The last stage of evolution and idealism, absolute freedom with- absolute submission … or the stage of IBRAHIM is in Mina. Now, you are about to act as Ibrahim. He brought his son Ismail to sacrifice Who is your Ismail or what is it? – Your position? Your honor? Profession? Money? House? Farm? Car? Love? Family? Knowledge? Social class? Art? Dress? Name? Your life? Your youth? Your beauty? How do I know? But you know it yourself whoever and whatever, you should have brought it with you to sacrifice here. I cannot tell you which one, but I can give you some clues to help – whatever weakens your faith, whatever stops you from “going”, whatever distracts you from accepting responsibilities, whatever causes you to be self-centered, whatever makes you unable to hear the message and confess the truth whatever forces you to “escape”, whatever causes you to rationalize for the sake of convenience, whatever makes you blind and deaf … You are in the position of Ibrahim whose weakness was in his love for Ismail (his son). He was teased by Satan. Imagine yourself at the peak of honor, full of pride and there is only ONE THING for which you can give up everything and sacrifice any other love for its love. THAT IS YOUR ISMAIL! Your Ismail can be a person, an object, a rank, a position or even a “weakness”! But – for Ibrahim it was his son!
This is Ibrahim’s faith (Islam) and not the story of blood thirsty gods, masochists or human torturers. It is a story of man’s perfection and his freedom from selfishness and animalistic desires. It is man’s ascension to a higher spirit and love, to a strong will that frees him from anything that may hinder his responsibility as a conscious man, to make him ready to sacrifice himself as Ismail, to become a martyr and finally, something not found in the dictionary – “to be like Ibrahim”! The story ends with the sacrifice of a sheep. This is what Almighty God requested at the end of this greatest human tragedy – to sacrifice a sheep to feed a few hungry people.
Like Ibrahim, you should select and bring your Ismail to Mina who is your Ismail? You should know; there is no need for others to know! May be your wife, job, talent, sex, power, rank, position … etc. I don’t know which one it is, but it should be whatever is so dear as Ismail was to Ibrahim! Some of the signs of your Ismail are whatever takes away your freedom and stops you from performing your duties, whatever joy entertains you, whatever keeps you from hearing and knowing the truth, whatever persuades you to rationalize rather than accept responsibility and whoever supports you only to receive your support in the future. You must search and find it in your life. If you are going to approach Almighty God, you should sacrifice your Ismail in Mina.
Do not choose the sheep (ransom) yourself; let the Almighty help and present it to you as a gift. This is how he accepts the sheep as a sacrifice
