Allaahu Akbar...Allahu Akbar...Allaahu Akbar...
Laailaaha Illallaah wallahu Akbar
Allaahu Akbar wa Lillaahilhamd
Muslims all over the world observe Eid-ul Adha (in Arabic) or Hari Raya Aidil Adha (in Malay) on the 10th day of Zulhijah, the last month of the Muslim calendar. The corresponding Gregorian date this year is on 8th December 2008. This festival is celebrated in conjunction with the pilgrimages performed by Muslims, called the Hajj and to commemorate Prophet Ibrahim as's spirit of Qurban or sacrifice. In Indonesia, Hari Raya Aidil Adha is also known as Hari Raya Haji or Hari Raya Qurban.
On this blessed day, let us together give thanks to Allah s.w.t, praise Allah and glorify Him by saying the tasbih and tahmid for all the blessings He has given us, such as this blessing of the Eidul-Adha. This blessing is a gift from Allah to the Muslim ummah for every sacrifice they have done. Let us celebrate this Eid with solemnity, and praise Allah's greatness by saying the takbir, tahmid and tasbih. And let those among us who can afford it to perform the ritual slaughter.
'Idul-Adha is the time for some special acts of worship that is performed only in this blessed month. One of that acts is the qurban. This slaughter symbolizes the sacrifices that man makes for Allah, the All-Mighty Creator. 'Id ul Qurban is celeberated for three days after the day of Hajj (9th Dhul Hajj). This means it is on the 10th, 11th and 12th of Dhul Hajj on the Islamic calender.
'Idul-Adha is also the time that the Muslim ummah from all corners of the world congregate to the Holy Land to uphold the fifth pillar of Islam; the hajj.
The 'Festival of Sacrifice', one of the most important days of the Islamic calendar, commemorates both the end of the Hajj pilgrimage and the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son for God.
Qurban means sacrifice. The significance of this 'Id is from the offering of Prophet Abraham(as), who prepeared to present his son Ismail(as) to Allah, upon having dream of such a command. He prepared to offer his son, but this was a test from Allah, so before he could sloughter his boy, the angels replaced him with a sacrificing animal.
To remember this sacrifice of him we,muslim who can afford to, make an offering to Allah of an animal.It is not an obligation, but necessariry for all who are earning and have enough money to do it. The meat of the animal should be divided into three portions, of which one third is distributed among the poor, another part among relatives and friends, and the third is consumed in the family.
In addition to instilling a sense of sacrifice in the Muslim ummah, that is to be willing to sacrifice family and wealth for Allah s.w.t and His Prophet, the hajj also brings the Muslim ummah together, becoming one to do good together. The hajj symbolizes the pinnacle of unity in the Muslim ummah. As Allah says in surah Al-Anbiya' verse 92:
"Truly! This, your Ummah (Sharia or religion (Islamic Monotheism)) is one religion, and I am your Lord, therefore worship Me (Alone). (Tafseer Ibn Katheer)
Such is our life on this earth; we are commanded by Allah s.w.t to worship Him and to glorify Him. And our existence on this earth is only for that purpose to submit ourselves to His service. Surely all the good deeds that we do, no matter what they may be, are for His blessings and the rewards Allah s.w.t. has promised us.
The Hajj is a pilgrimage to the holy places in and around the holy city of Mecca (the birthplace of Islam) in Saudi Arabia where pilgrims will perform certain religious rituals and prayers. It is one of the central religious duties of Muslims and is enshrined in the Quran. According to the fifth tenet of Islam, Muslims who are financially and physically able are required to perform a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca at least once in their lifetime. The pilgrimage is also inspired by the earlier example of obedience to God set by the Prophet of Abraham. Pilgrims wear special clothes: simple garments which strip away distinctions of class and culture, so that all stand equal before God.
During this hajj season, our brothers and sisters sacrifice their time, energy, and the comfort of family life, to fulfil the obligation of hajj to the Holy Land. May their hopes of getting a hajj that is mabrur (accepted) be fulfilled and may they receive the rewards for their hajj, that is none other than Heaven.
