Pre-Islamic Age of Ignorance:

Human Sacrifice: The fact that Abdulmuttalib, the grandfather of the Prophet, vowed to sacrifice one of his ten sons to Allah at the Kaaba if they reached an age where they could protect him, due to the difficulties he faced with the Quraysh during the digging of the Zamzam well, is cal evidence of the existence of human sacrifice in the customs of the Jahiliyyah. As is well known, after this wish came true, when the lottery fell on the Prophet’s father, Abdullah, Abdulmuttalib attempted to fulfill his vow, but the Quraysh, fearing the establishment of such a custom, prevented him from doing so. Later, 100 camels were sacrificed in place of Abdullah. 

It is also recorded that during this period, a human or a camel was offered to the Morning Star. It is likely that those who did this were the Sabians (star worshippers). Wellhausen , claims that during the Jahiliyyah period, boys, girls, and captives were sacrificed to al-Uzza.[662]

Sacrifices to Idols: During the Jahiliyyah period, sacrifices were made to idols. A large portion of these sacrifices was set aside for minor deities. The noble verse explains this fact as follows: They set aside for Allah a limited portion of the crops and animals He created. In accordance with their baseless delusions, they say, “This is for Allah, and this is for the partners we associate with Him.” But the share of the partners they associate with Him does not reach Allah, while Allah’s share can reach these partners. How bad is their judgment! ([663])

The people of the Jahiliyyah also sacrificed at graves. They would slaughter a camel at the grave of a good person and say, “We are rewarding him for what he did in the world.” At the same time, the pre-Islamic Arabs believed that making vows to minor deities pleased Allah and that these deities would intercede for the person making the vow in Allah’s presence. 

ISLAM: The information that has reached us regarding the sacrifices of the children of Prophet Adam (as) shows that the practice of slaughtering animals or offering sacrifices began with the first human beings. Allah (glory be to Him) says: O Muhammad, tell them the true story of Adam’s two sons. They both offered a sacrifice, but one was accepted and the other was not. When the one whose sacrifice was not accepted said to his brother, “I swear I will kill you,” the other brother replied, “Allah only accepts the worship of those who are righteous. If you raise your hand against me to kill me, I will not raise my hand against you to kill you. For I fear Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I want you to bear both your sin and my sin and be among the inhabitants of Hell. This is the punishment of the wrongdoers.” Despite this, the other brother gave in to his desires and killed his brother, thus becoming one of those who suffered loss. Upon this, Allah sent him a crow scratching the ground to show him how to hide his brother’s body from sight. When the brother killer saw the crow scratching, he said, “Woe is me! Am I not even as good as this crow, unable to hide my brother’s body?” And he became one of those who regretted what he had done. ([665]) After that, it was revealed to people that sacrifice is one of the signs of Allah’s religion. We have made sacrifice lawful for every nation, so that they may mention Allah’s name over the livestock He has provided them as sustenance. Your God is One God. Therefore, submit yourselves to Him alone. Give glad tidings to the humble! They are those whose hearts tremble when Allah is mentioned, who endure the calamities that befall them, who perform prayer ( ) sincerely, and who spend in the way of Allah from what We have provided them. We have made the large sacrificial animals a sign of Allah’s religion for you. There is good for you in them. When they are lined up in rows, mention the name of Allah over them. When they fall on their sides and their souls depart, eat of them and feed the poor who ask and those who do not ask. Thus have We made them subservient to you, that you may be grateful. Their flesh and blood do not reach Allah. But your piety (your avoidance of disobeying Allah) reaches Him. Thus, He has given them to you for your service, so that you may recognize Allah as great for showing you the right path. Give glad tidings to those who do good. Indeed, Allah defends the believers. Truly, Allah does not love any traitor or ungrateful person. 

As of today, the foundations of the sacrifice ritual, which is performed during the pilgrimage season and was proclaimed by our Prophet as a religious obligation, are based on the incident that occurred between Prophet Abraham (as) and his son. The Qur’an relates this event as follows: When the boy was old enough to run alongside him, Abraham said, “My son, I saw in a dream that I was slaughtering you. Look, what do you think?” (His son Ishmael) said, “Father, do as you are commanded. Insha’Allah, you will find me among the patient ones.” Finally, both of them submitted (to Allah’s command and decree), and (his father) laid him down upon his forehead. We called out to him, “O Ibrahim! Indeed, We thus reward the doers of good.” Truly, this was a clear trial. And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice. Then We left for him among later generations a good and honorable name. Peace be upon Abraham. We thus reward the doers of good. Indeed, he is one of Our believing servants. 

Nowadays: To understand its importance and purpose well, we need to look at the time when sacrifice was first performed. When Cain and Abel both wanted the same girl, their father Adam (as) became angry and said: “Go (both of you) and refer your judgment to Allah by means of sacrifice, and be judged. Whose sacrifice is accepted, he is more entitled to it.” Upon this, they slaughtered their sacrifices in Mina. Because of this, it has remained a place where people slaughter their animals to this day. When Cain learned that his sacrifice had not been accepted, he refused to accept the ruling and killed his brother Abel. ([668])  Then Cain was at a loss as to how to hide his murdered brother. Upon this, Allah (swt) sent a crow scratching the ground, as mentioned in the verse. Cain realized his mistake. Knowing he could no longer go to his father, he took his daughter with him and came to a valley in Yemen, located in the eastern part of Eden, where he hid until his death.

