THE REALITY OF SACRIFICE

they donated was a symbolic expression of the 25,000 lives that they had determined to off er for the country. In the same way, sacrifi cing an animal is a symbolic expression of Man’s determination to sacrifi ce his all, even his life, for the sake of higher, divine, purposes. God has made this world in such a way that he who eff aces himself alone is crowned with success. The sacrifi ce of an animal on the day of Eid ul-Azha is an annual event that reminds us of this divine law. It is not something that has no connection with the mainstream of life. Sacrifi ce is, in fact, a universal law. If we want to truly live, we should first be ready to face death. This can be clarifi ed with the help of an analogy. If you keep a seed in a cold storage, it will remain as a seed. But if you plant it in the ground, then something really astounding happens. In a while, the seed transforms into a tree. The tree adds colour to its surroundings and brings joy to the beholder, besides proving to be useful in many other ways. It produces a great many seeds, which, in turn, soon turn into trees. And so on. What is the reason for the diff erence of the fate of the seed that lies in the cold storage and the one that is planted in the earth? It lies in this thing called sacrifi ce. The seed that is planted in the soil sacrifi ces, as it were, itself. It eff aces itself. This is how it is transformed into a sturdy tree. In contrast, the seed that lies in the cold storage doesn’t make any such sacrifi ce of itself. And that is why it remains of no use or importance. A seed becomes a tree only when it eff aces itself. The tree produces a beautiful fl ower. When the fl ower eff aces its beautiful self, it is transformed into a fruit. In turn, the fruit agrees to eff ace itself — and then it is eaten by human beings and becomes part of their blood and fl esh. In this world, the root to success for everything is one and the same: sacrifi ce. Whether it be in the fi eld of knowledge, commerce, politics, social welfare or ethics and morality — in every sphere, success is