Animal sacrifice according to the Qur'an
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Salaam all,
Is there such a thing as animal sacrifice according to the Qur'an. Is it only mandatory during Hadjj or is this whole ritual sheer fabrication altogether by Hadither scholars? If any of you has extensively studied the subject please enlighten me. I have read some interesting stuff about this lately, and as a result I'm even more confused now because there are so many different perspectives on the issue.
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Peace Recluse,
2236 And the plump livestock, We have made them for you to be among
the symbols of God; you will have benefit in them. So mention
the name of God upon them in succession; then, once their sides
have become still, you may eat from them and feed with them
the poor and the needy. It was thus that We have made them in
service to you, that you may be thankful.
2237 Neither their meat nor their blood reaches God, but what reaches
Him is the righteousness from you. It was thus that He made
them in service to you, so that you may glorify God for what He
has guided you to, and give news to the good doers.No ritual animal sacrifices for the god! Animals can only be slaughtered for our own benefit and for the benefit of the poor and needy.
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Peace Timur,
So what is the correct translation of surah al kausar?
Does it refer to slaughtering an animal? In most of my (Turkish) translations it does.
It is a certain fact that We have granted to you the Messenger the unique - ultimate profundity.
Therefore, you keep administering the As-sa'laat Time bound protocol of allegiance and servitude for your Sustainer Lord; and continue mastering the affairs with the given profundity.
It is a certain fact that he who is a maligner, nurtures ill-feeling and cattiness against you the Messenger ; he is the doomed one. -
Peace Be Upon U Brethren,
I've got nothing against the interpretation of Timur, actually I find it fairly acceptable.
However, I've done a quick research online and here's the result (see the quote and enlarged text below).The word (in7ar) is derived from the Arabic root mentioned only once in the entire Qur'an http//corpus.quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=nHr
In Arabic, (Na7r, plural form Nu7ur) means The chest, or part of the chest/neck where one places his necklace.
Na7artuhu (I did "na7r" to him) means I struck his chest, or I cut his throat. From it comes which means stabbing ot cutting the throats of camels ( ه. And (Man7ar) simply means the "Throat" ( ر.
In the hadith corpus, a number of sayings mention (the "na7r" of noon/midday) meaning when the sun is exactly in the middle of the sky ( ). And, in a hadith, someone (a sahabi maybe) said "they did na7r to it (salat) MAY God do na7r to them!!!" this is actually explained as "they prayed before the precise time of the prayer"! ( " " )!
In sunnism, the grand religious holiday known as Eid al-Adha (the Feast of the Sacrifice) is also called Eid al-na7r, meaning the Feast of the cutt-throating. And, the "Days of Na7r" ( ر, refer to the 10th, 11th and 12th of Dhul Hijjah month ( ا, during these days, Druze and Muslims worldwide offer sacrifices in commemoration of Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his young and only firstborn son in obedience to a command from God.
Moreover, ancient Arabic poets (such as ي used the word "Na7eerah" (ة to describe the first day of a month, or the last day/night of it. And, "man7ur" (ر - example - means "upcoming" ( ل. Also, the "na7reer" (ر means the "smart and experienced person." And a man called "min7aar" (ر is "generous" in the sense that he's known for cutting many throats (mainly camels) to provide food for his guests and friends.
Last but not least,
according to Lissan al-Arab ( ب, one of the most authoritative lexicons in the Arabic languageTo do "na7r" during the salah/prayer ( ر means
to straighten up and lift your chest .. . .
sources
http//library.islamweb.net/newlibrary/display_book.php?idfrom=8137&idto=8137&bk_no=122&ID=8148
Almaany.com
http//www.almaany.com/home.php?language=arabic&lang_name=%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A&word=%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%AD%D8%B1http//www.almaany.com/quran/108/2/3/
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In conclusion
If to perform "na7r" during Salah ( ة is simply
to "Straighten up" ( ة and "Lift the Chest" ( ر during prayer, then the Qur'anic Surah 108 can be interpreted asLo! We have given thee the Abundance; So Pray unto thy Lord and Straighten up .
Verily, it is thy hater (and not thou) who is without posterity .The Glorious Qur'an.
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In conclusion
If to perform "na7r" during Salah ( ة is simply
to "Straighten up" ( ة and "Lift the Chest" ( ر during prayer, then the Qur'anic Surah 108 can be interpreted asSalaam Hicham,
Thank you. That means animal sacrifice is not mandatory, if we translate it like that. You know it's really strange, I don't know why but in Turkey people are totally obsessed with sacrificing animals. They seem to think it's a sin if you don't. I think it has to do with our pre-Islamic religion of "shamanism". I've also heard that only the Hanafi madhab believes it to be "wajib" or "sunnah" while the other three schools (madhabs) don't. So I really don't understand this obsession at all. Next time I'm just going to give charity instead of giving the money to a relief organization who slaughter an animal for you (and send it to the poor abroad).