A LIVING RELIGION NEEDS BOTH MOSQUE AND SACRIFICE
- Details
- Hits: 2461
A LIVING RELIGION NEEDS BOTH MOSQUE AND SACRIFICE
The life-giving religion of Islam emphasizes both worship and sacrifice. Offering one's life in the way of the religion can safeguard its survival. A true Muslim, while being man of prayer, is man of fighting against the enemies of God. In the same way that God has made the Kaaba a place of security, ?(And when) We made the House a pilgrimage for men and a (place of) security. (The Holy Quran; 2:125),? He had made sacrifice a source of blessing for human beings, ?And (as for) the camels, We have made them of the signs of the religion of Allah for you; for you therein is much good. (The Holy Quran; 22:36)? God has mentioned camels because they are the most expensive among the animals offered for sacrifice implying that we should sacrifice the dearest thing for the sake of God.
SACRIFICE, EXISTED AMONG FORMER NATIONS
The Holy Quran shows that the Kaaba was the first place of worship in the world before the advent of Islam: Ø¥Ùنَّ أَوَّلَ بَيْت٠وÙضÙعَ Ù„Ùلنَّاس٠لَلَّذÙÙŠ ببَكَّةَ Ù…Ùبارَكاً وهدىً للعالمين.
?Most surely the first house appointed for men is the one at Bekka, blessed and guidance for the nations. (The Holy Quran; 3:96)?
Nevertheless, the question of sacrifice does not solely belong to Islam; rather former nations too were duty-bound to discharge this divine order: ÙˆÙŽÙ„ÙÙƒÙلّ٠أÙمَّة٠جَعَلْنَا مَنْسَكاً Ù„ÙيَذْكÙرÙوا اسْمَ الله٠عَلَى مَا رَزَقَهÙمْ Ù…Ùنْ بَهÙيمَة٠الأَنْعَامÙ
?And to every nation We appointed acts of devotion that they may mention the name of Allah on what He has given them of the cattle quadrupeds. (The Holy Quran; 22:34)?
The offering of sacrifice by sons of Adam, the first kind of itself is mentioned in the Holy Quran: وَاتْل٠عَلَيْهÙمْ نَبَأَ ابْنَيْ آدَمَ بÙالْØَقّ٠إÙذْ قَرَّبَا Ù‚Ùرْبَانَاً ÙَتÙÙ‚ÙبّÙÙ„ÙŽ Ù…Ùنْ Ø£ÙŽØَدÙهَمَا وَلَمْ ÙŠÙتَقَبَّلْ Ù…ÙÙ†ÙŽ الآخَرÙ
?And relate to them the story of the two sons of Adam with truth when they both offered an offering, but it was accepted from one of them and was not accepted from the other. (5:27)?
To sum it up, in the same way that Islam emphasizes the value of the congregation in Mecca and the tight ranks of Muslim worshippers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
( 129 )
in prayer, ?you will see them bowing down, prostrating themselves, seeking grace from Allah and pleasure, (The Holy Quran; 48:29),? it stresses sacrifice as symbol of courage, freedom, and fighting in defence of truth. Therefore, Eid ul-Adha (feast of sacrifice) in Mina represents both the spirit of devotion and submission of the Muslim nations to God and dazzles the eyes of the atheists before faith, unity, resolution, and self-sacrifice of Muslims.
Since God's commandments are poly-dimensional, in the study of the Islamic precepts certain aspects must be ignored while other aspects and advisability must be taken into consideration. For instance, the Holy Quran expressly makes ensuring the social life conditional upon execution of murderers and the carrying out of law of retribution, ?And there is life for you in (the law of) retaliation, O men of understanding. (2:179),? or the Quranic ruling on an adulterer, ?(As for) the fornicatress and the fornicator, flog each of them, (giving) a hundred stripes, and let not pity for them detain you in the matter of obedience to Allah, if you believe in Allah and the last day, and let a party of believers witness their chastisement. (24:2),? we see that pity for a fornicator has been prohibited, for it is tantamount to disbelief in Allah and the Day of Judgment. The reason a party of believers should witness the chastisement of the committers of fornication is to set an example for others and to ensure the chastity and purity of the society. The Holy Quran regards the dignity and soundness of the society above those of individuals.
Challenging the Quranic Verse, ?And (as for) the man who steals and the woman who steals, cut off their hands, (5:38)? a biased person asked, ?How is it that a hand the worth of which (blood money) is five hundred mitigals of gold has to be cut off for a stolen object worth quarter a dinar?? A witty scholar responded, ?Honesty has made those hands worthy while theft and dishonesty have made the same hands worthless.?
We should comprehend the philosophy of God's commandment. In the above-mentioned ruling, too, the interests of individuals have been sacrificed for those of society so that people will live in sound society.
