The Philosophy
of Sacrifice
Sacrifice, in its outer form, means to slaughter an animal in the name of God. But in its true meaning, it is to sacrifice your own self. The purpose of sacrifice is to create an inner feeling through an outer action. Outwardly, sacrifice is an external action, but in its spirit, it is completely an internal act.
In the Quran, while mentioning sacrifice, it is said: We have appointed for you the sacrificial camels as one of the symbols set up by God, in which there is much good for you. So invoke God’s name over them as you line them up for slaughter, and when they have fallen down dead, feed yourselves and feed the needy—those who do not ask as well as those who do. We have thus subjected them to you so that you may be grateful. Their flesh and blood do not reach God: it is your piety that reaches Him. Thus God has subjected them to you, so that you may glorify Him for the guidance He has given you. Give glad tidings to those who do good. (22:36-37)
In this verse of the Quran, the animal sacrifice is referred to as a sign (sha’air). This indicates that the sacrifice itself is not the ultimate goal; rather, it is a symbol or sign. The true purpose of this act is to foster taqwa. The intention behind the sacrifice is to cultivate the spirit of taqwa (righteousness) in a person through a meaningful symbolic act.
This can also be said in another way: the philosophy or real meaning of sacrifice is psychological sacrifice. The slaughter of an animal is training for the slaughter of one’s emotions and desires. The message of the Quran is: crush the bad desires that rise inside you, defeat your inner evils.
A human being is a creature who is born with nafs-e-ammara (the commanding self or ego). While living among people, again and again, this nafs-e-ammara flares up. Feelings like anger, hatred, revenge, jealousy, spite, selfishness rise inside him. This is the test of a person. To pass this test, it is necessary that a person tries to control these emotions. He must be ready to suppress every such feeling.
This is called psychological sacrifice, and for the practical training of this inner sacrifice, the method of sacrificing animals has been prescribed. In the above verse, it is said that neither the meat nor the blood of animals reaches God—what reaches Him is your taqwa. This means that if the sacrifice of an animal does not become the sacrifice of inner self, then such a sacrifice is not acceptable to God.
In today’s world, a person’s whole life is a life of sacrifice. If a person is not ready for sacrifice, he can never live a true and meaningful life in this world.
In this world, a person has to fulfil his responsibilities even if he has to ignore his rights—and this is a form of complete sacrifice. Here, a person sees that lying can bring benefit, yet he prepares himself to speak the truth—this is not possible without sacrifice. Here, he leaves a benefit that is available to him, only because he does not truly deserve it—this, too, is a kind of sacrifice. After giving such different types of sacrifices, it becomes possible for a person to live as a truthful human being in this world.
The slaughter of an animal is training for these kinds of sacrifices. Through the animal’s slaughter, a person is taught the lesson that at every point in life, he should be ready to sacrifice his inner emotions. For the sake of higher human values, he should sacrifice every such feeling that appears to be a barrier.
Whenever there is a downfall in an individual or a nation, it always occurs because the spirit of sacrifice disappears from them. When people begin to follow their desires. When people forget that to reach big goals, one must be ready to ignore small personal gains.
That is why the method of sacrifice has been made a yearly practice—so that people at least once every year remember this essential value, so they keep refreshing it in their minds, and keep receiving the food of taqwa again and again.
When a person spends money to buy an animal for sacrifice, he reminds himself of the truth that this wealth is not his—it belongs to God. When he slaughters the animal, he makes a practical promise to God that, in this way, he is ready to sacrifice himself. When he distributes the meat, he builds the feeling inside that others also have a share in what he earns. The animal’s slaughter is a symbol of the fact that a person should always be ready to reach the highest level of sacrifice for God’s obedience.
The sacrifice of the animal is the beginning, and taqwa is the end. The slaughter of the animal is its symbol, and the slaughter of desires and negative emotions is its true spirit.
All India Radio, New Delhi, 2 June 1993.
