And for all religion We have appointed a rite (of
sacrifice) that they may mention the name of Allah over what He has provided
for them of (sacrificial) animals. For your god is one God, so to Him submit.
And, give good tidings to the humble (before their Lord),
Who, when (the name
of) Allah is mentioned, their hearts are fearful, and (to) the patient over
what has afflicted them, and the establishers of prayer and those who spend
from what We have provided them.
And the camels and cattle We have appointed
for you as among the symbols of Allah; for you therein is good. So mention the
name of Allah upon them when lined up (for sacrifice); and when they are
(lifeless) on their sides, then eat from them and feed the needy and the
beggar. Thus have We subjected them to you that you may be grateful.
Their meat
will not reach Allah, nor will their blood, but what reaches Him is piety from
you. Thus have We subjected them to you that you may glorify Allah for that
(to) which He has guided you; and give good tidings to the doers of good. (22: 35-38)
The great advices
mentioned in these verses apply to every aspect of human life. First they teach
us the meaning of sacrifice. And they teach us that we are dependent on these animals
(cattle) because we get all kinds of supplies from them. And there are other
benefits that are related to these quadrupeds to facilitate your life.
Certainly, it is on these types of animals also that you travel.
First, the word “Anam” applies to camels. And among all
quadrupeds, man gets more advantages in camels than in any other quadrupeds (in
particular, cattle). So the word “Anam”
applies perfectly and first to camels.
Certainly when you
travel too, you make use of these animals to carry your luggage, and when you
find yourself in the desert and you’re thirsty and you have nothing to drink,
then it is the camels that are at that moment very useful for you because you
can extract water from them when you slaughter them. This water is connected
with their stomach, and thereby, camels are your last life support in critical times.
So the word “Anam” applies mainly to camels. And
because of this, these Quranic verses summarize such sacrifices, making us
reflect on the usefulness of animals in our lives, for our survival, and now it
is the same animal (cattle) that you sacrifice pursuant to the will of God. So
it’s like this that you sacrifice your whole life for Allah, but this in no
case means that you have superiority over the cattle, as Allah is your Lord and
their Lord too.
So, say the name of
Allah and sacrifice these animals for the cause of Allah. It’s like you are
slaughtering all provisions in your life. And this is certainly the last and
highest meaning of sacrifice that these Quranic verses teach us. That is to
say, by sacrificing these animals for the cause of Allah, you are doing such
sacrifices upon which your life depends on it, because verily, you depend on
these animals for a living. And when you sacrifice them for the cause of Allah,
this is not to present their meat before Allah, because on the contrary the
meat will become useful for yourself, it will come to you! But the spirit behind
this sacrifice (quadrupeds/ cattle) is that you want to say to Allah: “Verily Oh Lord, we are ready to sacrifice
everything for You.”
Then Allah tells us to
submit ourselves to Him, the Unique God who made the sacrificial animal
helpless before you. Therefore, when you immolate animals, this should make you
think about the sacrifices of your own being. You should know that the animal which
was always there at your disposal, at your service, for your survival is now
seen as a sign of your own sacrifice.
By sacrificing it, then
the objective of this sacrifice is that you should always be ready to sacrifice
yourself for the cause of Allah just like this animal that presents itself
powerless before you, so that if ever a time comes when you must sacrifice
yourself for the cause of Allah, then you should also exert patience and you
will even have more patience than demonstrated by these animals that are
helpless before you.
Then Allah says to
announce the good news to those who are humble. In other words, you need to
draw lessons in humility from these helpless animals and you have to show more
humility than them. You must present all (everything that you have and your own
self) before Allah and you should not in any way demonstrate arrogance.
Instead, you must submit with all humility and certainly it is in this
demonstration of humility that there is the pleasure of Allah.
Now analyze how Allah
(in these verses) changed the subject of animal sacrifice and brought (our) attention
to human’s (Insan) sacrifices. Allah
says that it is indeed the true believers who make sacrifices for the cause of
Allah, and when they hear the name of Allah, their hearts tremble and are filled
with fear and they endure everything that happens to them (every
fall/difficulty/trial) in the way of Allah with patience.