When this event is analyzed carefully, it is seen that when issues such as worldly love, sacrifice, and judgment are not approached with moderation, they lead to consequences such as envy, death, and regret. An animal was sacrificed for the purpose of judgment before Allah in order to decide on a worldly matter. Due to the displeasure with the ruling and the resulting envy ( ), this incident led to the sacrifice of another person.

The one who judges matters according to Allah’s rulings and the one who dislikes the ruling and acts according to the judgment of the devil, which is a satanic thought, are the same person. The envy that arises after the judgment of the devil has given man the idea that it is right to kill even his own brother. The one who does all this is the owner of a mind that, in terms of knowledge, cannot even manage to hide a dead body. This is the mind and intention of those who judge with the taghut. Judgments made in taghutic systems, which have no line between what is lawful and unlawful, lead to people living their worldly lives in humiliation. They are incapable of knowing how to bury the dead, just like Cain. Among them are those who burn their dead, scatter their ashes, tie them to a raft and cast them into the sea, or even mummify them in the belief of immortality. Unable to accept the reality that “he lived, his sustenance ended, and he died,“ they are incapable of burying the dead in the ground. Secular logic, built upon a single-worldly existence, cannot comprehend the wisdom of the rules brought by Islam. Those who slaughter animals only for their own feasts, as well as those who criticize without even knowing why the animal was slaughtered, belong to this category. The progenitor of this mentality is Cain. People who do not see sacrifice as worship will eventually begin to sacrifice their own descendants with the intention of worship.

Today, there are many who sacrifice innocent people by killing them for the sake of their own beliefs. When you look at the world through this lens, you will see that societies that do not sacrifice animals are constantly engaged in human consumption. One of the fundamental reasons these people adopt other gods and slaughter humanity is that they do not sacrifice animals. These acts of savagery are also evident in their addiction to blood sports. Just as jihad is an act of existence aimed at defense, sacrifice symbolizes a formation that serves the purpose of preventing the killing of people. The formation of shirk also arises from a mechanism that distorts the purpose of creation. If humans, appointed as caliphs, do not use their existence in accordance with their creation, they sow the seeds of shirk with the unjust value given to existence. This is the main rule for any being. This is the mindset of those who worship cows and those who worship humans. Let’s see if they remember that they are, in fact, helpless creatures made of complex water…

This is the matter of sacrifice[670] , a ritual offered to us to remind us why we were created and not to forget why we were created. Sacrifice is a means of submission. In Islam, the condition for sacrifice is not that it be slaughtered in the name of Allah; the condition is that it not be slaughtered in the name of anyone other than Allah. There are many sacrifices made in the name of Allah, but with the intention of pleasing certain people, not Allah. Sacrifice is the greatest lesson taught by animals, which are full of lessons. These animals tell us the following through their condition, behavior, and way of life:

The earth and the heavens, along with everything within them, and I, have been placed at your service. So, whom do you serve?

Or do you not see the seal of death stamped on your foreheads, yet you think I am being killed because of the ring around my neck?

Some people, perhaps unknowingly, sacrifice animals at certain graves and shrines. The majority of those who do this act in the hope of intercession, just as they did in the days of ignorance. They do not realize that such actions do not serve to earn Allah’s pleasure. Let us learn the most beautiful answer to this question from a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: There is no place in Islam for slaughtering animals at the graves of the dead. 

The word “sacrifice” (kurban) is derived from the Arabic root k-r-b and, as a verbal noun, means “to approach spiritually, to be close.” As a noun derived from the same root, it means “a means of bringing the servant closer to Allah.”

[660]  Ibn Hisham, Sira, 1,160–164

[661]  Islamic scholar Julius Wellhausen (1844–1918)

[662]  Ali Osman Ateş, Islam in the Age of Happiness in All Its Aspects, Beyan Publications: Volume 2, p.52

[663]  Surah Enam, Verse 136

[664]  Nedvî, The Golden Age (Proclamation and Instruction), I, 294

[665]  Surah Maida, verses 27–31

[666]  Surah Al-Hajj, verses 34–38

[667]  Surah Saffat, verses 102–111

[668]  Ibn Qutaybah, Al-Ma’arif, Hasan Ege, Şelale Publications, p. 20

[669]  The Turkish Language Institution dictionary defines secularism as “worldliness” and states that it entered Turkish from the French word “sécularisme”. The Turkish Language Institution defines “worldliness” as follows: “a doctrine that values individual participation and advocates for the separation and autonomy of religion from the state, secularism.”

[670]  Closeness, faith, and worship to be spiritually close to Allah.

[671]  Abu Dawud, Sunan, Funerals, The Prohibition of Slaughtering Animals at the Grave, h. No: 3222; Bagawi, Sharh al-Sunnah, Chapter on Funerals, Feeding the Deceased’s Relatives, vol. 5, p. 461