For those of us who shall be doing the ritual sacrifice in a short while, surely we hope to similarly receive the rewards and atonement of our sins. To wish to receive rewards and atonement for our good deeds is a good aim. But there is an even better reason to do good deeds.
The best of aims in doing acts of worship is to strengthen our faith to Allah s.w.t and to increase our love for our Prophet Muhammad pbuh. This is what is meant by the sweetness of iman; faith that is unshakeable even in the face of challenges and tests. For us to achieve the heights of faith, it is not enough for us to only perform the ritualistic aspects of ibadah. The actions that we do must have an effect on our selves and our lives. What we do must bring out the best qualities that are within us all.
Among the virtues that we learn from 'Idul-Adha are sacrifice and solidarity. In conjunction with this blessed day, let us all learn the importance of these values and, more importantly, adopt them in our daily lives. Studying the origins of the slaughter, we see how the Prophet Abraham a.s. was prepared to sacrifice his most beloved son in order to fulfil Allah's commands.
The first sacrifice by the Prophet Abraham a.s. was when he left his son Prophet Ismail a.s. while he was still an infant, along with the Prophet Ismail's mother, in a barren, inhospitable desert land. The second sacrifice was when the Prophet was willing to slaughter his beloved son, Prophet Ismail a.s. when he was older. Prophet Abraham was willing to do so as Allah had commanded it. Allah has put this episode in the Quran, to be read for all times, for us to learn from. In Surah As-Saffat verse 102-105:
"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 Allah), so look what you think!" He said: "O my father! Do that which you are commanded, Insha Allah (if Allah will), you shall find me of As-Sabirin (the patient ones, etc.)."
"Then, when they had both submitted themselves (to the Will of Allah), 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 Muhsinoon (good-doers)".
These stories are not told so that we only remember the origins of the ritual sacrifice. More importantly, we need to reflect on, and adopt the spirit of sacrifice in our lives. To be successful in this life and the hereafter, we need to make sacrifices. We need to be willing to sacrifice something we love in order to achieve something that is more important.
We take the example again of Prophet Abraham a.s. When he left his son in that inhospitable land, he not just wished to fulfil Allah's commands, but he also set the foundations of Baitullah al-Haram that later became the qiblat for the faithful. As Allah tells in surah Ibrahim verse 37:
"O our Lord! I have made some of my offspring to dwell in an uncultivable valley by Your Sacred House (the Kabah at Makkah); in order, O our Lord, that they may perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat), so fill some hearts among men with love towards them, and (O Allah) provide them with fruits so that they may give thanks"
Let us reflect on our own lives. To achieve anything, surely we need to sacrifice.
For example, we want our children to succeed in their education and pursuit of their dreams. This dream surely requires some sacrifices in order to make it come true - money, time, love and support, for example.
Currently, Alhamdullilah, we can see the fruits of the sacrifices that the American Muslim Community have made. We find that, increasingly, many of our Muslim brothers and sisters are succeeding in their studies. And surely their success is, in part, the result of the sacrifice and communal effort of the American Muslim Community, in general.
On this day too, the Muslim ummah from all over the world congregate on the Holy Land to fulfil their hajj. Other than the value of sacrifice that the hajj teaches us, it also teaches us solidarity, unity and love. At this very moment, our brothers and sisters at the Holy Land are with other Muslims from all corners of the globe. At this very moment, too, Muslims around the world are saying the takbir, tahmid and tasbih, glorifying Allah s.w.t. This is the uniqueness of the Muslim ummah. The Muslim ummah is united, the Muslim ummah is a brotherhood, and the Muslim ummah is an ummah of love.
