TOPIC: LESSONS FROM EIDUL-ADHA CELEBRATION AND 10 DAYS OF ZUL-HIJJA
In the name of Allah the Beneficent the most Merciful
Respected brothers and sisters in
Islam, our last week’s khutba centered on tips for Eidul adha and sacrifice and
today’s sermon will look at the possible lessons or benefits learnt from these
great and blessed days.
Respected brothers and sisters in Islam! we should fear Allah as He
should be feared for, the fear of Allah is the best treasure for a every
Muslim. My dearest listeners! Months days and years are made to determine
lifespan and to give people the opportunity to perform good deeds. Above all
death goes round day and night to take the souls of those whose time is due and
you will go when it is time and you shall be addressed on the Day of
Resurrection on account of your deeds. …“These are only your deeds that has
been recorded for you and for which I am going to reward you. So, whoever gets
a good reward should be thankful to Allah and whoever gets otherwise should
only blame himself.”
The 10 days of zul-hijja are just saying good bye with your deeds. Let those who have committed wrong among you quickly repent and amend their ways before door of Repentance is closed and let those who have done good keep the lessons acquired from Eidul adha celebration and these 1st ten days of zul –hijja let them continue in the same pattern, the best of all acts of obedience are said the ones followed up with its like. Be concerned more over the acceptance of your deeds than over the deeds itself for, Allah does not accept deeds except from the pious ones. Also, beware of following up good deeds with bad ones because, if to say that good deeds eradicate bad ones, it is also not far that bad deeds destroy good ones also.
You can also read other
lectures by Imam Yahya Alyolawi
Click here to read
“Verily, the good deeds remove
the evil deeds (i.e. small sins). That is a reminder (an advice) for the
mindful (those who accept advice).” (Surah Hud 11:114)
The Prophet [SAW] said: “Fear Allah wherever you are, follow up the evil deed
with good one it will remove it and relate with people with good conduct.”
(Reported by At-Tirmizi)
On the authority of Abi Amr – and it also said Abi Amrah – Sufyan ibn Abdillah
(may Allah be pleased with him) who said: “I said, “O Messenger of Allah, tell
me a statement about Islam such that I will not have to ask anyone other than
you”. He answered, “Say, I believe in Allah and then stand firm and steadfast
to that”. Muslim
Some of the lessons/benefits from eidul adha celebrations and the ten days
include:
1-Unity of muslim Ummah.
Indeed, Eid al-Adha is a time of prayers, hajj, giving sacrifices and
celebration for over one billion people around the globe. This signifies the
unity of the ummah on how the same instruction and perform almost the same
worldwide. “Indeed this, your religion, is one religion, and I am your Lord, so
worship Me.” Q 21:92
2- Sacrifice, Piety and devotion to Allah:
This is very clear in Ibrahim (AS) and his adherence to the worship and
will of Allah swt. We should take a lesson from this well-known story of
Ibrahim and his son Ismail . We are all reminded of this story as Eid al-Adha
represents the end of the first ten glorious days of Dhul-Hijjah. Allah
(SWT)“My Lord! Grant me (offspring) from the righteous.” So We gave him the
glad tidings of a forbearing boy. 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 wills), you
shall find me of As-Sabirun (the patient).” 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 Ibrahim! You have fulfilled the dream!’ Verily! Thus do We reward
the Muhsinun.” Q37:100-105
If we look very closely to this story of Ibrahim, we find that Allah ordered
His believing slave to slaughter his beloved son! Both the father and the son
fully submitted to the order of Allah without questioning it. Ibrahim (AS)
didn’t look for a reason for the command that Allah gave him, nor did Ismail
knowing that he was going to be sacrificed. Rather they both willingly accepted
the decision of Allah because they realized that He was the Creator and that
their purpose in this life is to worship Him. The lesson we can learn from this
is to submit to the orders of Allah whether Allah has given us a reason for
them or not. So we know that Allah issued a judgment on the many actions that
are before us such as the prohibition of dealing in Riba (usury), bribery and
corruption, pre-marital relations, immoralities, killings, drug abuse and
intoxications. We must submit to these rules completely without attempting to
justify engaging in them based on our own short rationale.
