This excerpt is taken from Professor Dr. Fazl Elahi's book Masail-e-Qurbani.
1: The Sacrifice Being an Abrahamic Sunnah:
Sacrifice is the tradition of Khalil-ur-Rahman, Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him). He was willing to sacrifice his only beloved son and the apple of his eye, born in old age, in obedience to Allah's command, and the blessed son, Prophet Ismail (peace be upon him), was also ready to be sacrificed. Allah, the Most Compassionate and Merciful, was pleased with this unparalleled obedience and submission of the father and son, and He sent a ram in place of the son, which Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) sacrificed. Allah, the Owner of the Kingdom, made this tradition permanent for the people who would come after them. Allah Almighty mentioned this event in the Holy Quran in the following words:
﴿وَقَالَ إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّي سَيَهْدِينِ . رَبِّ هَبْ لِي مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ . فَبَشَّرْنَاهُ بِغُلَامٍ حَلِيمٍ . فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ مَعَهُ السَّعْيَ قَالَ يَا بُنَيَّ إِنِّي أَرَىٰ فِي الْمَنَامِ أَنِّي أَذْبَحُكَ فَانظُرْ مَاذَا تَرَىٰ ۚ قَالَ يَا أَبَتِ افْعَلْ مَا تُؤْمَرُ ۖ سَتَجِدُنِي إِن شَاءَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الصَّابِرِينَ. فَلَمَّا أَسْلَمَا وَتَلَّهُ لِلْجَبِينِ . وَنَادَيْنَاهُ أَن يَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ . قَدْ صَدَّقْتَ الرُّؤْيَا ۚ إِنَّا كَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ. إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَهُوَ الْبَلَاءُ الْمُبِينُ . وَفَدَيْنَاهُ بِذِبْحٍ عَظِيمٍ . وَتَرَكْنَا عَلَيْهِ فِي الْآخِرِينَ .﴾
"And [Ibrahim (Abraham)] said, 'Indeed, I will go to my Lord; He will guide me.' O my Lord, grant me [a child] from among the righteous." So We gave him good tidings of a forbearing boy. And when he reached with him [the age of] exertion, he said, 'O my son, indeed I have seen in a dream that I [must] sacrifice you, so see what you think.' He said, 'O my father, do as you are commanded. You will find me, if Allah wills, of the steadfast.' And when they had both submitted and he put him down upon his forehead, We called to him, 'O Ibrahim, You have fulfilled the vision.' Indeed, We thus reward the doers of good. Indeed, this was the clear trial. And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice. And We left for him [favorable mention] among later generations."
Reference: (37-As-Saffat:99 to 108)
For the explanation of these verses and the detailed lessons derived from them, see the book by the author of these lines, "The Story of the Sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him): Tafsir and Lessons."
B: Some Other Important Arguments Regarding the Significance of Sacrifice:
The importance of the Sunnah of sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) is indicated by numerous texts from the Quran and Sunnah and incidents of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). By the grace of the Generous Master, some of these are presented below:
➊ Allah Almighty commanded the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to perform sacrifice. He said:
﴿فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْ﴾
So pray to your Lord and sacrifice [to Him alone].
Reference: (108-Al-Kawthar:2)
Hafiz Ibn Jauzi has narrated five opinions in the interpretation of Allah’s command وانحر, and the first opinion among them is: "Slaughter animals on the day of sacrifice." This opinion is that of Hazrat Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them), Imam Ata, Imam Mujahid, and the majority of the scholars of the Ummah.
Reference: See: Zad al-Maseer 249/9
Imam Baghawi states in the interpretation of this noble verse:
Perform the Eid al-Adha prayer and sacrifice camels.
Reference: Sharh al-Sunnah 326/4
➋ In Surah Al-An'am it is stated:
﴿ قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ﴾
Say, "Indeed, my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds."
Reference: (6-Al-An'am:162)
Hafiz Ibn Kathir writes in the interpretation of this noble verse:
In this verse, Allah Almighty has commanded the Prophet (peace be upon him) to inform the polytheists who worship others besides Allah and offer sacrifices in their names that their way is different from that of these polytheists; his prayer and sacrifice are only for Allah, the One without partner. This verse is similar to Allah’s command (فصل لربك وانحر).
Reference: Tafsir Ibn Kathir 222/2
Hafiz Ibn Jauzi mentioned that Hazrat Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them), Saeed bin Jubair, Mujahid, and Ibn Qutaybah said that نسكي refers to sacrifices.
Reference: See: Zad al-Maseer 161/3
In the above two verses, Allah Almighty mentioned sacrifice along with prayer, and this undoubtedly clarifies the importance of sacrifice.
➌ The Noble Messenger (peace be upon him) made it Sunnah to perform sacrifice after the Eid prayer on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim narrated from Hazrat Bara (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: ”إن أول ما نبدأ به فى يومنا هذا أن نصلي ثم نرجع فننحر. من فعله فقد أصاب سنتنا“
"Indeed, on this day, the first thing we do is to perform the [Eid] prayer, then we return and offer the sacrifice. Whoever does this has followed our Sunnah."
