
by Sezer Durak
On May 31st, 2024, the Center for Islamic Studies in Istanbul hosted Dr. Mohammad Fadel, a professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto, to discuss his recent project about the place of sacrifice in Islam, which was granted by the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada. In this project, Dr. Fadel seeks to examine the role of sacrifice within Islamic doctrine and legal theory, with the objective of gaining further insights into the relationship between violence and Islamic political theology. He proposes a theoretical framework that is grounded in the normative world of the Qurʾān and that both align with and challenge the theory of the “end of sacrifice,”[1] benefiting from the literature on the history of religion.
As illustrated in numerous Qurʾānic verses, animal sacrifice holds a central and foundational place within the ritual of pilgrimage, or ḥajj, and appears essential for the proper completion of the pilgrimage. In specific cases, God instructs believers to perform an animal sacrifice in Mecca during the pilgrimage as an expiation for transgressions against established rites, such as killing the game intentionally. Additionally, God commands the sacrifice of animals as a token of gratitude for the gift of domesticated livestock. The meat from these sacrifices is subsequently distributed as sustenance to impoverished individuals within the sacred precinct known as the Ḥaram. However, Dr. Fadel argues that the Islamic doctrine of sacrifice is paradoxical, as jurists have interpreted animal sacrifice not as central but rather as incidental to the rituals of pilgrimage, despite its apparent centrality in the verses regarding the pilgrimage. The legal corpus of Islamic doctrine demonstrates that jurists from the four schools of Islamic law—Ḥanbalī, Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, and Ḥanafī—concurred that certain Qurʾānic verses on pilgrimage require clarification before implementation. They further categorized pilgrimage into distinct types, determining that in some forms, such as the pilgrimage known as ifrād, animal sacrifice is not obligatory. It is possible to complete a pilgrimage without animal sacrifice if certain prohibited actions that require animal sacrifice are not performed. As for the reason behind animal sacrifice in pilgrimage, while some Muslim jurists viewed it as a means of atoning for the pilgrimage, which may have been compromised by prohibited actions, others, such as Ḥanafī jurists, regarded it as an act of piety. Furthermore, they expressed divergent views on the necessity of animal sacrifice for non-pilgrimage believers. While Ḥanafī scholars argue that animal sacrifice is obligatory for those who meet the required religious and financial conditions, others contend that it is not required for non-pilgrims. Overall, Dr. Fadel asserts that the debates conducted by Muslim jurists from the eighth to the thirteenth centuries, which reflect the consolidation of animal sacrifice based on what they perceived from the normative world of the Qurʾān, reveal a significant divergence from the theory of “the end of sacrifice.”
Considering this legal context, Dr. Fadel seeks to provide an answer to why and how animal sacrifice was able to survive within Islamic doctrine despite the broader trend of its disappearance, as approved by historians of religion. Building on the existing literature on the “end of sacrifice,” Dr. Fadel indicates that in Late Antiquity, the practice of animal sacrifice was abandoned by the peoples of Judaism, Christianity, and paganism. However, the practice was sustained symbolically within Judaism and Christianity. In considering this extensive historical background, he posits that the Islamic doctrine of sacrifice was shaped by a polemical relationship with the sacrificial practices of Judaism, Christianity, and pre-Islamic paganism.
In contrast to the aforementioned practices, the Qurʾān espouses a conception of sacrifice that can be described as a “humanistic view,” as conceptualized by Dr. Fadel, within the context of animal sacrifice. In the view of Dr. Fadel, the “humanistic perspective” marks a shift in the historical trajectory of animal sacrifice within the history of religions. It moves away from the concept of propitiation as well as the idea of chosen people and instead situates the role of sacrifice within a framework of social solidarity. This perspective underscores the function of sacrifice in fostering community support for the poor. He substantiates this perspective by referencing God’s foundational commands regarding animal sacrifice, which places emphasis on the provision of sacrificed animals’ meals to the impoverished and represents a departure from prior traditions. Furthermore, the Qurʾān does not offer any transhistorical reward for the progeny of Abraham, which serves to further distinguish its perspective on sacrifice. All in all, as Dr. Fadel postulates, the practice of animal sacrifice in Islam is principally founded upon the Qurʾānic tenet that God’s creation exists for the benefit of humanity and that there is no necessity for humanity to demonstrate devotion by destroying divine bounties. In lieu of such actions, gratitude and solidarity with others are the appropriate responses. In this reformed context, sacrifice is aligned with natural religion, with Islam affirming the ultimate end of the sacrifice as the welfare of humanity. Lastly, he suggests that this analysis of animal sacrifice could pave the way for further ideas, potentially arguing that the ultimate aim of religion is human happiness rather than trial.
Dr. Mohammad Fadel is a professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. He earned his PhD in medieval Islamic legal history from the University of Chicago and his JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. Dr. Fadel’s research focuses on Islamic law, the intersection of Islam and liberalism, and constitutionalism. He has also produced significant translations of classical Islamic legal texts into English from the 8th to the 13th centuries.
Sezer Durak is a PhD student in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at UT Austin. His research focuses on early modern Ottoman history, with a particular emphasis on law and political thought.
[1] Guy G. Stroumsa, The End of Sacrifice: Religious Transformations in the Late Antiquity, trans. Susan Emanuel, (University of Chicago Press, Chicago: 2009); Jan Assmann, The Price of Monotheism, trans. Robert Savage, (Stanford University Press, 2010); Robert Bellah, Religion in Human Evolution: From the Paleolithic to the Axial Age, (Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2011).