Lord_of_da_rings
You have within Islam, and which for some reason, no one is willing to talk about, the concept of a sacrifice being necessary to deal with sin.
The Quarbani Id festival includes a sacrifice of animals in remembrance of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son. At the time of the sacrifice, the animal's mouth is turned toward Mecca and the following words repeated. "In the name of Allah, accept this sacrifice as thou didst accept the offering of they friend Abraham."
Now.. let's look back at what the Quran says about sin
you, like Christians believe that Adam and Eve were chased from the Garden of Eden as a consequence of disobedience. Surah 9:7 calls heaven "Jannatu'l Adn, which is also the name of the Garden of Eden, so no doubt you believe they were chased forever out of heaven.
Now.. a question for you? If sin was forgivable why were Adam and Eve not forgiven and why were they not allowed back into relationship with God in the Garden?
It's also interesting, that the consequence of being banished from the Garden was the entrance of death. Before the banishment, you believe that there was no death, yet since the banishment, death has come to all people who have ever lived on the earth... EXCEPT one Jesus Himself. Does it ever make you wonder why He didn't die? Why Allah took him to heaven according to the Quran? ( I know that He is meant to die when he returns)
It's interesting to note, that Jesus taught us that HE would go to heaven, because He came from there in the first place. He Himself said, John 3:13
"no one else has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the son of man."
and in John 16:28
"I came from the Father, and have come into the world. again I am leaving the world and going to the Father."
Christianity does agree with Islam that Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden because of their sin... Islam teaches they were never allowed back in.. yet Christianity teaches that because of Jesus, there is a way for Adam and his offspring to "return to the Garden".
Surah 2:36 states
But the Devil made them slip from it and it caused them to depart from the state they were."
the keyword in this surah is "ahbituu" which comes from the root word habt meanting to go down an incline, or descend from a high place to a low place. According to the Quran, (as it plainly states in the Bible) Man's fall was profound in it's consequences. Enmity between men and death the ultimate consequence of their sin. They were NEVER allowed back into the Garden.
Surah 7:19-20 talk about the seriousness of what Adam did..
"Your Lord has only forbidden you this tree lest you become like the angels or those who live forever."
Adam's sin was an act of defiance against Allah.
Now.. this man Jesus, who we Christians state has already died and come back to life, will be the most remarkable man alive. Why? because he has three tombs attributed to being his. In Isreal, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the other in the garden just below Golgatha, where He died. (No one is absolutely sure where His tomb is, and these two sites are the more probable) Muslims can show me a third tomb where He supposedly will be buried again.. in the Masjid an-Nabi. YET the issue is .. he is found NOW in NONE of them, despite the fact that he lived 2000 years ago. He lives now in Heaven, and in His death and resurrection he provided a way for us find the relationship with God, that the Qu'ran states was lost at the Fall.
Now let's briefly look again at the Quarbani-Id festival. The sacrifice that must be given.. Quarbani literally is an Urdu Persian word meaning "to give God pleasure"
the word is found in Sura Al_Ma'idah 5:27 and is used in relation to the sacrifices given to God by Cain and Abel.
The Qu'ran is very specific that it is not the sacrifice itself that makes the offering acceptable it's the piety of man.. yet this doesnt not in any way agree with any other Surah teaching that man is dependent on God totally. When the Holy God, the one and only Perfect God is the one to be compared with.. how can He be perfect if He overlooks some of our sins, because of the good ones we do? God is an infinitely perfect Judge who would not be infinitely perfect, if He were to by-pass judging our sins with infinitely perfect justice and holiness. .
What is more amazing, is that Abraham himself was constantly offering sacrifice. In fact, everywhere he went he built an alter to offer sacrifice
For Abraham, an animal sacrifice was more than sanctified food. He knew that he was worthy of divine punishment, so he appreciated knowing that God would accept an animal’s death for his own deserved punishment. Abraham was a prophet with an altar. He had faith in God, not his own spiritual achievements and good deeds. Wherever he traveled, he constructed a sacrificial altar.
Altar near Shechem, Genesis 12:6-7
Altar near Bethel, Genesis 12:8
Altar at Hebron, Genesis 13:18
Altar on Mount Moriah, Genesis 22:2
and without entering into arguement as to which son he sacrificed.. it is more important to note, that Abraham loved God so much, He was willing to even sacrifice his own son in obedience to God. It was only God's provision of the sacrificial ram (according to christians) and from my understanding, Islam teaches he actually did sacrifice his son?
Now read what is said about Quabani by Muslims themselves
The qurbani during Id-ul-Zuha is in memory of Ibrahim. Hazrat Ibrahim had sacrificed his son to create an upright and healthy race. This Id highlights the fact that nothing can be achieved in life without any sacrifice. To prepare a race, to reform a society or to develop a nation one needs the ability to sacrifice. Sacrificing an animal is only a lesson in sacrifice. The personal sacrifice should be made in particular circumstances. But even in our lives there is always enough scope for sacrifice. At times a leader has to deny his personal ambitions for the comman good."
(look at http://www.islamicvoice.com/april.98/eid.htm for the source of this quote).
You see.. according to the Qu'ran, it was okay for Abraham to sacrifice His son Ishmael for the sake of creating an upright and healthy race, yet it's not okay for the Most High God to sacrifice His Son for the same purpose?
"For God so loved the world, he gave His one and only son, that who so ever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life" John 3:16
Now please re read Alpha's post in the light of what is written here, and let's keep talking.
Carol