The Sacrifice of the Self
“Here I am, O Allah, here I am, Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. Verily all praise and thanks and all blessings and all sovereignty are Yours. You have no partner.”
Pilgrims chant this prayer during their pilgrimage, from within the boundaries of the Ka’aba to the plains of Arafat; A prayer that elegantly underlines the process of this enterprise- total devotion after a complete renunciation of worldly desires.
There are perhaps about sixty thousand pilgrims participating in the Hajj this year. Faced with the Covid-19 pandemic, it is people of different nationalities who already live in Saudi Arabia who are making the pilgrimage this year. This is the second time in this century [the 21st century], as well as since the founding of Saudi Arabia [in 1932] that the Hajj has not taken place under normal conditions due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its variants. Last year for the first time in Saudi Arabian history, Hajj was performed by just about a thousand people in Saudi Arabia. Pilgrims from other countries did not receive visas to perform Hajj during these two years as a precaution and to preserve the health and life of the pilgrims.
So in this century of divine manifestation, the Hajj, which usually attracts over a million pilgrims from dozens of countries, has not taken place under normal conditions.
All Muslims around the world cherish the desire to one day perform these sacred rites of Hajj - one of the five pillars of Islam. With this pandemic that has changed a lot of human behaviour, as well as the systems of the world, Hajj is no exception. Despite the Hajj taking place, but its normality is abruptly interrupted.
For the hundreds of millions of Muslims who stay at home, and who mourn this loss of non-observance of Hajj, because of this restriction, there is Eid-ul-Adha, celebrated on the tenth day of the month of Hajj [Dhul-Hijjah] when, in Mecca, the pilgrimage ends. Devotees usually go to the mosque for prayers, after which they slaughter animals as sacrifices. In these days how necessary it is for every believer to remember his duties towards his Creator as well as towards his fellow men!
The Farewell Sermon of the Holy Prophet
As Muslims, we need to be reminded a lot of the advice of our beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) during his whole life and also during his last pilgrimage (Hajj).
In the ninth year of the Hegira, the Holy Prophet (pbuh) set out on the pilgrimage and returning from Muzdalifa, he stopped en route at Mina. It was the eleventh day of the month of Dhul-Hijjah. He stood before a large gathering of Muslims and addressed them with a speech, known throughout history as the “‘Farewell Sermon’ of the Holy Prophet”. During his address he said:
“O people, give me a
listening ear, for I do not know if I will be able to stand [again] before you
in this valley to speak to you as I am doing today. God has made your lives and
your possessions sacred against attacks from others until the day of judgement.
God has appointed a share of the inheritance for each of you.
No ‘will’ shall therefore
be admitted which prejudices the interests of law. A child born in a house will
be considered the child of the father of that house. Anyone who disputes the
parentage of this child will be subject to punishment under the Law of Islam.
Anyone who attributes their birth to someone else’s father, or falsely claims
that someone is their master, God, His angels and all mankind will curse him.
O people, what I say to you, you must hear and remember. All Muslims are brothers to each other. You are all equal. All people, to whatever nation or tribe they belong to, and whatever their place in society, are equal.”
As he said this, the Holy Prophet (pbuh) raised his hands and, joining the fingers of one hand with those of the other, he added:
“Just as the fingers of both hands are equal, so are human beings equal to each other. No one has any rights, no superiority to claim over others. You are like brothers.”
Continuing, he (pbuh) again said: “Do you know what month we are? What day of the year is it today?”
The Muslims replied that they knew it was the holy month, the holy land and the day of Hajj (pilgrimage).
Then the Holy Prophet (pbuh) declared:
“As this month is holy, this earth inviolable, and this day holy, so God has made the life, the goods and the honour of every man sacred. Taking a man’s life, or his possessions, or attacking his honour is as unjust and wrong as violating the holiness of this day, this month and this land. What I am commanding you today is not valid only for today. This is valid for all time. You must remember this and act accordingly until you leave this world to go to the next to meet your Creator.”
Finally he (pbuh) said:
“What I have told you,
you must communicate to the ends of the earth. Maybe those who haven’t heard me
will benefit more from it than those who have heard me.”
Remember my dear brothers and sisters in Islam that the pilgrimage (Hajj) is a pillar of Islam. So imagine its importance in our life and especially for the Ummah Muhammadiyya (pbuh). Every sincere Muslim desires to perform Hajj, but many believers fail to perform it, but remember that all action is based on our intention. The following anecdote is a clear illustration of what I am saying.
Abd ‘Allah ibn Mubarak lived in Mecca, and a year after performing the pilgrimage rites, he fell asleep, and in a dream saw two angels coming down from heaven.
