Eid-ul-Adha commemorates the great sacrifice of Hazrat
Ibrahim (as) and Hazrat Ismail (as). It is indeed Hazrat Ibrahim (as) who
accomplished all rights of fidelity. He could not have become an intimate creature
and servant of Allah, were it not for the sincerity, cleanliness and purity he
displayed, and it would have been difficult for him to arrive at such stage (in
the eyes of Allah/ in the realm of spirituality).
To fulfil all rights of fidelity, Hazrat Ibrahim (as)
had to make such efforts to purify his heart and remove all 'Ghairullah'
(all that is not Allah) and filled it with the love of Allah and act according
to the will of Allah. Hazrat Ibrahim (as) had persevered in this path and
showed himself ever firm, to such an extent that he once dreamt that he was
sacrificing his son. So, concerning his dream, he could have given it several
interpretations, but his faith in Allah was so firm that he decided to go
through with the literal sacrifice of his young son, with his own hand.
Ponder over this. Imagine the state of a person if his
son suddenly dies due to some illness. That person can reach such stage where
he starts to have all kinds of doubts on Allah, and thus he opens his mouth to
utter countless complaints and objections against Allah.
So, Hazrat Ibrahim (as) crushed the love he had for his
son and above all preferred to show his love for Allah (swt). This kind of
person, Allah does not let him lose anything and he becomes the friend of
Allah.
When you read the Holy Quran, you see how much love he
had for Allah (swt) and Allah (swt) in return gave him lots of revelations and granted
him, in his progeny, prophets. Both his sons Ismail (as) and Ishaq (as) were
prophets and through them (i.e. their bloodline), many more prophets came. In the example of Hazrat Ibrahim (as), there is a lesson for
all humanity; a lesson of sincerity and faithfulness. That is why Ibrahim (as)
has been qualified as the one who showed faithfulness (fidelity) and sincerity.