This Eid is a special time for followers of Jesus to witness. Here are two simple points I generally make during Eid al Adha:
1. The Qur'an tells the story of the sacrifice by ending with "we redeemed him with a great sacrifice" (As Saffat 37:107). (Arabic: وَفَدَيْنَاهُ بِذِبْحٍ عَظِيمٍ) During this time I often tell the shaddah from the Injeel: "There is no God except God and no mediator between him and between the people except the man Christ Jesus who sacrificed himself to redeem all people" (1 Tim. 2:5-6). I ask them "How can the ram be considered "great"? Who is great except God alone? The Messiah is our rescuer who sacrificed himself in our place for our redemption.
- Here is a short, interesting article: The Concept of Redemption in the Bible and Qur'an (4 pages).
Generally, using this phraseology from the Qur'an has been helpful for me. I am interested to hear if it is helpful for you or even what you think about it.
3 comments:
Great post!! I really appreciate the tidbit you included about comparing the giving of the Generous Qur'an (Ramadan) to the giving of the Messiah... one of my pet peeves is the comparison of the Generous Qur'an to the Holy Bible instead of the Messiah Himself. Great way to celebrate تجسم كلمة الله
Out of curiosity, why do you use:
خاتم التضحيات
and not
خاتم الاضاحي
Peace.
Good suggestion Timothy, I will try that phrase too. Is that the better plural?
Warrick,
Okay, since you asked for my opinion...
I could be wrong here, but I'm pretty sure that تضحيات is the plural for تضحية which is مصدر and it can be used in that way. At the same time, اضاحي is the plural of أُضحية which, I think, is the object that is being or has been sacrificed. Again, I could be wrong, but I think the act itself is normally referred to as تضحية while that which is being sacrificed is referred to as أُضحية .... and, of course, I'm sure this varies depending on who is speaking and I'm sure they are used interchangeably all the time.
My question was more to ask you if, where you are at, native speakers tend to primarily use تضحية for something that was sacrificed or for the act itself?
Language is soooo relative!!
Peace.
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