3-Effective use of time
Eid ul-Adha is an Islamic celebration marking the last day of 10th of zul
Hijja. These precious days of the year has gone with it sacred hours only the
fortune among made the best use of it in Hajj activities, fasting, reading
Quran, sacrifice, and other vital acts of worship.
4-Love and sharing:
As we are all aware it is encouraged to divide meat of your sacrifice in
to three (3) one for the house, other two are to be given as gift and charity.
This is teaching an important lesson on how make family happy, assist others
and put smile on the face of poor and needy people.
Some ways to achieve Istiqāmah after 1st 10 days of zul hijja
include:
1. Fear Allah and always be conscious of the final destination, i.e. the Day of
Qiyamah. One way to do it is through remembering that a person's journey
towards Akhirah starts the minute he or she passes away and leaves this world.
"If you live until the morning do not wait for the evening and if you live
until the evening do not wait for the morning."
2. Striving in acts of worship. (Mujāhadah)One has to make a commitment
that he or she will be steadfast and will do things in the right way and in the
best way possible, and to adhere to conjunctions of Islam. Unfortunately many
Muslims are being lenient in making such a commitment.
4. Feeling that Allah (SWT) and the two 2 Angels are with you and taking
the record of your deeds all the time. (Muraqabah). However very fortunate some
of our youth both male and female forget that as soon as it is after Eid prayer
in matter of some hours they go back to their sins, immoralities and
criminalities. subhanallah!
5. Self- accountability (Muhāsabah). This should be done twice: Firstly, before
we start doing something or any act of worship, ensuring that it pleases Allāh,
that we do it for His sake only, realizing the right way it should be done.
Secondly, after the action has been done, to check whether we have achieved
what we aimed for, and to check for defects and shortcomings such as riyaa and
lack of sincerity.
7. Striving for improvement (Tahsin). We have to make improvements
in all that we do (daily activities, work place, actions, good deeds, ibadah,
etc.) as one of our objectives.
Factors that weaken one’s istqama include:
1. Committing sins, and insisting on repeating them again and again, without
istighfar (seeking Allāh's forgiveness) and without practicing repentance.
2. Shirik (associating anything with Allāh) whether in intentions, by showing
off our good deeds to others, seeking others' appraisal, avoiding being blamed
by others, being afraid of someone, or to seek rewards from others than Allāh.
You can also read other
lectures by Imam Yahya Alyolawi
Click here to read
3. Nifaq (hypocrisy). There are two forms of nifaq: in belief and in action.
The Muslim who submits totally to the will of Allah and accepts Islam based on
his or her choice is free from the first form of hypocrisy. However any Muslim
is subject to and should avoid the second form of nifaq which the Prophet,
(SAW), warned us about: Not keeping promises and breaking them continuously
without good reasons or excuses, not fulfilling commitments we make with
others, being aggressive and unjust to others in quarrels, and disputes,
failing to shoulder responsibilities or burdens we are entrusted with, etc
4. Bad friends and evil companies: Mankind cannot live alone; every individual
must live and interact with others, and when interacting with others one either
influences or is himself influenced. Those people whom you sit with and make
your friends are inevitably going to fall into one of two categories. They will
either be good individuals - who guide and encourage you towards what is good
and help you to accomplish that which Allah has ordered, or they are going to
be bad - encouraging you to do what is pleasing to Devil, that which misleads
you, and leads you to the Hell-Fire.
Prophet (SAW) gave a good example regarding this. He said: "The case
of the good friends and the bad companion is like that of the seller of musk
and the blower of the bellows (iron-smith). As for the seller of musk, he will
either give you some of the musk, or you will purchase some from him, or at
least you will come away having experienced its good smell. Whereas the blower
of the bellows will either burn your clothing, or at least you will come away
having experienced its repugnant smell." [Bukhari and Muslim]
5. There are other factors that also contribute to weaken your Istiqāmah, such
as: recklessness, reluctance, pride, ignorance, heedlessness, being overwhelmed
by a deceiving enjoyment, and being misled by self-interests and desires.
We ask Allah the most high
to accept our fasting, devotion and grant us ability to continue to be
steadfast in ibadat in and out first ten days of zul Hijja. Ameen.
No comments:
Post a Comment