Eid al-Adha: ’The Feast of Sacrifice’

Arabic word "Adha"means "sacrifice", having its root in the word "duha", which also means "light" or "illumination".

The Feast of Sacrifice dates from the historic event when Prophet Abraham was commanded by God, in a form of a dream vision, to sacrifice his son, Isma’il. But while he was in the act of sacrificing his son, God sent the Angel Gabriel with a huge ram. Gabriel informed Abraham that his dream vision was fulfilled and instructed him to sacrifice the ram as a ransom for his son. In Islam, Abraham is known as the father of God’s Unity (tawheed), the Quran (Al Baqarah: 130-131) says that he is the model of taslim (surrendering to God’s will). He had such trust and confidence to obey the Divine Command even in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice, the killing of his own son

For my understanding, the act of Abraham to sacrifice his son Isma’il is a symbol of trust and obedience,

Isma’il is not only a symbol of surreder but also a symbol of an act of love. He was willing to be sacrificed because he wanted to be pleasing to his Lord.

In Fusus al Hikam, Ibn Arabi wrote that Ibrahim is called the intimate friend (khalil), because he was penetrated and gathered all the qualities of the Divine Essence. Isma'il was distinguished from other individuals by the way God described him, namely, that "he was pleasing to his Lord." Both prophets are symbols of the greatest act of mankind. Only when a person is penetrated by the Divine qualities would he be willing to do anything for pleasing his Lord.