Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmah Allah wa Barakatuhu, welcome back to the virtues of Dhul-Hijjah
So the most prominent practice that we have within these ten days is
obviously the Eid of the sacrifice, Eid Al Adha, it's the sacrifice itself
and it is the sacrifice of Ibraheem (AS) that we are commemorating
but there's something very deep about the Eid of the sacrifice or the
sacrifice itself and the meaning of the Udhiya, so Udhiya or sacrifice and
particularly in the in the pre-Islamic context used to be done to the idols
that they would bring to the kaaba and they would surround the house of
Ibrahim (AS), the house that Ibrahim (AS) built for Allah, they
would surround it with idols and then they would sacrifice to those idols and
this is very embedded in the aspect of worship that used to be carried out and
for us we find in the Quran where Allah mentions "Qul Inna Salati wa Nusuki wa
Ma7yaya wa mamati lillahi Rabbi Al3alamin, verily my prayer and my sacrifice my
life and my death are all for the sake of Allah. So the fact that Allah would
even put sacrifice in the same category as Salah, as prayer here, shows you really
how deeply embedded this was in worship, to the idols and in the way that they
would offer sacrifices to the idols. So what is it with the sacrifice and what
do we take from the sacrifice? There is a deep meaning in the Abrahamic way in the
way of IbrahIm (AS), it's obviously embedded in
Judeo-Christian thought, in Jewish thought with Ibrahim (AS)
in Christian thought, you know even calling Isa (AS) Jesus (pbuh)
the lamb of God the sacrifice of Allah. For us, we look at
this as first and foremost a means of drawing close to Allah (swt)
so it's honoring the one God that there's only sacrifice to the one God
and also it's a means of drawing close to Allah (Swt), so the word
Qurbani, Qurb, which by the way is the same word in Hebrew - that the Jews would
use - Muslims also say Qurbani, Kurbani, Qurbani in Arabic is to
draw close to Allah (swt) - so it's a means of honoring the one God
it's a means of coming close to Allah (swt) in the way of Ibrahim (AS)
and Ibn Omar narrates that the prophet
(PBUH) used to offer a sacrifice for all 10 years that he lived
in Medina. So every one of the 10 years he lived
in Medina, he would sacrifice (PBUH) and that's significant
because the Prophet only did one Hajj in the ninth year of Dhul-Hijjah, but
I'm sorry the ninth year after Hijrah, but he offered sacrifice every one of
those years just like he fasted Arafah from the second year after Hijrah
onwards the prophets (PBUH) was still practicing the Udhiya and
still practicing the fasting of Arafah even before the Hajj came, now
benefit of the one offering the sacrifice - not trimming their nails or
not trimming their hair any of their hair their body hair - is significant too
now if any of you have been to Umrah or Hajj, you know that when you're in a state
of I7ram, there are certain prohibitions for you so you're not
allowed to take from your hair or your nails as you're in that state of I7ram,
likewise when a person is in that state or in the state of going to offer a
sacrifice for the first 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah, they're not allowed to take from
their hair or their nails until after the sacrifice is done. Now what's the
significance of that? One, it connects us to the people in Hajj, it connects us to
the people in I7ram, and a lot of times we have a hard time connecting to those
people, so the one offering the sacrifice is like the one who's in a
state of a I7ram. Another benefit that a Ashawkany (Ra7imuhu Allah) mentions
Nayl Al Awtar that just like the person who's in i7ram is completely
ransomed from the punishment of Jahannam on the day of judgment, likewise it is
like saying every single part of you is freed and ransomed and and protected
from punishment on the day of judgment (bi 2ithn Allahi ta3ala) if it is accepted by
Allah (SWT) so it's freeing your entire body from punishment and
ransoming yourself with Allah (SWT) as you offer that sacrifice. Who is
the person that is to abide by this? It's the person offering the sacrifice- not
necessarily the one carrying it out. What does that mean? If I delegate someone
else to sacrifice on my behalf but I am the one offering the sacrifice, that
person is not the one subject to the prohibitions I am, ok? So the person who's
offering the sacrifice on behalf of themselves and their family-
so not the one that's carrying it out nor the one that it's being being
carried out on their behalf. It's the one who's offering the sacrifice that would
have to abide by those prohibitions so that they too could inshallah ta3ala
benefit from the full reward and of course every one that's being offered on
behalf of also enjoys the same reward and this is from the wisdoms of it.
Lastly and I think it's very beautiful that in our religion we have two Eids.
We have these two sacrifices- I'm sorry these two feasts - and when we have
Eid-ul-Fitr, which is the Eid after the month of Ramadan, the fast of
Ramadan, you have Zakat-al-Futr, you have a charity that is due on every one that
can afford it to pay for the feast of someone else of another family so all of
the Muslims are supposed to give Zakat-ul-Futr, the able Muslims are supposed to
give Zakat-al-Futr so that they are not the only ones that get to enjoy eat but
the entire community gets to feast on that day even if they're not able to
feast throughout the year. Likewhise, is here you have on Eid
ul-Adha, a requirement or a Sunnah - a practice in which a person
who can offer a sacrifice is to offer a sacrifice and then that meat is
distributed so that other people can feast as well that typically would not
be able to feasts. And in a lot of countries- Muslim countries and places
where the sacrifices take place- many people would only eat from from, you know
from an animal that day in particular. They would not be able to afford it
throughout the year, but that's the only day that they get to eat from the Udhiya,
to eat from the sacrifice and so everyone gets to feast on that day even
the poor who are typically left out. And so it's just beautiful that both of
their eats require us to include the wider community that typically does not
get to celebrate- everyone should celebrate on this day and everyone
should have the means to celebrate on this day. So just like in Eid ul Fitr,
if you can pay it so that someone else can enjoy it you must, and likewise with
Eid-ul-Adha, if you can offer a sacrifice so that others can enjoy that
sacrifice- enjoy the meat of that sacrifice and feast as well then you
should do it and that allows the entire community to truly enjoy Eid together.
May Allah (swt) allow us to see the benefits of it in
this life and in the next and join us with our beloved prophet
(SAW), the Prophet Ibrahim (AS) and all the Prophets
in the highest levels of Janah Al-firdous. Allahum Ameen, Jazaka Allah Khayran,
Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmah Allah wa Barakatuhu.