Prophet Abraham and the Symbolism of Sacrifice
What was the symbolism in Abraham's sacrifice trying to tell us?
Prophet Abraham sees in his dream that he is sacrificing his son and asks his son for his opinion. His son replied, “O my father, do as you have been commanded. If Allah wills, you will find me among the patient.” Then both submitted to Allah and prepared for the sacrifice. At that moment, Allah declared that this was a test and offered a great sacrifice as ransom in place of his son. While popular belief suggests that a ram descended from heaven, the Quran contains no information about what this 'great sacrifice' was. Allah did not command the sacrifice of a child; Abraham’s sacrifice of his beloved son was a symbol of his subconscious submission to Allah.
Muhammad, the last prophet of Islam, is a descendant of Abraham’s son Ishmael. Jews are descendants of Abraham’s son Isaac. Therefore, Muslims believe the sacrificed son was Ishmael, while Jews believe it was Isaac. The Quran contains no information about this son’s identity; Muslims speculate from the rest of the book. On the other hand, Isaac’s name is clearly mentioned in the Torah.
Sacrifice rituals have existed in many cultures and religions for centuries. Throughout history, people have sought to draw closer to God through rituals such as shedding human blood, animal blood, and children blood. Blood is a source of energy in living beings, and people have sought to harness this energy to connect with God. While sacrificial rituals vary, they all fundamentally aim for the same goal: to abandon the self and surrender to the divine.
Today, spiritual schools believe that humans no longer need blood to draw closer to God because collective consciousness has risen. For this reason, these schools encourage veganism.