Eid Al-Adha

The feast of Sacrifice occurs yearly 40 days after the end of Ramadan, and commemorates the near sacrifice of Abraham’s son, whom Muslims think was Ishmael. This Eid (holiday) demonstrates one of the amazing similarities between Islam and Christianity: that sacrifice is important for forgiveness. Often in these weeks I have quoted to Muslim friends Hebrews 9:22 ‘the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.’ Muslims don’t believe necessarily in a sacrificial system, the sheep is slaughtered as a commemoration of Abraham’s act of faith, and the meat bounty shared with neighbors and families in need. It is an act of remembrance and generosity. The significance of the animals’ spilled blood often gets overlooked. 

(Photo Seth Robson)

When we observe the slaughter of sheep with our Muslim friends the blood flows in the streets, its pungent smell filling the city as a thousand other families do the same. Many times, when a family purchases a new house, they bring a sheep to slaughter and wipe the blood on the doorposts and walls of the home in hope of God’s protection, blessing and cleansing for the home before moving in. There is an inherent understanding that blood is important, that sacrifice is necessary, that blood offers cleansing and protection.

However the Eid of sacrifice presents an incomplete picture, there is no resolution. Hidden in Muslim tradition is a critical component of the gospel message. But the sign begs fulfillment and leaves one wanting. The unsure pang of hope in an eternal heaven remains un-resolved. This uncertainty needs conclusion in the death and blood of a final sacrifice guaranteeing forgiveness. Communicating the sure hope of heaven through the message of the gospel is our task this Eid. This Eid, would you make an effort, as we have here in the Middle East, to explain the significance of Jesus’ blood with a Muslim family or friend and what made his sacrifice unique and final? May God bring new understanding of the meaning of sacrifice in the Muslim world this holiday season.