Qurban (Ritual Sacrifice): Difference between revisions

Qurban (قربان, Urdu and Persian ghorbani/qorbani قرباني) means "sacrifice" in Arabic. Its origin is actually Aramaic and ultimately Hebrew. The consonantal root ق-ر-ب q-r-b is semantically associated with the idea of closeness, such as the common adjective قريب "qarib" meaning "close" (also as a noun close one/relative). Its ultimate meaning stems from the ancient animal sacrifices of the priests in Holy of Holies temple in Jerusalem, who would "come close" to the שכינה‎ "shekhina", the holy presence of God (יהוה YHVH) to offer YHVH the sacrifice. [[Islam|Islamic]] [[Islam and Scripture|scriptures]] (the [[Qur'an]] and [[Hadith]]) recount at least two close instances of human sacrifice which were averted at last second and contemporary Muslims continue to engage in yearly animal sacrifice on عيد الأضحى "Eid Al-Adha", the Eid of the Sacrifice. The word "Qurban" is also used in Christian Arabic to refer to the "sacrifice" of the Mass, where the priest consecrates the sacrificial "body and blood" of the Lord Jesus Christ.