Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem
by
Hazrat Maulana Yunus Patel Saheb (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh)
Allah
Ta’ala states regarding the lofty act of Qurbani:
لَنْ
يَّنَالَ اللّٰهَ لُحُوْمُهَا وَلَا دِمَاۤؤُهَا وَلٰكِنْ يَّنَالُهُ التَّقْوٰﮮ
مِنْكُمْ ط كَذٰلِكَ سَخَّرَهَا لَكُمْ لِتُكَبِّرُوا اللّٰهَ عَلٰى
مَا هَدٰىكُمْ ط وَبَشِّرِ الْمُحْسِنِيْنَ ◌
“Their meat will not reach Allah, nor will their
blood, but what reaches Him is piety from you. Thus have We subjected them to
you that you may glorify Allah for that [to] which
He has guided you; and give good tidings to the doers of good.”
[Surah Al-Hajj 22: 37]
Sadly,
despite the knowledge disseminated of the merits and virtues of Qurbani and its
obligatory nature, there are many who have the ability and means, yet they
still present excuses of not having the money to undertake Qurbani. I am not
talking about the poor and needy who are exempt from Qurbani. I am talking
about those who are sitting with so many luxuries and they still ask if Qurbani
is Waajib (obligatory) or not.
…Let us
not take this act of Ibaadah so lightly. It is a great and very important
Sunnah that has to be upheld, and it is compulsory for those who have the means
to do so. Every adult Muslim, male and female, who owns 612.36 grams of silver
or its equivalent in money, personal ornaments, stock-in-trade or any other
form of wealth which is in excess of the person’s basic personal needs, is
obligated to offer Qurbani.
It is also
incorrect that we only promote Qurbani as a charitable undertaking – as something
to assist the poor and needy – in different parts of the world. This is what is
being highlighted in our advertisements and notices: That Qurbani be undertaken
to distribute to the suffering Ummah, throughout the world.
Indeed,
distributing to the poor is a great benefit of Qurbani. And similarly in all
Ibaadaat, we will find that there are great benefits. However, the benefit is not the objective. This is something that
should be understood.
The objective of Hajj is not just to meet
everyone on Arafat, even though it is a congregation of millions of Muslims
from around the world. The objective
of fasting is not to lose weight, even though we are eating far less than
usual. Similarly, the objective of Qurbani is not just to feed the poor. This
is not the purpose.
If a
person slaughters his animal or many animals, before the Eid Salaah, and then
distributes all of that meat to the poor and needy, then even though that kind
of generosity is very noble, every Mufti will say that the Qurbani is not
valid, and for the Qurbani to be valid, it has to be done after the Eid Salaah. …In a town, if the Eid Salaah is performed at
different venues, then after the first Eid Salaah, Qurbani will be valid.
Added to
this, there are other rules, regulations and conditions to be fulfilled and met
for Qurbani to be valid. …This shows that the Qurbani animal is different.
Therefore Allah Ta’ala says:
لَنْ
يَّنَالَ اللّٰهَ لُحُوْمُهَا وَلَا دِمَاۤؤُهَا وَلٰكِنْ يَّنَالُهُ التَّقْوٰﮮ
مِنْكُمْ ط
“Their meat will not reach Allah, nor will
their blood, but what reaches Him is piety from you. ”
[Surah Al-Hajj 22: 37]
So
Qurbani is not charity. If Qurbani is only charity, then how can we eat of it?
Can we utilize our Zakaat – or a portion of it - for ourselves? No.
Nabi
(Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) ate from his own Qurbani – but he (Sallallaahu
‘alayhi wasallam) would not eat of Sadaqah.
So Qurbani
should be done seeking the pleasure of Allah Ta’ala.
Sadly,
most people opt to give their money to different organisations, so that their
Qurbani is discharged without any labour. To give money is very easy but this
is not the spirit of Qurbani.
If we
just send our money to the neighbouring countries or overseas, then we are depriving
ourselves and our children of the spirit of sacrifice.
Yes, send
the Nafl Qurbanis to other places – if you wish to – and where the people will
benefit. However, at least make one or two at home. Let the children see and
take lesson. We ourselves need to see and take lesson.
In
enlivening this Sunnah, we take so many beautiful lessons. The heart and the soul are stirred to move in the direction of
submission to Allah Ta’ala.