“How many pilgrims have come this year?” One of the angels asked the other. “Six hundred thousand,” replied the angel. “How many pilgrimages have been approved by God?” - “None”, was the answer.
“When I heard these words,” said ‘Abd Allah, “I was seized with a tremor – ‘What!’ I cried out. “All these people have come from the ends of the earth, at the cost of great hardship and fatigue, from every deep ravine, crossing its vast deserts, and all this trouble is in vain?”
‘There is a cobbler in Damascus called Ali Ibn Muwaffaq’, said the angel. ‘He did not come on the pilgrimage, but his pilgrimage is accepted and all his sins are forgiven.’
‘At these words’, Abd Allah continued, ‘I woke up saying: I have to go to Damascus to see this person’.
‘So I went to Damascus and looked for his home. I called out loud, and someone came out. – “What’s your name?” I asked. – “Ali ibn Muwaffaq”.
I told him: “I want to talk to you.” He told me: “Speak”.
“What is your job?” - “I’m a cobbler”. I told him my dream. “What’s
your name?” He asked when I was done. “Abd Allah ibn Mubarak,” I
replied. He cried out and passed out. When he came to himself, I told him: “Tell
me your story”.
The man told me: “For thirty years I have wanted to make the pilgrimage. I had saved three hundred and fifty dirhams on the fruits of my labour, and this year I decided to go to Mecca. One day my good wife became pregnant; she smelled the smell of food coming from next door. – “Go get me some of this food,” she begged me. I knocked on my neighbours’ door and explained the situation. My neighbour burst into tears. “My children haven’t eaten for three days,” she tells me. “Today I saw a donkey lying dead; I cut a piece of it and cooked it. It would not be a lawful food for you.” My heart burned in my chest when I heard her story. I took the three hundred and fifty dirhams and gave them to her. “Spend that money on the children.” I told her: “This is my pilgrimage [Hajj]”.
“The Angel was telling the truth in my dream,” concludes ‘Abd Allah, “and the Heavenly King [i.e. Allah] was right to judge thus [i.e. like He did].”
Allah is indeed very great and merciful. Allah accepts the intention of whomsoever He wants. He knows who is sincere and who isn’t. By bestowing this vision on ‘Abd Allah ibn Mubarak, Allah wanted Ali ibn Muwaffaq’s generous action to be recognized and for it to become a lesson for all of us. It is indeed frightening that the Hajj of six hundred thousand people is not accepted, and that the Hajj of a person who has not performed the rites of Hajj is accepted. Certainly, any action that comes from the heart and that is done for the pleasure of Allah will reap its rewards as will the expectation of so many Muslims around the world who are waiting for the day when they can finally perform Hajj. So, I say to all these people, don’t despair. If your intention is sincere, Allah will certainly accept your Hajj. Do not despair. Would you have thought that one day the Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim would enter the compounds of the Ka’aba and do the Tawaf [circumambulation] of the Ka’aba on his minor pilgrimages [Umrah]? Certainly the promise of Allah is true. What He has promised us will one day come true very soon. The door of Hajj will be wide open for us. It would be divine mercy to enable Allah’s elected servants to perform their Hajj in peace and with divine blessing. Our patience and sacrifice, like ‘Ali ibn Muwaffaq, would certainly never be in vain! Insha-Allah.
When referring to Eid-ul-Adha, we refer also to the sacrifice of an animal, just like the sacrifice of Abraham (as) and his son Ishmael (as). Let’s see what the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian taught us about this. On 13 April 1900, the day of Eid-ul-Adha, the Promised Messiah delivered the special sermon in the Arabic language - in accordance with divine instructions.
By eight in the morning that day, Qadian’s Al-Aqsa Mosque was already full with around 300 worshipers from all over India.
Hazrat Ahmad (as) arrived at the mosque at 8:30 a.m. After the prayer, led by Maulvi Abdul Karim, Hazrat Ahmad (as) stood up to address the congregation. After a brief introduction in Urdu language, he began to speak in Arabic language. Beforehand, he had given instructions to two of his disciples, Maulvi Nooruddin and Maulvi Abdul Karim, to take note of everything he was about to say, and to stop him if they did not understand something, because he could not remember it afterwards. He spoke for about an hour delivering a speech that was revealed to him from start to finish. The large majority of the audience did not understand much, but were captivated by the speaker’s eloquence and the light of holiness that emanated from his face.