Reference: Muttafaqun Alayh: Sahih Bukhari, Kitab al-Adha, Bab Sunnah al-Adha, part of hadith no. 5545, 3/10; and Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Adha, Bab Waqtuha, part of hadith no. 7 (1961), 1553/3
The words of the hadith are from Sahih Bukhari.➍ In another noble hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) described sacrificing after the Eid prayer as سنة المسلمين "the Sunnah of the people of Islam." Imam Bukhari narrated from Hazrat Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
”من ذبح قبل الصلاة فإنما ذبح لنفسه ومن ذبح بعد الصلاة فقد تم نسكه وأصاب سنة المسلمين“
"Whoever slaughters before the prayer has slaughtered for himself, and whoever slaughters after the prayer, his sacrifice is complete and he has followed the Sunnah of the Muslims."
Reference: Sahih Bukhari, Kitab al-Adha, Bab Sunnah al-Adha, hadith no. 3/10, 5546. Also see: Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Adha, Bab Waqtuha, hadith no. 4- (1961), 1552/3
➎ The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) maintained and perpetuated the Sunnah of sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him). Imam Bukhari narrated from Hazrat Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:
”كان النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم يضحي بكبشين وأنا أضحي بكبشين“
"The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to slaughter two rams, and I also slaughter two rams."
Reference: Sahih Bukhari, Kitab al-Adha, Bab Adhiyat al-Nabi ﷺ bi-Kishayn Aqarnayn, hadith no. 5553, 9/10
Hafiz Ibn Hajar wrote that from this narration it is evident that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to sacrifice regularly.
Reference: Fath al-Bari 10/10
. In one hadith, it is mentioned that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) continued to sacrifice during his ten-year stay in Madinah Tayyibah. (See:
Reference: Jami' Tirmidhi, Abuab al-Adha, Bab, hadith no. 1543, 79/5
), but this hadith is weak. (See:
Reference: Da'if Sunan al-Tirmidhi p. 178
), therefore it is not included in the text.➏ The strong emphasis of the Noble Messenger (peace be upon him) on sacrifice is also evident from the fact that on the occasion of the Farewell Pilgrimage, besides slaughtering one hundred camels for the Hajj sacrifice, he also performed the Eid al-Adha sacrifice. He slaughtered a goat on his own behalf and a cow on behalf of the Pure Wives (may Allah be pleased with them).
Details of this are available in this book
Reference: p. 54
.➐ The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) also urged the Ummah that every household should offer sacrifice every year. The Imams Ahmad, Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i, and Ibn Majah narrated from Hazrat Mukhnaf bin Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said when we were with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) at Arafat, he said:
”يا أيها الناس إن على أهل كل بيت فى كل عام أضحية“
"O people! Every year, sacrifice is obligatory upon every household."
Reference: Al-Musnad 215/4 (T: Al-Maktab al-Islami); Sunan Abi Dawood, Kitab al-Dahaya, Bab Ma Ja'a fi Ihibab al-Adha, part of hadith no. 2785, 4340/7; Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Abuab al-Adha, Bab, part of hadith no. 1555, 91/5-92; Sunan al-Nasa’i, Kitab al-Far' wal-'Atirah, 167/7 - 168; Sunan Ibn Majah, Abuab al-Adha, Al-Adha Awajibah Hiya Am La?, part of hadith no. 204/2, 3163.
The words of the hadith are from Sunan Abi Dawood.Hafiz Ibn Hajar graded its chain as [Strong] and Sheikh Albani graded it as [Sahih].
Reference: (See Fath al-Bari 4/10; Sahih Sunan al-Tirmidhi 93/2; Sahih Sunan al-Nasa’i 886/3; Sahih Sunan Ibn Majah 200/2)
➑ The Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) expressed severe displeasure towards those who do not offer sacrifice despite having the means. The Imams Ahmad, Ibn Majah, Darqutni, and Hakim narrated from Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that indeed the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
”من كان له سعة ولم يضح فلا يقربن مصلانا“
"Whoever is well-off but does not offer sacrifice, let him not come near our Eid prayer place."
Reference: Al-Musnad 321/2 (T: Al-Maktab al-Islami); Sunan Ibn Majah, Abuab al-Adha, Al-Adha Awajibah Hiya Am La?, hadith no. 203/2, 3160; Sunan al-Darqutni, Bab al-Sayd wal-Dhaba'ih wal-Ata'im wa Ghair Dhalik, hadith no. 277/4, 35; Al-Mustadrak, Kitab al-Adha, 232/4
The words of the hadith are from Ibn Majah.Imam Hakim graded its chain as authentic and Hafiz Dhahabi supported him. Sheikh Albani graded it as Hasan.
(See:
Reference: Al-Mustadrak 231/4; Al-Talkhis 232/4; Sahih Sunan Ibn Majah 199/2
)➒ The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) paid great attention to sacrifice. Imam Bukhari narrated from Hazrat Abu Imamah bin Sahl (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:
”كنا نسمن الأضحية بالمدينة وكان المسلمون يسمنون“
"We used to raise and fatten sacrificial animals in Madinah (Tayyibah), and other Muslims also used to raise and fatten them in the same way."
Reference: Sahih Bukhari, Kitab al-Adha, Bab Adhiyat al-Nabi ﷺ wa Bakbash min Afranin, and mentions fattened animals, 9/10
➓ The Companions’ (may Allah be pleased with them) concern for sacrifice is also evident from the fact that they performed sacrifice while traveling with the Noble Messenger (peace be upon him).
For details, see this book
Reference: p. 35
.
