really comment on it.

 

[Joseph_Alison]

r.gonzales:

let’s start from the beginning again and answer the original questions one by one.

1. yes, muslims offer sacrifice to Allah and there are various times and situations where this is done.

the main sacrifice that most know about is the sacrifice that takes place on the day of 'eid al-adhaa (pronounced ad-haa), which is at the end of the hajj (pilgrimage to mecca). contrary to what my brother joseph mentioned of it being on a nation-wide level, the sacrifice done here is a personal sacrifice done by pilgrims as a ritual of hajj. the only thing that makes this a sacrifice on a nation wide level is the timing and the sheer number of pilgrims performing this act. there is debate and discussion regarding the obligation of sacrificing on this day for those who are not taking part in the hajj, thus, to say that this is a nation-wide sacrifice is not entirely correct.

another sacrifice that muslims offer is the sacrifice done when a child is born. this is called the 'aqeeqah or the naseekah. when a child is born, it is legislated that the parents slaughter a lamb or sheep on behalf of the child as a sacrifice to Allah; one for a girl and two for a boy. the sunnah is for this to be done on the seventh day after the birth of the child, or any day after that. (this is also the day that the male child is to be circumsized).

there are also various other instances where sacrifice is legislated as a means of “kafaarah” - expiation or atonement. one such instance is violating the conditions for ihraam (the state ritual consecration for hajj). among these violations are: intentionally removing hair or nails, having sexual relations with your spouse, hunting game, and others.

1. sacrifice is offerred by slaughtering an animal from the various types of cattle and livestock. they are no longer slaughtered upon stone altars as this has been prohibited in the Quran, nor is there any special place such as a temple or its like required for it. there are certain conditions for sacrificing, which i’m sure you could find if you did a search on islam-qa.com. to my knowledge, the sacrifice can be performed by just about anyone. i’ll have to check on this to make sure, but i don’t know of any restrictions for who can and cannot do it. it is also generally allowed for sacrifices to be done on behalf of others - there might be some things restricting this, but i’ll have to check on that too.

as for your new questions:

1. i’m not aware of any “view” held by muslims or islam concerning the old jewish temples, so i can’t comment on this.
2. probably not, since there are no specific legislations for where sacrifices must performed. there is also a general prohibition from taking other religions’ places of worship as our own (although there are some exceptions to this, which i won’t get into here).

5 & 6. nothing has been mentioned in islamic scriptures regarding this command is from the corruptions of their texts or not, nor has anything been mentioned regarding your other questions (to my knowledge) thus no muslim can really comment on it.

Salaam Brother Gonzales;
Thank you for your thorough answers. Just to let you know that in the country were I live there have never been debate or discussion about the obligation of the sacrifice at Eid El Adha. We perform the sacrifice at the country level and it is a holiday also; however that sacrifice, as I pointed out, is not Fard (obligatory). As you rightly pointed out, the sacrifice is part of the ritual for those performing the religious duty of Hajj (pilgrimage).

Salaam.
Joseph.

 

[Joseph_Alison]

Genesis315:

So what is the view of Muslims concerning the old Jewish temple? Would Muslims use it if it were still around? Do they believe the command of God to build it and offer sacrafice there was a corruption of ancient Scripture? Or do they believe Allah shut it down for a reason and did away with such sacrifice? Why did He shut it down? Was it replaced by anything?

Salaam Friend Genesis;
Same as my Brother Gonzales, I could not find any information pertaining to your questions from a Muslim perspective; anything I would say would be pure speculation from my part, and I will refrain from doing it without the proper knowledge. As for your question “Would Muslims use it if it were still around”, my answer is no. For Salat (Prayer) a Muslim can be pray about anywhere given the place is clean, that is if there is no mosque in the nearby; for the congregational prayers, they are done in a mosque also.

Salaam.
Joseph.

 

[Reuben_J]

r.gonzales:

1. yes, muslims offer sacrifice to Allah and there are various times and situations where this is done.

the main sacrifice that most know about is the sacrifice that takes place on the day of 'eid al-adhaa (pronounced ad-haa), which is at the end of the hajj (pilgrimage to mecca). contrary to what my brother joseph mentioned of it being on a nation-wide level, the sacrifice done here is a personal sacrifice done by pilgrims as a ritual of hajj. the only thing that makes this a sacrifice on a nation wide level is the timing and the sheer number of pilgrims performing this act. there is debate and discussion regarding the obligation of sacrificing on this day for those who are not taking part in the hajj, thus, to say that this is a nation-wide sacrifice is not entirely correct.

another sacrifice that muslims offer is the sacrifice done when a child is born. this is called the 'aqeeqah or the naseekah. when a child is born, it is legislated that the parents slaughter a lamb or sheep on behalf of the child as a sacrifice to Allah; one for a girl and two for a boy. the sunnah is for this to be done on the seventh day after the birth of the child, or any day after that. (this is also the day that the male child is to be circumsized).

there are also various other instances where sacrifice is legislated as a means of “kafaarah” - expiation or atonement. one such instance is violating the conditions for ihraam (the state ritual consecration for hajj). among these violations are: intentionally removing hair or nails, having sexual relations with your spouse, hunting game, and others.

1. sacrifice is offerred by slaughtering an animal from the various types of cattle and livestock. they are no longer slaughtered upon stone altars as this has been prohibited in the Quran, nor is there any special place such as a temple or its like required for it. there are certain conditions for sacrificing, which i’m sure you could find if you did a search on islam-qa.com. to my knowledge, the sacrifice can be performed by just about anyone. i’ll have to check on this to make sure, but i don’t know of any restrictions for who can and cannot do it. it is also generally allowed for sacrifices to be done on behalf of others - there might be some things restricting this, but i’ll have to check on that too.

I would be glad if you or Joesph could enlighten me on this aspect of your faith. Why do you offer animal sacrifice? What is the religous significant and the purpose for doing so? Perhaps this has been dealt with before and if it was so most probably I didn’t follow.

Thanks.

Peace.

Reuben.

 

[Genesis315]

Thanks guys for the thorough answers. I had been reading the early OT books recently and it’s given me a much deeper appreciation of the Mass and I was wondering if there was something similar in Islam (I already knew about Judaism and Protestantism).

Just curious, do you know the reason for doing away with stone altars?

 

[kristyn]

as for the stuff about being sent to hell, if you repent and your repentance is accepted, you have no punishment. if you commit a sin and die without repenting for it, you are at the will of Allah. if He wishes to forgive you, He’ll forgive you and if He wishes to punish you, you’ll be punished.

If I may interject here, in Islam you never really know if you are forgiven, it is at Allah’s whim? Don’t they call that fatalistic thinking? and sort of depressing and reason for despair, if you ask me.
]