“O servants of Allah,
meditate and reflect on this day of sacrifices, for in these sacrifices are
hidden many secrets for those who are endowed with intelligence… Most certainly
in our religion, this action is among those which bring us closer to Allah (Holy
is He). This action is like a mount that moves as fast as lightning and has its
shine. It is for this reason that the animals intended for sacrifice are called
‘Qurbani’ (from the word ‘Qurb’ which means ‘coming together’) because it has
been said that all those who perform the sacrifice with sincerity, devotion and
faith draw near to Allah and see Him. And these sacrifices are among the
greatest virtues (Nusuk) of Shariah and that is why these sacrifices are called
‘Nasika’. The Arabic word ‘Nusuk’ means ‘obedience’ and ‘worship’, and this
word is also used to refer to the slaughter of these animals. This multiplicity
of meaning therefore clearly indicates that the true worshiper is the one who
kills his ego as well as all that relates to it ... Only for the pleasure of
his Master. And all the desires of his ego are buried to such an extent that
there is no longer any desire ... And the strong winds of annihilation pass
over him and the atoms of his being are carried away by the gusts of this
storm. And anyone who meditates on these two common meanings of the word ‘Nusuk’
and studies this point carefully will not have the slightest doubt and will not
hesitate for a single moment to admit that the worship that saves us from
eternal perdition is the sacrifice of Nafs-e-Amara, (the state of soul which
inclines towards evil). It must be stabbed in the throat with the spears of
self-effacement (that is, cut all ties and turn to Allah the Benefactor, the
Governor and the Mighty).
The various kinds of
hardships therein must be endured with patience so that the soul may be saved
from death caused by neglect. And this is the real meaning of Islam, and this
is the reality of perfect obedience. And a Muslim is one who bows (his neck)
before Allah, the Master of all worlds. For Him he sacrifices the she-camel of
his ego and throws it on the ground on her forehead, and he never forgets his
own death.
In short, in Islam
sacrifices and immolations serve to remind us of this purpose… our Creator, the
Eternal God has revealed this hidden secret in His book. He tells His prophet
(and He is The Truth).
Notice how He explained
the word “Nusuk” by the words “Mahya” and “Mamat” (life and death). In this way
He indicated the deep reality of the sacrifices. So meditate on it, O you people
of intellect. And the one who offers his sacrifice with full knowledge of his
reality, a pure heart and a sincere intention has certainly sacrificed his ego,
his soul, his children and his grandchildren. And a great reward is reserved
for him like that of Abraham, which was granted to him by the Master, the
Glorious one.
And this reality was
underlined by our master, the chosen one, our prophet, the chosen one, the
chief of the pious, the seal of the prophets. He says (and he is most truthful
after Allah): “Surely the sacrifices are those mounts which lead to the Master
of the universe. They erase sins and reject calamities”.
These words have come
to us from him who is the best in creation, Allah’s peace and blessings be upon
him. He has indicated here the philosophy of these sacrifices in terms as
beautiful as pearls.
However, it is
unfortunate that most people ignore these hidden aspects, and they do not act
on this advice. Eid has no meaning for them other than taking a bath and
wearing new clothes. That day they eat voraciously, [with] mouths full ...
... then they go to the
Eid prayer with a lot of pomposity like princes, and you will see that [on] that
day they will find their greatest pleasure in the best dishes, and their
greatest necessity will be an expensive dress to show the people, and they don’t
know what sacrifice is and why the sheep and the oxen are slaughtered. From
dawn until late at night their Eid consists of eating and drinking, having fun
and wearing nice clothes ... then they offer their prayers quickly (like a hen
pecking) without really paying attention. And their minds are filled with other
worries and they are distracted. Then they disperse to find various kinds of
food to fill their stomachs like animals. And they indulge in debauchery,
banter and brutality. And they graze freely in the pastures of passions.
So “innalillaahi”
[Innalillaahi wa inna ilayhi raajiiun] for the misfortune of Islam and the
vicissitudes of time! Men’s hearts are dead, sorrows have increased!
So in this dark and tormented time Allah’s mercy commanded that light be sent from heaven. So know, O people, that I am that light, the appointed reformer and the servant sustained by Allah. I am the expected Mahdi and the Promised Messiah. My Master has conferred on me a rank which is not known to anyone. Let us leave ordinary people aside, even those with a close connection to Allah ignore my secret.”
So, my dear disciples and my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, all of this advice is gold. Our beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) and the Promised Messiah (as) gave us excellent advice. Our sacrifice, our life, our possessions, everything we have belongs to Allah, The Absolute Master. So let us make the necessary effort to build our life out of the sweat of our sacrifice for the pleasure of Allah, to achieve Him alone, the Ultimate Goal, our True Goal. Insha-Allah, Ameen.
I wish you once again, EID-UL-ADHA MUBARAK!
----Eid-ul-Adha Sermon delivered by Imam-Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius on 21 July 2021 ~10 Dhul-Hijjah 1442 AH.