In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful:
Eid ul Adha Message (1441 Hijrah, August 2020)
Allah accepts only from the dutiful. (Al Ma’idah 5:27)
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Assalam-o-Alaikum Wa Rakhmatullahi Wa Barakaato Hoo.
I wish you all a very happy Eid ul Adha.
Although many physical aspects of the celebration of Eid ul Adha will be affected by the corona pandemic this year, but we can still fully benefit from the spiritual ones. Eid ul Adha is associated with the sacrificing of an animal or the Qurbani. The word Qurbani is derived from the Arabic root qaf ra’ ba’ (? ? ? (which conveys the sense of ‘nearness’. Qurbani is thus a means of seeking nearness to Allah.
Allah is omnipresent and not confined to a particular place. So nearness to Allah is the state one achieves through complete submission to Him by observing one’s duty to Him - by obeying His commands, that is, by refraining from what is forbidden and practicing what we are commanded to do
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Reformer of this era laid great stress on taqwah and stressed that Allah listens to prayers and answers them. The only obstacle in the way of acceptance of prayers, he said was lack of taqwah, piety and righteousness. So we have to make every effort to follow his advice and inculcate all these qualities in ourselves.
Hazrat Mirza Sahib has called Eid ul Adha a mujahidah or a struggle against our evil inclinations. He says that Eid ul Adha has a great significance, which alas we fail to realise. He goes on to say that those celebrating Eid should contemplate on the ways they have thought of purifying their hearts, minds and souls and what effort they have made to progress in the spiritual world. Eid ul Adha provides an opportunity to make a beginning of our journey in that direction.
Qurbani is not merely the slaughtering of an animal made subservient to us; but a manifestation of sacrificing all our worldly desires in the way of Allah. The Holy Qur’an specifically points out:
Not their flesh, nor their blood, reaches Allah, but to Him is acceptable observance of duty on your part (Al Hajj 22:37)
As mentioned earlier, the Holy Qur’an states:
Allah accepts only from the dutiful
So we have to observe our duty to Allah and realise that it is the spiritual intention that really matters in sacrificing the animal on Eid ul Adha. Mirza Sahib has stressed that when you place the knife on the animal’s neck, place it also on the nafs-i-ammara, the rebellious soul within.
May Allah grant us the strength to strive in His way and live a life in accordance with His commands.
Aameen summa aameen.