Why Sacrifice?

applies to sacrifice—a person should die in such a way that their death becomes a sacrificial death. One’s death should not merely be a natural end due to old age, but the culmination of a life filled with sacrifices on the path of truth. Sacrificing the animal is a symbolic promise—that a person will continue giving everything in God’s path, until their end comes in that very state. Through this, we understand that for a sacrifice to be accepted, it must embody the same spirit of devotion seen in Prophet Abraham and Prophet Muhammad. The key to acceptance is that there must be genuine dedication behind the sacrifice—the kind of commitment exemplified by the prophets. True sacrifice comes from those who live every day as a sacrifice—not from those who only sacrifice an animal once a year. The essence of Abraham’s sacrifice was that after giving everything in the path of God, when a man had nothing left but his life, he brought that as well and presented himself before God. But God, out of His mercy and kindness, accepted a ram in place of his life. The real meaning of sacrifice is to give up everything, even the last thing you have, for God—not to keep everything for yourself and only sacrifice one animal a year in God’s name. About the reality of sacrifice, the Quran says: Their flesh and blood do not reach God: it is your piety that reaches Him. (22:37)