By Cyril Anderson

Christianity views Jesus as the Son of God, both human, and divine simultaneously.  In this light, they see Jesus’s (pbuh) mission as to bring salvation to mankind by sacrificing himself on the cross.  According to Christians, Jesus acted as a “sacrificial lamb” and in so doing took upon himself the sins of humankind and absolved those who believe that he is God of the need to make restitution for their sins.  Christians base this belief in the atoning power of Christ’s blood on their interpretation of the role of sacrifice in the Torah, as described in Leviticus.  According to this interpretation, sins may only be atoned for through the spilling of the blood of an innocent, “unblemished” lamb.  According to this perspective, Jesus provided the perfect sacrifice, atoning in advance during the reported 9 hours on the cross for the sins of all humankind. 

 Muslims, however, as well as the Jews to whom the Torah was revealed, take a much different view.  

 The Torah on Sacrifice and Atonement

 Jewish religious leaders are often puzzled by the Christian insistence that the Torah teaches that sins are atoned for exclusively through the spilling of innocent blood.  Indeed, they, and Muslims familiar with the Bible will point out that in fact, the Book of Leviticus describes a number of different methods in which believers could atone for wrongdoing, animal sacrifice being but one of them.  These include grain sacrifice, a monetary “fine,” and, in the case of the yearly Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, fasting and confession of wrongdoings.  When one keeps in mind that the ancient Israelites originated as a people of nomadic animal herders, the common denominator in each of these cases becomes clear; in each, the believer is asked to give up something of value to him, and in so doing, undergo a hardship.  In this light, the animal sacrifices were required of those who could afford them not because God demanded innocent blood, but because the giving up of the wealth represented by the animal was a hardship that demonstrated the believer’s faith.  The sacrifice of grain, monetary payment, and fasting represented similar hardships.  From this vantage point, the Torah’s requirement that a sacrificial lamb be “free from spot or blemish” takes on a different light; instead of being a foreshadowing of the sacrifice of the “unblemished” Christ, it instead represents a commandment not to skimp on the sacrifice by offering the blemished, and therefore less valuable members of the flock.  In addition, there is also a change of emphasis in terms of who it is that is giving something up in the sacrifice.  In the Christian view, it is the lamb giving up its life that makes the atonement, while in the Jewish/Islamic perspective, it is the individual’s own hardship and sacrifice that makes the atonement.  It is an important difference in perspective, for instead of having the paying for our misdeeds conveniently taken care of by the vicarious atonement of someone innocent of our crimes, it requires us ourselves to do what we can to make atonement for our wrongdoings.  Of course, this atonement is dependent always on the mercy of God, but responsibility is placed on us to do what we can to earn this mercy and forgiveness, combining this always with sincere repentance to God for one’s previous errors and the intention to change one’s behavior.  As it is said in the Bible, “no soul shall bear the burden of another.”

The Islamic Perspective on Sacrifice and Atonement

 The Islamic perspective on sacrifice and atonement shares much in common with the Jewish perspective.  There are a number of methods of self-sacrifice and voluntary hardship through which a Muslim may purify himself and atone for sins.  One of these is fasting.  Each year, Muslims complete the mandatory fast of the month of Ramadan, as well as other days voluntarily.  As well, Muslims purify themselves by paying charity in the form of zakaat (a 2.5% tax on income) sadaqah (optional charity) and khums (a 20% tax on gains in savings over the course of the year).  The word zakaat, which shares the same root with another word meaning “purification” shows this philosophy of purification through self-sacrifice.  In addition, there is the requirement on those who are able to spend the time and money to make pilgrimage to Mecca during hajj.  This pilgrimage is held to have great benefit in terms of self-purification and atonement for past wrongdoings. 

 The idea of atonement through self-sacrifice and struggle also ties into the much maligned and much misunderstood Islamic concept of jihad, literally meaning, “to struggle.” This term, often (incorrectly) thought to refer to armed conflict alone, actually refers to any struggle, whether internal and external, undertaken ethically and humanely with purity of heart for the sake of encouraging goodness and forbidding evil.  The term applies to a broad range of circumstances, and can include such varied actions as speaking out against an unjust government despite the dangers of doing so, the struggles of a social worker putting in long hours to help people with little pay and less respect, the sufferings of a woman in childbirth, the struggles of parents or teachers to help the young, the struggles of minorities against poverty and racism, or the sacrifice of veterans in WW2 fighting fascism in Europe.  All of these actions are examples of jihad, and all of these people are examples of mujahideen. 

 In Islam, it is held that through such struggle, the believer can purify and refine himself, much as a metal is tried by fire.  In Islam, a great leader, through his sacrifice, can guide, direct, and motivate people to struggle for good and thereby purify purify themselves, but these people are responsible themselves for responding to this motivation and struggling themselves in the same cause.   As the Qu’ran says, “Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, ‘We believe,’ and not be tried?”  (29:2)  Or, as Jesus (pbuh) is reported to have said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)