Assalammualaikum wr wb,

Alhamdulillah. All praises to Allah swt, the magnificent and merciful. We hope you and your family are in the best of health and iman and always being protected by Allah swt.

The First Sacrifice in the History of Islam 

Although we commemorate Prophets Ibrahim and Ismail (as) each Eid, sacrifice in the way of Allah (swt) actually predates Ibrahim (as). The sons of Adam (as), the first man on Earth, were the first to offer sacrifice. Habil and Qabil both offered sacrifices to Allah (swt), but only Habil’s sacrifice was accepted. Why was this? Habil’s Qurban was accepted simply on account of his piety and righteousness whereas Qabil’s was rejected because of his lack of piety and the ill thoughts he harboured towards his brother: 

‘And recite to them the story of Adam’s two sons, in truth, when they both offered a sacrifice (to Allah), and it was accepted from one of them but was not accepted from the other. Said (the latter), “I will surely kill you.” Said (the former), “Indeed, Allah only accepts from the righteous (who fear Him)’. (Qur’an 5:27) 

Whilst Habil offered his sacrifice with a sincere intention to be closer to Allah (swt), Qabil’s intention was driven by arrogance and the envy of his brother. This story teaches us about what Qurban really is. 

As the Quran tells us, ‘Their meat will not reach Allah, nor will their blood, but what reaches Him is piety from you’ (Quran 22:37). From this we understand that the deeper purpose of this act is to strengthen our iman and our love of Allah (swt) by showing our sincere willingness to sacrifice anything of this dunya to attain closeness to Him.

Before we commit to perform Qurban year after year, check with our hearts, our intentions. Are we truly doing this for Allah swt? A question for us to ponder, reflect and insyallah act on.  

Get more information on qurban at www.qurban.sg. 

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