With the name of Allâh, the
All-Merciful, the Very-Merciful.
Allah, the Almighty, bestowed two great festivals to celebrate upon Muslim Ummah
in a year. The first one is christened as Eid-ul-Fitr that follows Ramadhan, the
month of Muslim fasting. It is celebrated on the occasion of successfully
completing the fasts of the month of Ramadan. The second festive event is termed
to be Eid-ul-Adhha, the momentous and historical fact of the prophet Ibrahim
(as) and his beloved son prophet Ismail’s sacrifice for Allah's sake, first ever
in the world history. Muslim Ummah celebrates these festivals to show gratitude
to Allah the Almighty on the completion of the two immense adorations; fasting
in Ramadan and performing Hajj. Both the festivals are celebrated with huge
jubilation and exultation on the scheduled times of the 1st Shauwwal, the 10th
month of Islamic Calendar and the 10th Dul-Hijjah, the 12th month of Islamic
Calendar.
Every married individual yearns to be blessed with offspring so as he could
derive satisfaction for his heart and soul and the child could support him in
the old age. Prophet Ibrahim (AleihisSalam) was not blessed with a child in his
youth. Consequently, he was passionate and zealous to have a child in his lap.
He, therefore, requested and supplicated before Allah (swt) to grant him a
righteous child. His prayer was answered and Allah blessed him a child, Ismail (AleihisSalam),
in the old age, who was granted with prophethood like his father. However, when
the father attained the grand old age, he dreamt that he was commanded to
sacrifice his honey son for Allah's volition. After all, it was a crucial trial
for him, difficult to pass by one and all except the prophets. Allah (swt) has
already conferred the office of prophethood on his father and the son was to
succeed his father. He communicated the dream to his son, Ismail (as), happily
and the ever obedient son agreed to the offer whole-heartedly, as Allah (swt)
has drawn the picture of the matchless story in the glorious Qur'an:
“And, when he (his son) was old enough to walk with him, he said: “O my son! I
have seen in a dream that I am slaughtering you (offer you in sacrifice to Allâh),
so look what you think!” He said: “O my father! Do that which you are commanded,
Inshâ' Allâh (if Allâh wills), you shall find me of As-Sâbirin (the patient
ones, etc.). Then, when they had both submitted themselves (to the Will of Allâh),
and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead (or on the side of his forehead
for slaughtering). And We called out to him: “O Abraham! You have fulfilled the
dream (vision)!” Verily! Thus do We reward the Muhsinûn (good-doers). Verily,
that indeed was a manifest trial.” (Surah: As-Saffat: 37, Verses: 102-106)
Prophet Ibrahim not only passed the touchstone for son's sacrifice; but his
whole life also became an inspiring example of sacrifice. Hence, Muslims and
even Jews and Christians accept him as their grandfather and what is more Allah
selected him as His bosom friend and was titled “Khalilullah”, friend of Allah.
The beloved prophet of Allah, Ibrahim, renounced his family, nation and his near
and dear ones only for the sake of Almighty Allah. Consequently, he remained
disconnected from his wife and son and left them in the holy Makkah desert for a
long time. The worth mentioning event is that he had to give himself in the
charge of blazing fire to shield the true religion and belief.
In the memory of the acid test of the father and son, the sacrifice has been
recognised as Wajib (just less than obligatory) upon every rich (Sahab-e-Nisab)
believer of the Muslim Ummah of the Prophet Muhammad (saws). Since then,
everyone who follows prophet Ibrahim and believes in Allah's oneness as well as
is able to sacrifice, be from any religion, fulfils this duty undoubtedly. One
who is able to sacrifice and doesn't abide by the commandment would be reckoned
before Allah on the Day of Judgment. The sacrifice in the sight of Supreme Being
is so much desirable that He announced it to last till the last Day. Allah said
in His sacred book, the Qur’an:
“And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice. And We left for him (a goodly
remembrance) among generations (to come) in later times.” (Surah: As-Saffat: 37,
Verse: 107-108)
At present in the modern society, the logic-mania is taking root. The people
seem to be crazy seek logical aspects and benefits in every commandment of the
Allah (swt). It means if we find logical benefits, we would exercise it or else
it would go into oblivion. It is not true and required belief and not the way of
following up the religion. It can never be termed as following up and pursuance
of the Deen. And the submission is what Ibrahim (as) performed and followed his
beloved son, Ismail (as). The job performed by them was so much effective in the
sight of Allah that it became a commemorative event until the Day of Judgment.
In Islam, it has been made compulsory upon each rich Muslim to sacrifice to seek
the pleasure of the Magnificent Allah and to follow the path of his beloved
prophet Muhammd (saws). The holy Prophet Muhammad (saws) used to sacrifice
animals to get Allah's pleaser. And his companions also performed sacrifice of
animals to seek Allah's pleasure. They were very sincere in seeking Allah
pleasure and to safeguard Islam. So much so that, if it needed to offer
sacrifice of their own, they showed no hesitance to carry out, as it had been
observed in earlier ages of Islam.
(Once), the companions of the Messenger of Allah asked, “O Messenger of Allah!
What is this sacrifice? He replied, “It is the tradition (Sunnah) of your father
Ibrahim.” They asked, “O Messenger of Allah! What is (virtue) in it for us?” He
replied, “For every hair there is a virtue.” Then they asked, “O Messenger of
Allah! What about wool?” He answered, “For every hair of wool there is a
virtue.” (Ibne Majah, Ahmad)
Sacrifice occupies great importance for Muslims and they should practise to
sacrifice the prescribed animals so that they can also sacrifice other beloved
things for Islamic cause. And on the other hand, no system of the world can
flourish without sacrifice. The community that has such spirit will prosper and
accomplish the peak of success. But today's tragedy is that the sacrifices lack
sincerity and spirituality, because at the time of slaughtering the animals on
the occasion of Eidul-Adhha, people express hypocrisy and insincerity. If one
buys costly and expensive animal to sacrifice, the other one, comparing himself
as the most valuable to him, tries to purchase more highly prized animal than
him only to show his outstanding personality among people getting their
appreciation and praise. Today, we nourish the animals and receive the benefit
of its flesh, slaughtering them in Eid-ul-Adhha, but do not care the cleanness
of our intention. We must be careful of our intentions as well as resources
whether they are lawful or unlawful.
We should scrutinise ourselves about practising Allah's rights and that of his
slaves. We must be humble while putting forward the sacrifice in the court of
Allah, the Almighty, and should always supplicate that the poor sacrifice is
waiting for His acceptance. We should remember the exertion of Ibrahim (as) and
his son, Ismail (as) before offering the animal to Allah. We should also keep
the companions' passion for Jihad in our mind and fervour for martyrdom.
Afterwards, we should be hopeful to have our efforts accepted in the sight of
the Supreme Lord. Since the meat, blood and skin of our slaughtered animals
don't reach Almighty Allah, but the thing goes to Him from us is only our piety.
So, it is necessary to correct our intention and views. The holy Qur’an says:
“It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Allâh, but it is piety
from you that reaches Him.” (Al-Hajj: 22, Verse: 37)