Africa-Press – Gambia. As we witness this year’s Eidul Adha, on a blessed day of Friday 6th, which in itself is a day of Eid, we should always reflect on the countless blessings of Allah Almighty upon us and be grateful to Him and return gratitude. Eidul Adha is not only about the animals we slaughter, the beautiful new clothes we wear, the families we visit but such periods are periods of reflection, periods of self-assessment and periods of gratitude for the blessings and favours of Allah Almighty upon us.
The real purpose and spirit of the celebration of Eidul Adha is obedience and submission to the will of Allah Almighty and gratitude for all the favours He has bestowed upon us. We can learn these noble acts from our Prophets Hazrat Ibrahim and Hazrat Ismail and his mother Hazrat Hajra. Their examples of obedience to the will of Allah Almighty and their gratitude to Him, should be something that we all ought to emulate. It is due to these acts of theirs, and their total reliance and trust in Allah Almighty and their unflinching obedience and submission to His will that Allah Almighty granted them great honour and that is why their sacrifices will be celebrated until the end of time.
Every year on the occasion of Eidul Adha, we remember, recite and ponder over this verse of the Holy Qur’an in which Allah Almighty says in verse 38 of Surah al-Hajj (Chapter 22 of the Holy Qur’an), the translation of which is: “Their flesh reaches not Allah, nor does their blood, but it is your righteousness that reaches Him. Thus has He subjected them to you, that you may glorify Allah for His guiding you. And give glad tidings to those who do good.”
From this verse of the Holy Quran we learn that the blood of the animals does not reach Allah Almighty, nor does their flesh but what reaches Allah Almighty is our righteousness. As these animals lie down with total submission while they are sacrificed as the verse says He subjected them to you, that you may glorify Allah for His guiding you, it is in the same manner that we should submit ourselves to the will of our Lord and Creator, Allah Almighty and be ready to make every sacrifice to increase us in righteousness thus winning His pleasure and nearness while showing our gratitude to Allah Almighty for guiding us to the right path and the religion of Islam.
At the end of the verse it is mentioned that…And give glad tidings to those who do good. Hence we should all strive to do good and act upon deeds that will please Allah Almighty. Some of these good deeds can be regularly offering our five daily Salat, fasting the month of Ramadan and fasting other voluntary fasting as observed by our Holy Prophet of Islam Hazrat Muhammad Mustapha(saw). As Muslims, we should make it a habit and an integral part of our daily activities that we study the Holy Quran and ponder over its teachings and act upon its commandments. Those who can read and understand the Arabic text should do so and those who cannot read the Arabic text, should read in their own languages as we are fortunate that the Holy Qur’an is translated into English and many other languages, so people can read and study the Holy Qur’an in the languages they understand. Among the good deeds, we should always take care of the poor, the orphans, the needy, the destitute, the weak, the helpless, prisoners and sick individuals in our society and communities. We should not remember such people only during the occasion of Eid or when we have happy ceremonies, but we should regularly remember them and help them whenever and wherever we can throughout the year.
Today when we look around the world, including the Muslim world, we can see that many people are suffering, be it from war, displacements, persecutions and the likes and due to that, such people cannot enjoy Eid like how we are enjoying it. So we should remember these people as they are our brothers and sisters, we should pray for them and we should always supplicate in our Salat and shed tears for them so that we can draw the mercy of Allah Almighty and so that their plight can come to an end and they will live a peaceful and dignified life and will be able to worship their Lord and Creator in the best possible manner.
Here in The Gambia, we should be grateful to Allah Almighty for His continuous blessings upon us. As we continue to live in peace, love, harmony, brotherhood and tranquility. These are gifts from Allah Almighty which we should not take for granted but should continuously pray to Allah Almighty to continue blessing us with such gifts. Let us respect each other, love each other and be each other’s keeper. Let us be tolerant and accommodate each other and despite our diversity, let us live as one and as people from the same family sharing unbreakable bonds.
At the end I am hereby extending to you the warmest salaam, love, prayers and Eid Mubarak of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V(May Allah be his Helper), the Spiritual and Supreme Head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad. On behalf of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at The Gambia, I humbly wish you all Eid Mubarak, Happy Tobaski.
May Allah Almighty accept all our humble devotions and sacrifices. May He continue protecting and blessing our beloved and dear motherland, The Gambia and her people and shower peace, security, prosperity and stability upon us all and entire humanity. Ameen.
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