بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful:
لَنْ یَّنَالَ اللّٰهَ لُحُوْمُهَا وَ لَا دِمَآؤُهَا وَ لٰكِنْ یَّنَالُهُ التَّقْوٰی مِنْكُمْ ؕ
Not their flesh, nor their blood, reaches Allah, but to Him is acceptable observance of duty on your part. (Al Hajj 22:37)
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Assalam-o-Alaikum Wa Rakhmatullahi Wa Barakaato Hoo.
I wish you all a very happy Eid ul Adha.
On the occasion of Eid ul Adha an animal is sacrificed to commemorate the great sacrifice that Hazrat Ibrahim, may Allah’s blessings be upon him, was willing to make following a dream in which he was commanded by Allah Ta‘ala to sacrifice his son. Islam lays great emphasis on the spirit of all devotional observances. The purpose of all religious acts is to gain closeness to Allah Ta‘ala. This is made clear by Him in the above quoted verse which states:
Not their flesh, nor their blood, reaches Allah, but to Him is acceptable observance of duty on your part.
The Promised Messiah, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, has said that Eid has two aspects; the zahir that is the outwardly and the baatin, the one related to the soul. He has advised his followers to give preference to the spiritual aspect of this celebration and has strongly discouraged taking pride in the display of sacrificial animals to impress others.
The word qurbani is from the Arabic word qurb, which means nearness. Thus qurbani or act of sacrificing an animal is a means of gaining nearness to Allah. Hazrat Mirza Sahib has stated that spilling blood and eating the meat of the animal cannot be considered a sacrifice unless this is accompanied by the slaughter of the nafse ammara, the rebellious soul or the animal that abides in us. Hazrat Sahib says: “Eid ul Adha has a great significance but it is so unfortunate that people don't reflect on it.” He then queries as to how many of us have actually benefitted from the qurbani we made this day by cleaning our souls and hearts and making an earnest effort to partake of the light which is indicated in the word ‘al-adha’.
Let us all make a genuine effort on this Eid day to follow the guidance of the Imam of this era, Hazrat Mirza Sahib, seek the light that Eid ul Adha brings with it and slaughter the nafse ammara, the rebellious animal within us that incites us to sin. .
May Allah grant us the ability to achieve the spirit of Eid ul Adha.
Aameen summa aameen.