Our Prophet Rasulullah SAW has taught us much about solidarity. Let us reflect on the Prophet' advice:
"The believers who have love for one another, who are blessings to one another, and who are kind to one another are like a body; if one of its parts feel pain, the other parts also feel it. (Narrated by Imam Muslim)
The prophet also says:
"A Muslim is a brother to a Muslim. Do not do evil unto him, do not refuse him help. He who helps his brother shall receive help from Allah. He who helps his brother out of suffering, Allah shall help him out of his own suffering on the Day of Judgement. And whoever keeps his brothers' secrets, Allah shall keep his secrets on the Day of Judgement.
The Prophet Muhammad SAW says also:
"Establish ties with whoever breaks them, give help to whoever refuses to help you, and forgive whoever does evil unto you.(Narrated by Imam Ahmad)
That is what Rasulullah SAW teaches us about brotherhood and solidarity. The relationship between man should be based on compassion, harmony and love. Solidarity and brotherhood are essential to ensuring peace and prosperity in our communities. We cannot afford to live separate, individualistic lives while facing challenges in the community. We should make up for the shortcomings of our brother and the other members of our community, just like they make up for our shortcomings.
We are now facing many social problems, such as broken families, widening income gap and other social ills that are worsening. At the same time, with the open flow of information, we are exposed to many strands of thoughts, not all of which are positive. Not only our emotions, but our minds are continually tested as we struggle to remain Muslim and still be relevant to the context of today's global world.
In facing these challenges, other than building resilient individuals, the community needs to become united and work together to overcome these challenges effectively.
We cannot stop at having awareness of our community's problems, or merely having coffeeshop talks, because all these will not change anything. We cannot just think of ourselves. As responsible members of the community, we need to work as a body, as Rasulullah has said in his hadith, if one part of that body feels pain, surely the whole body feels it too.
Those are the two important values that we learn from the acts of worship we perform, as well as the significance of Eidul-Adha. May we reflect on the importance of the spirit of sacrifice and unity on this blessed day. May with reflection, we achieve the pinnacle of faith and feel the sweetness of iman and faith.
Rasulullah SAW said:
"When someone has in him these three things, he will feel the sweetness of faith: (First) When he loves Allah and his Prophet more than everything else, (Second) When he loves others only because of Allah, (and the third) When he hates unbelief and does not wish to return to it, as much as he hates to be cast into the Hellfire.
(Narrated by Imam Al-Bukhari dan Muslim)
The 'Id festival goes under many names throughout the Muslim world, but is most well-known as ;Idul Adha or Eid al-Adha. It is also known as Eid ul-Kabir, or the 'Great Festival'.
Let's take a look at different name of 'Idul Adha from different contries:
Official name Arabic: عيد الأضحى ‘Īd al-’Aḍḥā
Also called The Festival of Sacrifice,
Sacrifice Feast,
عید قربان Eyd e Qorbán (Iran),
Kurban Bayramı (Turkey),
Qurban Bayramı (Azerbaijan),
Kurban Bajram/Курбан бајрам/Курбан байрам (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Bulgaria, Republic of Macedonia, Russia, Ukraine),
ঈদ-উল-আজহা Id-ul-Azha or কোরবানী ঈদ Korbani Id (Bangladesh),
Lebaran Haji (Indonesia),
Hari Raya Aidiladha, Hari Raya Haji, Hari Raya Korban (Malaysia)
Kurban Ait (Kazakhstan, Xinjiang),
Loy Akhtar, لوی اختر (Afghanistan-Pashto),
عید قربان Eid-e-Qurban Afghanistan-Dari),
Hari Raya Haji/Lebaran Haji/Iduladha/Aidiladha/Qurbani/Qurban (Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore),
Eid el-Kbir (Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Libya)
古尔邦节 gú ěr bāng jié (China),
Tfaska Tamoqqart (Berber language of Jerba),
Jejhni Qurban(Kurdistan)
Tabaski/Tobaski (parts of Africa),
Babbar Sallah (Nigeria and West Africa),
Ciidwayneey (Somalia),
Bakra Eid (India, Pakistan, South Africa),
Opferfest (Germany),
Offerfeest (Netherlands, Belgium)
Allahu Akbar 3x
Mineola, NY
8th Zulhijjah, 1429 H
6 December 2008
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