Hazrat Abram (p.b.u.h.) dreams that God has instructed him to sacrifice his unique son by his own hands, but he shall prepare his son before doing anything. Thus, Abram looks at God and asks: My Son! I dreamed I was beheading you, what is your idea? His son, who was like his father welcomed this command warmly. He said: “My father! Execute any command of God and don’t worry on my side. You will find me patient upon God’s instruction”. In this way, both father and son passed the firs stage of this great test successfully.

Some have written: To help his father in fulfillment of his mission, Hazrat Esmaeil (p.b.u.h.) told to Hazrat Abram (p.b.u.h.): “Fasten it tightly my father, sharpen your knife and take out my shirt; because I am worried my mother see my dress bloody and loses her control.”

When they were both submitted and Abram put his forehead on the earth, he put quickly and powerfully the knife on the throat of Esmaeil; while his soul was excited, but the knife had no effect. Abram was shocked and moved the knife once again, but it did not work again. This time, holy Quran ended all the waiting by a short sentence. “ We called him, Abram! You fulfilled the dream! You performed your mission. We award the benefactors this way.” Then, God prescribes in the next verse: This is certainly the clear test. Killing one’s child by one’s own hands, a young and healthy son for a father who had been waiting for him for a long time. This is not easy. The more important is the fact that Hazrat Esmaeil (p.b.u.h.) was surrendered to this command and welcomed his father’s dream by graces of God.  God prescribes later in this verse: “And We sacrificed to him a great slaughter.” This was as mentioned by the narrations a ram brought by Gabriel from God. By greatness, it does not mean the bigness of the ram but it means that it was sent by God to be slaughtered instead of Esmaeil. ¹

Now, it is feast of Ghorban. It is the day of sacrifice, but, who is your Esmaeil? What is your rank? How is your knowledge? What is your art? What is your grade? What is your name? what are your things, your dependences? You know it well, what ever it is and who ever it is, you should prepare it for sacrifice today. I tell you the signs, to guide you. What is weakening you in the path of faith, the attachment of which do not let you hear the message of truth, acknowledge the truth, what takes you to pragmatist justifications and interpretations, love of which blinds you, deafens you. Now! It might be a person or an object, a state, or even a turning point, but Esmaiel was son of Abram. Award of a century of suffering, end of a life of waiting, but, Abram won the selection. He selected his beloved, and sacrificed Esmaeil. ²

And his beloved prescribed: Greetings to Abram! (sura: Saffat, Verse: 109)

Now, take out of your heart, whatever except Him. Because the heart of a faithful man is empty of all the dependences, so much so that there is no thought, no chant, but, God, so that he does not hear, does not see, but, GOD.

Thus, a heart which is filled with nothing but love of God, is the real God’s Home, so, to achieve this God’s Home, sacrifice to God, whatever you have, to empty your heart of whatever is except Him.

2.Hadj by Dr. Ali Shariati, pages: 144 to 150