Muslim Festivals and Ceremonies — Page 33
Philosophy of the sacrifice. According to the teachings of Islam, the sacrifice of animals is not offered to appease offended deities nor to win their favour as an atonement of sins as was the case of many other nations. The Holy. Quran made it quite clear by stating:. Neither the flesh nor the blood of your sacrifices reaches God, but it is the righteous motive underlying them that reaches Him (22:37). . In other words, the slaughtering of animals is a symbolic expression whereby a Muslim declares his readiness to lay down his own life and everything he owns for the sake of God Almighty. . The animal that is sacrificed really stands for the animal in man himself. 33