THE DAY OF EID UL-ADHA
Eid Ul-Adha is a day of blessings, mercy, forgiveness, joyous and acceptance of sacrifice. Muslims all over the world perform Eid Salaah, and as per their capability, they sacrifice an animal to show gratitude towards Allah Ta'ala. Because of that, the day is called the 'festival of sacrifice' (Eid Ul-Adha). On this day, Prophet Hazrat Ibrahim(alaihis salaam) willed to sacrifice his only son Hazrat Ismail(alaihis salaam) as a sign of obedience to Allah Ta'ala. All prophets faced their own trials. Hazrat Ibrahim's(alaihis salaam) life was filled with the most severe trials by way of his people and his family. He(alaihis salaam) was a great and a noble prophet, as he fulfilled the test that Allah Ta'ala had given him.
Allah Ta'ala states in The Holy Quran:
'Please declare: 'Surely, My prayer and my sacrifice, and my living and my dying are all for Allah who is the Lord of all the worlds'
(Surah Al-An'aam. verse 162)
The Namaaz is mentioned before sacrifice. This means that physical worships like Namaaz are superior to monetary charities. The life is not a worldly life but a religious life. The worldly life makes one unmindful from the remembrance of Allah Ta'ala and keeps one engrossed in material and commercial matters. Life dedicated to Allah Ta'ala is that which is set aside for the work of Allah Ta'ala. One has to live in the service of religion and remembrance of Allah Ta'ala and die serving Allah Ta'ala.
It was on such a divine command that Hazrat Ismail(alaihis salaam) willed to be sacrificed by his father Hazrat Ibrahim(alaihis salaam). As a sign of obedience, and to seek the pleasure of Allah Ta'ala, the companions(Radi Allahu Anhum) of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ willed and sacrificed their lives in the Battle of Badr. In the Battle of Karbala, Hazrat Imam Hussein(Radi Allaahu Anhu) sacrificed his life when he was beheaded. Allah is all-aware and knower that these esteemed and noble servants of Allah Ta'ala did not fear death, but still took them through trials and tribulations.
Human beings have two types of sentiments. One is criminal or self-centred desire, i.e. too interested in your self and not caring about the needs or feelings of other people, or anti social and criminal attitudes. The second is selfless sacrifice sentiment, i.e. giving up of what you want so that other people can have what they need or want. To make the selfless sacrifice desire stronger, one has to kill the self-centred desires. If your self-centred desires are weak, then your spirituality will be strong.
Once a year, the Muslims get the opportunity to feed meat to the poor, who probably don't often get to eat meat. When a Muslim sacrifices an animal on the Day of Eid Ul-Adha, they are actually killing their own self-centred desires. Allah Ta'ala has commanded to kill the self-centred desires once a year by sacrificing an animal on the Day of Eid Ul-Adha. The sacrifice of an animal re-awakes the external desire of the Muslim to sacrifice their life in the path of Allah Ta'ala when need arises, and internally it re-awakes the desire to spend money and feed the poor.
Allah Ta'ala states in The Holy Quran:
'So offer salaah to your Lord and offer sacrifice'
(Surah Al-Kauthar. verse 02)
Regular performance of salaah is the greatest gratitude for the bounties of Allah Ta'ala, and sacrifice is a great Islamic custom. It is not acceptable to pay a price in its place.
From this verse of The Holy Quran, we learn that every aspect of Muslim life should be to seek the pleasure of Allah Ta'ala, and to show gratitude towards Allah Ta'ala. If there is a divine command to sacrifice life, it has to be obliged.
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, 'that whosoever is capable of performing Qurbani but does not perform, then such a person should not come close to my Eidgah'.
(Ibne Majah, Ahmed)
Hazrat Zayd Ibne Arqam(Radi Allaahu Anhu) narrates that the companions(Radi Allaahu Anhum) asked Prophet ﷺ, 'what is udhiyah (Qurbani)?' He ﷺ replied, 'It is the sunnah of your father Hazrat Ibrahim(alaihis salaam)'. (Ibne Majah)
Hazrat Abdullah Ibne Umar(Radi Allaahu Anhu) narrates that Prophet ﷺ lived in Madina for ten years and he ﷺ did Qurbani every year.
On the day of sacrifice (Qurbani), the devotion inspired by the fear of Allah, and act of sacrificing an animal in obedience of Allah Ta'ala is more beloved to Allah Ta'ala than the blood of the sacrificed animal. The devotion reaches Allah Ta'ala before the blood reaches the earth. For every drop of blood, Allah Ta'ala forgives one sin. On the Day of Judgement, the meat and the blood of Qurbani will be presented in the court of Allah Ta'ala multiplied by seventy times. For every hair of the sacrificed animal, one reward (sawab) is recordd. The sacrificed animal will come as a means of ride for those who sacrificed the animals for Qurbani.
The Islamic year begins with the month of Muharram and ends with the month of Dhul Hijjah. 10th of Muharram is the Qurbani of Hazrat Imam Hussein(Radi Allaahu Anhu), and 10th of Dhul Hijjah is the Qurbani of Hazrat Ismail(alaihis salaam). Hence, we learn that Islamic year from the beginning till the end is all of sacrifice.
Allah Ta'ala gifts us with wealth as He wishes. However, Allah Ta'ala wants us to spend a part of that wealth as He wishes. We slaughter animals during the course of the year as per our wishes and needs. But Allah Ta'ala wishes that once a year, we slaughter an animal on His command.
In the period of Qurbani (ayam e nehr), for a person having sufficient wealth that makes Zakaat obligatory on him, then it becomes wajib on him to sacrifice an animal for Qurbani.
Camel, cow/bull, goat and lamb can be sacrificed for Qurbani. The camel has to be at least five years of age, cow/bull of two years of age and goat of at least one year of age. A six-month old lamb looking a year old can also be slaughtered for Qurbani. In a camel, cow/bull, seven people can buy shares. The animal must be healthy, and free of any disabilities. The animal's ear, tail and eyes must be intact without cuts.
Qurbani can be done from after the Eid Namaaz on 10th of Dhul Hijjah till the sunset of 12th of Dhul Hijjah. Qurbani must be done in the daytime. It is makrooh tanzihi to do Qurbani in the night, i.e. who avoids it earns goodness and reward, and who does it, is not liable for torment or divine anger. It is preferable to slaughter the animal with your own hands. If not, at least they should be present at the place where Qurbani is done.
Apparently, we see a person spending money by doing Qurbani, but the wealth doesn't decrease. It increases because the philosophy of Qurbani is that anything sacrificed in the path of Allah increases.
Qurbani is done on the occasion of Eid Ul-Adha. The meat is divided into three parts and two parts of it is distributed. This is another Qurbani.
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was asked, 'how can the ummah get the reward of Qurbani if they cannot afford to slaughter an animal?' Prophet ﷺ replied, 'they shall perform four rakaats Namaaz in a manner where in every rakaat, after Surah Fateha, recite Surah Kauthar eleven times'.
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This article is an abridged English translation of an Urdu sermon delivered by his eminence, Peer Syed Imroz Dean Saifi, Hanfi, Maturidi of Masjid Anwaar e Madina, Surrey BC Canada
If there is an inaccurate translation, please pardon it and not let it be a means to negatively reflect on the honoured presenter.
