This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Farooq Rafi Sahib's book Qurbani, Aqiqah, and Ashra Zil-Hijjah.
Qurbani is the animal that is sacrificed in the way of Allah.
Reference: Feroz-ul-Lughat: 953
The author of Qamoos states:
والقربان بالضم ما يتقرب به إلى الله تعالى
"Qurbani is the act through which closeness to Allah Almighty is attained."
Reference: Al-Qamoos Al-Muheet
The Spirit of Sacrifice in Humans:
From the very beginning of human creation, the spirit of sacrifice has been active in humans, and humans have always desired to offer sacrifice in the way of Allah to attain nearness and status in the Divine Court. Allah Almighty says:
﴿وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ ابْنَيْ آدَمَ بِالْحَقِّ إِذْ قَرَّبَا قُرْبَانًا فَتُقُبِّلَ مِنْ أَحَدِهِمَا وَلَمْ يُتَقَبَّلْ مِنَ الْآخَرِ قَالَ لَأَقْتُلَنَّكَ ۖ قَالَ إِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ اللَّهُ مِنَ الْمُتَّقِينَ﴾
"And recite to them the story of the two sons of Adam in truth, when they both offered a sacrifice, and it was accepted from one of them but was not accepted from the other. He said, 'I will surely kill you.' He said, 'Indeed, Allah only accepts from the righteous.'"
Reference: Surah Al-Ma'idah: 27
Qurbani, the Greatest Sunnah of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him):
Sacrifice is the greatest tradition of our master Ibrahim (peace be upon him). This act was so beloved to Allah Almighty that it was declared a great tradition for Muslims until the Day of Judgment. It is mentioned in the Holy Quran that when the people of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) forced him to migrate, he said:
﴿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 he said, 'Indeed, I am going to my Lord; He will guide me.' 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 am slaughtering 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: Surah As-Saffat: 99 to 108
Benefits:
① Praying for righteous and pious offspring is a commendable act, and instead of becoming hopeless and despairing, one should remain hopeful of Allah’s mercy even in old age.
② The dreams of the Prophets, peace be upon them, are revelations, and the divine command holds equal importance for them in both the state of sleep and wakefulness. Keeping this in mind, Sayyiduna Ibrahim, peace be upon him, was prepared to turn the dream into reality.
③ The statement in the exegeses that Sayyiduna Ibrahim, peace be upon him, laid Sayyiduna Ismail, peace be upon him, face down when sacrificing him so that paternal affection would not overpower the divine command when wielding the knife is entirely false and contrary to the context of the Qur’an. The Holy Qur’an clearly states ﴿فَلَمَّا أَسْلَمَا وَتَلَّهُ لِلْجَبِينِ﴾ “So when both had submitted and he laid him down on his forehead.” The word “Jabeen” refers to one side of the forehead, not the entire forehead. The Arabic word for forehead is “الجبهة,” and the evidence is as follows:
① Allama Waheed al-Zaman explains that some have said: “Jabeen is the place up to the eyebrow hair, so every person has two Jabeens, which are on both sides of the face.”
Reference: Lughat al-Hadith: 264/1
② The Qur’anic exegete Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, may Allah have mercy on him, writes:
“Every person’s face has two Jabeens (right and left), and in between is the forehead ‘جبهة.’ Therefore, the more accurate translation of ‘للجبين’ is ‘on the side.’ That is, he laid him on his side, just as an animal is laid on its side facing the Qiblah when being slaughtered.”
Reference: Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan by Salahuddin Yusuf
③ Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, may Allah have mercy on him, explains the interpretation of ﴿وَتَلَّهُ لِلْجَبِينِ﴾ that Sayyiduna Ibrahim, peace be upon him, laid Sayyiduna Ismail, peace be upon him, on one side of his face. There are two Jabeens on the right and left sides of the forehead, so the face has two Jabeens and the forehead lies between them.
Reference: Tafsir al-Tabari: 76/21
Also, the narrations that mention laying Sayyiduna Ismail, peace be upon him, face down when sacrificing are weak and not authoritative.
① The interpretation of ﴿فَلَمَّا أَسْلَمَا وَتَلَّهُ لِلْجَبِينِ﴾ by Ikramah, may Allah have mercy on him, is as follows: “When both (father and son) happily accepted the divine command and the son consented to be sacrificed and the father to sacrifice, the son said:
يا أبت: اقذفني للوجه، كي لا تنظر إلى فترحمني، وأنا أنظر إلى السفرة فأجزع و لكن أدخل السفرة من تحتي، وأمض
‘Father! Lay me face down so that you do not pity me when you see me, and I do not become impatient when I see the knife, but insert the knife beneath me and fulfill Allah’s command.’”
Reference: Weak: Tafsir al-Tabari: 76/21
There are two reasons for its weakness:
① In this chain, Muhammad bin Humaid bin Hayan Razi is a weak narrator. The majority of hadith scholars have declared him weak.
② There is a discontinuity between Ikrimah and Sayyiduna Ismail (peace be upon him). It is not explicitly stated from whom Ikrimah heard this narration and how many intermediaries are in between.
② Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him) explains: ﴿وَتَلَّهُ لِلْجَبِينِ﴾ means that when (Sayyiduna Ibrahim, peace be upon him) placed his face on the ground, Sayyiduna Ismail (peace be upon him) said:
لا تذبحني وأنت تنظر إلى وجهي عسى أن ترحمني ولا تجهز على اربط يدي إلى رقبتي، ثم ضع وجهي للأرض
"Do not look towards my face when you are sacrificing me; it is possible that you may feel pity for me and not be able to carry out the act. Rather, bind my hands towards my neck and place my face on the ground (then proceed with the knife)."
Reference: Weak: Tafsir al-Tabari: 76/21
The reason for the weakness of this hadith is twofold:
① Abdullah bin Abi Najih al-Makki practiced tadlis (concealment).
② There is a discontinuity between Mujahid and Ismail (peace be upon him).
③ Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) explains ﴿وَتَلَّهُ لِلْجَبِينِ﴾ in these words:
أكبه على جبهته Sayyiduna Ibrahim (peace be upon him) laid him (Sayyiduna Ismail, peace be upon him) down on his forehead.
Reference: Weak: Tafsir al-Tabari: 78/21
All narrators in the chain of this report are weak, as follows:
① Muhammad bin Saad bin Muhammad bin Hasan Atiyah is a weak narrator.
② Saad bin Muhammad bin Hasan bin Atiyah is a questionably reliable narrator.
③ Hussain bin Hasan bin Atiyah is unanimously a weak narrator.
④ Hasan bin Atiyah Awfi is weak.
⑤ Atiyah bin Saad bin Janadah Awfi is a weak narrator who practiced tadlis.
Therefore, the most sound understanding is that when Sayyiduna Ismail (peace be upon him) was being sacrificed, Sayyiduna Ibrahim (peace be upon him) laid him on his right side, as animals are laid on their right side when being slaughtered.
