Search This Blog

Thursday 31 August 2017

LESSONS FROM EIDUL-ADHA AND 10 DAYS OF ZUL-HIJJA By YAHYA GARBA AL-YOLAWI



THE 135TH KHUTBAH DELIVERED AT AREA 10 JUMA’AH MASJID ABUJA, BY YAHYA GARBA AL-YOLAWI, (TO BE DELIVER) ON 1st SEPT. 2017/ 10TH ZUL-HIJJA 1438 AH

TOPIC: LESSONS FROM EIDUL-ADHA AND 10 DAYS OF ZUL-HIJJA
In the name of Allah the Beneficent the most Merciful
My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, our last week’skhutba centered on tips for Eidul-adha and sacrifice and today’s sermon will look at the possible lessons or benefitslearnt from these great and blessed days.
Respectedbrothers 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 fromEiduladha 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.
“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 AbiAmr – and it also said AbiAmrah – SufyanibnAbdillah (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 eiduladha celebrations and the ten days include:
1-Unity of muslimUmmah.
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 thiswell-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
Eidul-Adha is an Islamic celebration marking the last day of 10thof  zulHijja. 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 10days of zulhijja include:
1. Fear Allah and always beconscious 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).Howeververy fortunate some of our youth both male and female forget that as soonas 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.
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 yourIstiqāmah, 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 ibadatin and out first ten days of zulHijja. Ameen.


Kindly share it to others
    For questions or suggestions, pls call 08039584612

No comments:

Post a Comment

Popular