Eid Mubarak Everyone!
"Je je maangu, te toonhi devey!"
My very dear friend and Teacher wrote the Eid ul Adha article for me, and so I am pleased to present it here earlier than I imagined possible. (Yes, I found this out at the Partnership Walk on Sunday, that the Sakar Datoo I have been enjoying corresponding with, was my English Teacher at the Aga Khan School in Dar es Salaam!)
Zamzam the
Well of Ismail Hagar's story and how it relates to Eid ul Adha
- Eid ul Adha
- by Sakar Datoo
for men and a place of security, and:
Appoint for yourselves a place of prayer
on the standing place of Ibrahim. And We
enjoined Ibrahim and Ismail saying:
Purify My House for those who visit it
and those who abide in it for devotion and
those who bow down and those who prostrate
themselves."
(HOLY QURAN 2:125)
EJI
HINDU KE GHAR BETA AAYA HUA MUSALMAAN
PEHLA NAAM IBRAHIM BHANNAYA
DEEN HUA RAHMAN...ELLAHI BHED TANTAV NAAM LIJE
Like Prayers, Zakat, Fasting, Hajj also is one of the fundamental institutions
of Islam. According to Shariat, Hajj is the name given to the performance
of the
prescribed acts of worship during the prescribed period at the designated
places (Mecca, Mina, Arafat, and Muzdalifa).
As already stated, Hajj is one of the basic pillars of Islam. And actually
speaking, the performance of Hajj by Muslims from around the world
is in
pursuance of the prayer of Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) when he was commanded
by Allah to
build 'a House of Sanctuary' at Mecca. After the House was built, Hazrat
Ibrahim (AS) prayed to Allah to send people to that barren, uninhabited
place and
enrich it with His Choicest gifts.
Indeed, Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) was the loved one of Allah Who described
him as
'Khalilullah' (friend of Allah). And thus, when the father and son
- Hazrat
Ibrahim (AS) and Hazrat Ismail (AS)- built the Sacred House of Allah,
in
compliance to Allah's Commands, they beseeched Him to accept their
work and make
the House a sacred place of worship. They also prayed to Him to send
a messenger
from their midst, that is, from the people of Mecca:
"Our Lord!
and raise up in them an Apostle
from among them who shall recite to them
Thy communications
and teach them the Book
and the wisdom and purify them; surely Thou
art the Mighty, the Wise."
(HOLY QURAN 2:129)
Almighty Allah accepted the prayers of Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) and Hazrat
Ismail (AS)
and made Ka'aba the most sacred place of worship where people gather
together
for Hajj ( as well as Umra).
The Holy Ka'aba is the only place in the world where ceaseless prayers
are
offered throughout the day and night.
Allah also accepted the other prayers of the two prophets and sent amidst
people
of Mecca His last Messenger, Prophet Muhammad (SAW), descended from
Hazrat Ismail and revealed to him His last Book, the Quran.
Watching the pilgrims from all parts of the world, clad in two unsewn
white
chadars, circumambulating the Ka'aba again and again, running from
Safa hill to
Marwa and back, praying ardently in the plains of Arafat, stoning the
Shaitan at
Mina, and performing all the other rites, one cannot help but be struck
by the
awesome Majesty of Allah and a Muslim's total surrender to His will.
Hajj is
also a unique manifestation of brotherhood and equality. During the
Hajj rites
and rituals, all signs of rank, status, wealth, caste and colour cease
to exist.
Hajj is also an example of orderliness, punctuality and discipline.
It is an
Occasion when Muslims of all shades and lands, regardless of their
status in
life come together.
At the end of Hajj, Eid-ul-Adha is celebrated on the 10th of Zilhaj.
Apart from
the congregational prayers, an important aspects of Eid-ul-Adha is
Qurbani.
Qurbani (sacrifice) by Hajis is by way of thanksgiving for the blessings
of Hajj:
"And proclaim
among men the Pilgrimage;
they will come to you on foot and on
every lean camel, coming from every remote
path, That they may witness advantages for
them and mention the name of Allah during
stated days over what He has given them
of quadrupeds, then eat of them and feed
the distressed one, the needy."
(HOLY QURAN 22:27-28)
The Qurbani offered by Muslims all over the world on Eid-ul-Adha is
also an act
of worship. It is mainly an expression of thankfulness for the bounties
of
Allah. It is to celebrate the supreme sacrifice given by Hazrat Ibrahim
(AS):
"And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice."
(HOLY QURAN 37:107)
Syed Narmohamed bin Imam Shah, in SATVENI MOTI speaks of this supreme sacrifice:
IBRAHIM PAIGAMBER KA SUNNIYE HALA
NAMRUDH NE BEECH AGNI J DALA
POTE DEKHA KHWABJ MAHEN
ISKU SURIJAN SAPNE AAYE
PUTRA LEKER QURBANI KITA
TO JA SURIJAN MELA DITA
IBRAHIM MAN MAHEN SAACHA HATA
LE QURBANI OON KINA PUTRA
KHWAB J KERA ISHQ JO AAVE
AWAR MUHOBBATSUN SHAH NE PAAVE
Again, referring to Hazrat Ismail(AS)'s qurbani, Pir Hasan Kabirdin,
in his
Ginan: "EJI SARVE JEEVUNA JIYARE LEKHA LESHE", he says:
EJI PATTA BANDHIYA QATAL KARNE KUN CHALIYA
TAB DHOOMBA LEKER HAATH MAHEN DIYA..EBI..
Qurbani is also an expression of our determination to sacrifice, if
need be, our
lives, in the service of Mowla. Indeed, qurbani is a symbol and substitute
of
one's own sacrifice. In fact, it is independent of Hajj, and is not,
rather
should not, be confined to Eid-ul-Adha. For a Momeen who treads the
Path of
Truth, the Path of SATPANTH, everything is to be sacrificed:
PAHELE TO DIJE KAYA KARRJAN
PACHHI DIJE PINDI KERO MAANS...
SABKUCHH DINOON RAJA PADSHAH
JIKI MINJ AAYO SAGHRRO SANSAAR.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Hajj Mubarak! Eid-ul-Adha Mubarak!
Allah Hafeez!
Sakar Datoo
