The
Sacrifice

Now, Ibrahim had a son called Ismail

who lived with his mother Hajar in the place we now know as Makkah,

and Ibrahim used to visit there.

He loved the young Ismail,

and as the boy grew older the two would run, and play, and work together,

but one night Ibrahim had a terrible dream,

so strong that he thought it could only have come from God.

The next day, Ibrahim told Ismail about his dream

and why it was so terrible.

He told Ismail that he had dreamed he had to sacrifice him,

and asked Ismail what he thought about the matter.

But Ismail also believed in the One God,

and knew that come what may, his life belonged to Allah,

and Allah could take it away at any moment.

So he told his father to do whatever God told him,

and promised that, God willing, he would remain faithful.

At that, the two of them left Makkah and walked into the nearby hills

to find a place where they thought it should be done,

and on they walked until they reached the foot of a small peak called Mina,

and there they prepared for Ismail's sacrifice.

After they had prayed,

Ibrahim placed Ismail's forehead to the ground, as though in Sajda.

But as Ibrahim took his knife in his hand God called out to him,

telling him to stop,

and telling him that his terrible dream had only been a test of his faith.

Just then, it is said, a wild goat,

or some say a lamb,

appeared from a gap in the hills nearby,

so that Ibrahim could still make a sacrifice to Allah,

but with a goat in the place where previously Ismail had been

freely willing to die when he thought it was God's Will.

So now, when muslims are making Hajj,

towards the end of their pilgrimage

they remember Ibrahim's submission to Allah,

even to the extent of being willing to sacrifice the son that he loved so dearly.

And to celebrate that memory, the pilgrims sacrifice whatever creature they can afford,

with the meat to be distributed far and wide to feed the poor and hungry.

But Ibrahim and Ismail returned to Hajar in Makkah,

and there they built a house devoted to the worship of the One God,

a building that we now know as the Ka'aba,

the Ancient House.

And since that time people remember Ibrahim

as one of the first of God's greatest servants,

wishing peace and blessings on him

and those who follow him.

But something happened on Ibrahim and Ismail's journey towards Mina for the sacrifice.

Why do pilgrims throw pebbles at stone pillars?