By Saulat Pervez
This weekend, Muslims across North America and the rest of the world will celebrate Eid-ul-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice.
Eid-ul-Adha commemorates the legacy of Prophet Abraham and his son, Prophet Ishmael. According to the Quran, the book Muslims revere as God’s revealed word, God commanded Abraham to take his wife, Hagar, and their son, Ishmael, to the valley of Mecca and leave them there. During one of his visits, Abraham dreamed that he was offering Ishmael as a sacrifice to God; he interpreted it as a divine command. Both father and son submitted themselves to God’s will and prepared for the sacrifice. God, however, was only testing their obedience, and they were instead directed to sacrifice a ram.
In the same spirit, Muslims around the globe will be sacrificing an animal (a goat, sheep, cow or camel) as a spiritual act of devotion to God. In the Quran, God says, “It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches God but your piety” (22:37). [Read more…]