We see
how the sheep or goat or other Qurbani animal is made to lie down, and how its
gives its life in the name of Allah Ta’ala. And we take lesson that just as
that sheep sacrificed its life on the Hukm of Allah Ta’ala, so we, who are the
servants of Allah Ta’ala, should be sacrificing our evil desires. In fact, our
whole lives should be sacrificed for Allah Ta’ala.
Our
respected Shaykh, Hazrat Maulana Hakeem Muhammad Akhtar Saheb (Rahmatullahi
‘alayh) presented a wonderful analogy. Hazrat asked: “When does the sun rise?”
As we all
know, it rises when the horizon turns red.
Hazrat
then explained: “Just as the sun rises when the horizon turns red, similarly, the suns
of Allah Ta’ala’s Muhabbat and Ma’rifat will rise when the horizons of the
heart turn red with the blood of one’s evil desires, which have been sacrificed
for Allah Ta’ala.”
Qurbani
is the Sunnah of Hazrat Ibrahim (Alaihis Salaam) and we must remember that
Hazrat Ibrahim (Alaihis Salaam) was not slaughtering a ram or sheep. The knife
was placed on his beloved son. That was the test and what a test! After making
Dua for a son and being granted a son, the Command is then to slaughter that very
beloved son.
Hazrat
Ibrahim (Alaihis Salaam) was Khaleelullah – the Friend of Allah Ta’ala, and he proved
his love for Allah Ta’ala. It was not just a claim. It was supported by his
entire life – which was clear proof of Ishq. And Ishq is something, that when
it comes into the heart, it cannot be hidden. It is something which is evident
in speech, in action – in everything and in every way.
We find
that there was no questioning any of Allah Ta’ala’s Commands. There was
immediate submission to every Command. …We should ask ourselves: What have we done to validate our claim of
loving Allah Ta’ala and His Rasul (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam)?
Hazrat
Isma’eel (Alaihis Salaam) was Zabeehullah. We find that there was no objection
on hearing the Command of Allah Ta’aala; only immediate submission.
Imagine
that scene: The son willingly and unhesitatingly tells his father to go
ahead in fulfilling the Command of Allah Ta’ala.
قَالَ يٰٓأَبَتِ افْعَلْ مَا تُؤْمَرُ ز
سَتَجِدُنِىْٓ إِنْ شَآءَ اللّٰهُ مِنَ الصّٰبِرِيْنَ ◌
“(The son) said : ‘O
my father! Do as you are commanded: You will find me, if Allah so wills,
practising patience and constancy.”
[Surah As-Saffaat
37 : 102]
Both
father and son passed their tests with flying colours. And these were very
great and difficult tests. … We are not being tested like that. Allah Ta’ala
made it easy for us.
Despite
the ease, we cannot even put the knife on our Haraam desires … yet, if we
sacrifice our Haraam desires, we
will benefit. We, ourselves, will be the
beneficiaries.
I often
say that in the word “Haraam”, there is the word “harm”. The outcome of Haraam
will always be harm. And considering the double ‘a’ in the transliteration, we
will experience double Harm: Harm in this world and Harm in the next. There is
just no goodness. Sins bring restless, anxiety and a host of problems.
What is required is for us to place the knife
over the animal within us. What is required is to place the knife
over our anger – our unjustified anger; and place the knife over our greed,
evil passions, jealousy and other evils.
Allah
Ta’ala commands us to wake up for Fajr, to read our five Salaah, daily, in the
Masjid, to fulfil the other rights of Allah Ta’ala and the rights of Creation.
And we are commanded to stay clear, to stay far away, from whatever Allah
Ta’ala has declared as Haraam. And in this easy way, gain the Muhabbat of Allah
Ta’ala and enjoy the best of both worlds.
…There is
so much to discuss about the Hajj that will be taking place and everything
relating to this Mubarak month: The Farewell Hajj, the unforgettable sermon
given by Nabi (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam), the Qurbani, and the great
virtues of these Mubarak days and nights. We must not depend on only the
Jumu`ah talk to learn Deen. We should seek to know and understand all these
important events in our beautiful history as well as learn the related Masaa`il
of the different Ibaadaat we are commanded to do.
May Allah
Ta’ala grant us a good, proper understanding and the Taufeeq of striving to
earn His Pleasure.
