On the trail of salvation history. By Sylvain Romain
Reading time: 4½ minutes
One of the main reasons why many Christians reject Muslims as interlocutors is that the Koran is said to have no concept of salvation:
»Because (...) the idea of representation did not shine through in Muhammad's experience of God, his message of God's act of salvation in Jesus Christ remained closed. At this point the comparability of the Koranic proclamation with the biblical testimony ends.« (S. Riedel, Sin and Reconciliation in the Koran and Bible, p. 78)
But be careful: if we can't find something, it doesn't necessarily mean it's not there! The fact that I didn't see any elephants at Cairo or Nairobi airport doesn't mean that there aren't any elephants in Africa!
In fact, the word fidā فدى (ransom) appears in several places in the Qur'an and in different contexts:
• for the liberation of captives (Al-Baqara 2:85b, Muhammad 47:4b)
• as a substitute for religious duties (Al-Baqara 2:184,196b)
• in case of divorce (Al-Baqarah 2:229)
• and especially in the judgment of the end times (on the day of resurrection):
• On the Day of Judgment, the people who have done wrong would gladly take all they possess (“what is on the earth”) as ransom want to give (Yūnus 10:54, Ar-Ra'd 13:18).
• They wished that this could save them (Al-Ma'ārij 70:11-14).
• Yet "no ransom is accepted" from them (Al-Hadīd 57:15).
• However, something will come to them from Allah that they did not expect (Az-Zumar 39:47).
The Arabic language uses the word fidja فدية (salvation), for redemption from a financial debt, evil power, or shameful situation. Fidja also refers to obtaining the necessary amount for a defense in court or paying bail with the aim of gaining freedom. While this practice varies from culture to culture, the need for deliverance is evidently universal.
The transitive verb fadā فدى ("redeem"), expresses readiness to make amends for a loss. The good deed or the payment it involves is more than a transaction in terms of exchange. They show a spirit of self-sacrifice out of love or compassion. Often fadā is associated with a willingness to voluntarily sacrifice one's own life for a person or a good cause.
Incidentally, the word is the same as the Hebrew pādāh פדה, which we find 70 times in the Hebrew Bible for "salvation."
And then the verb fadā فدى appears in the Qur'an in connection with the greatest festival of Islam (Eid-ul-Adha, or simply Eid). It is also the focal point of the pilgrimage to Mecca that begins with this festival; for if God had not intervened, the son of Abraham would have been sacrificed. At the end of the narrative (Șāfāt 37:101-107), which is very similar to the Bible (Exodus 2), we read:
"And We redeemed him with a gigantic sacrifice."
A study of the Koranic context yields the following discoveries:
1. The sacrifice had to be of gigantic value, that is, worth more than an ordinary animal. It was of a higher quality than anything the world has seen before.
2. The sacrifice was pure and perfect - more than, for example, the cow that Moses sacrificed (Al-Baqarah 2:67-71).
3. The sacrifice came from God, for it says: "We (God) redeemed him".
4. The victim appeared in a miraculous way, for it appeared on the top of the mountain and far from a flock.
6. The sacrifice died because Abraham slaughtered it.
7. The blood of the sacrifice was shed in the same manner as during the Feast of Sacrifice.
8. The sacrifice was offered on Mount Marvah (Moriah), later part of Jerusalem.
9. Redemption through sacrifice was the culmination of an act of salvation.
10. Through the sacrifice's death, the life of Abraham's son was spared.
The Koran expressly warns against attempting to redeem oneself. At the same time we read (Az-Zumar 39:47):
"Something will come from Allah that they did not expect."
What can it possibly be? Does Islam's greatest festival point to a path to salvation? The Qur'an does not directly answer what (or who) this sacrifice represents. But he says that the only way out of damnation is "God's mercy" (his forgivingness):
"Then We saved him and those with him by mercy from Us." (Al-A'raf 7:72)
"The mercy of Us" is presented in another text (Maryam 19:21): This is the Messiah Jesus son of Mary. In fact, Jesus is the only one who meets all the criteria symbolized by the sacrifice on Mount Moriah:
- He is "respected in this world and in the next" (Āl-i-'Imrān 3:45).
- He is the only one who is "clean" (Maryam 19:19).
- He came from God as Word, Spirit and Mercy "from Him" (Āl-i-'Imrān 3:45, An-Nisā' 4:171, Maryam 19:21).
- He appeared by breathing the Spirit of God on Mary, that is, miraculously (Al-Anbiyā' 21:9).
- He died (although one text in the Koran seems to deny this, there are three other texts that speak of his death).
- His blood was shed.
- He was sacrificed in Jerusalem.
- Redemption through sacrifice was the culmination of God's act of salvation.
- Through his death we are spared from eternal death and go to paradise.
Therefore, Jesus Christ is the concretization of the Good News (Āl-i-'Imrān 3:45), which can be a topic of conversation especially in these days of the greatest Islamic festival. This message gives peace, hope and joy.
This post is a brief synopsis from the book The Feast of Sacrifice by Suleyman Romain.
The Festival of Sacrifice
The greatest festival of Islam Eid al-Kebir, is a commemoration of the sacrifice of Ibrāhīm's son. What does this festival mean? And why is it the biggest event of the Muslim calendar?
With over 600 quotes from the sublime Koran, the author shows a deeper meaning than just a nice family celebration.
This book has been translated into the following languages: Arabic, Azeri, Bengali, English, French, Hausa, Indonesian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Russian and Uzbek.
German edition (253 pages).
To order at:
https://www.adventistbookcenter.de/das-opferfest-die-entdeckung.html
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