FAITH, LISTEN, MOTHERHOOD

Mamanushka Storytime: Why did Allah Ask Prophet Ibrahim To Sacrifice His Son?

‘Slaughter’ and ‘Sacrifice’ are big words for little hearts … but they don’t have to be. When my sisters and I were growing up, ranging from the ages of five to eleven, our Mama told us the story straight up no censorship and we just accepted it. Allah gave prophet Ibrahim a test, prophet Ibrahim obeyed and Allah rewarded his obedience. It was a great story. While I didn’t feel troubled by the idea of sacrifice/slaughter, I was a little confused. WHY Allah would ask this of His prophet? Admittedly it took me many years to ‘figure it out’. With my own children and their friends I hoped to try and add a layer of meaning.

Eid-ul-Adha is coming up and Muslim parents everywhere are a flurry with the preps that go into making it special for our children. My kids know this Eid as Prophet Ibrahim and Prophet Ismail Eid. It is the ‘Big Eid’ – the Eid of sacrifice, where we commemorate the obedience shown by Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) towards Allah (God) in his willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) and of course there is some version of this story in both the Old and New Testament.

In the past we’ve talked about how to share the festival of Eid-ul-adha with a classroom full of 3-6 year olds by mainly focusing on the celebration. But… how do you guys feel about the telling of the story itself?

If you’ve been struggling with this (and even if you haven’t!) click here to go to SoundCloud or press play straight in the browser below to listen to this short yet detailed narration, that doesn’t shy away from tackling the question of why Allah asked Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his own son. It is especially written and narrated with little hearts and parents of little hearts in mind! Recommended age 4-7 (and above) .