Verily it is these
types of people (believers) who have already figured out the philosophy of
animal sacrifice. They realize that the creatures that are inferior to us are ever
ready to sacrifice for us, and it is indeed Allah Who created these animals for
us and gave us the right to sacrifice them by pronouncing the name of Allah
(before the sacrifice). This animal sacrifice (more specifically, of cattle) is
certainly possible with the permission of Allah. So how ungrateful and shameful
will it be on our part if we do not respond positively to the call of Allah whenever
He calls upon us to make sacrifices in His path!
So Allah makes us understand
that this call will come soon, and He instructs that this good news be given to
the believers, to those who are humble. Those who become so humble that when
they hear the name of Allah being mentioned their hearts tremble with fear and they
demonstrate exemplary patience they endure everything for the cause of Allah.
Then Allah says that they are the people who establish the prayer (Salat), and other acts of Ibadat (worship) and spend out of what
Allah has given them for the cause of Allah.
So this is a topic that
is closely with the Hajj. When Abraham (as) placed his knife at the throat of his
beloved son Ismail (as), he verily demonstrated such an excellent example that taught
us the philosophy of the sacrifices that animals do for us.
And there is also
mention of a time which will come when you (the human race, the true believers)
will have to present yourselves as well as your beloved children for the cause
of Allah, just like you put yourselves forward, ready to sacrifice these
animals. But in the kind of sacrifice that God wants from you (like for Abraham),
it is your spirit of sacrifice that He accepts and He has no need of the
sacrifice of your physical body.
So, from these verses
of the Quran, God wants to inform you that people immolate/slaughter animals
that were once at their own service and gave them (that is, you) lots of
things. But in another verse Allah says that with the sacrifice, neither their
blood nor their meat reach Allah. It is only your Taqwa that reaches up to Allah. What is this Taqwa? It is the fear of Allah.
So, in the first verse,
Allah mentions that the true believers are those who, when they hear mention
the name of Allah their heart tremble with fear. He wants to inform people that
it is through the sacrifices that they make that they shall enable an increase
in their Taqwa. And it is their Taqwa that is worthy to be accepted by
Allah because they are people who sacrificed everything for the cause of Allah
and they are always ready to sacrifice even more and even their own beings so
as to reap the pleasure of Allah.
This subject of intense
sacrifice has reached its completion in the time of Abraham (as), as the
intense emotion was certainly indescribable when he advanced with his knife to
cut the throat of his son, Ismail. The state of the heart of the father, and
the state of the heart of that boy are certainly difficult to describe, because
such a similar act of sacrifice has never happened before in the history (of
mankind). The father said: “O my son!
Allah gave me the instruction to sacrifice you.” The son replied: “O my beloved father, just do what Allah has
commanded you, and God-willing, you will find me among those who endure.”
So when Allah speaks of
“those who are patient over what has
afflicted them” it certainly refers to the same patience that the son of
Abraham (as) had shown at the time of sacrifice. It is not in vain that Ismail
had pronounced the words: “If Allah
wills, you will find me among the steadfast.” So the subject of sacrifice
in the path of Allah has such a deep connection with patience that if there is
no patience, so the sacrifice shall be in vain. Had Ismail (as) not say with
complete sincerity and faithfulness “God
willing, you will find me among those who endure,” then on that day itself,
the meaning of sacrifice would have lost its splendour; this sacrifice would
have been in vain.
And thus the world
would have been deprived of the (beautiful) reality of sacrifice (for the cause
of Allah). It is this patience that has shined forth and endured so brightly at
the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in such a unique way; unheard of
in the eras of past prophets, and that kind of brilliance of patience (and
sacrifice) shall not be the same in the future. The difference is only that
when Allah inspected the heart of Abraham (as) and testified of his sacrifice,
He then exonerated him from the (blood) sacrifice of his son.
I hope all of us will
reflect on this great sacrifice and especially the spirit of sacrifice that Abraham
(as) and his son Ismail (as) demonstrated and that each of us draws a lesson
from it. Let us pray that if ever we also have to present ourselves for
sacrifice, then we do so voluntarily, and we present these sacrifices with a
happy heart. Insha-Allah. Ameen. Eid-ul-Adha
Mubarak!
- Eid-ul-Adha sermon delivered by the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius on September 24, 2015 (10 Dhul-Hijjah 1436 Hijri).