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Among
the lessons of Hajj is making sacrifice in the way of Allah, for
the cause of Islam. As Islam is itself a religion of sacrifice,
its different pillars also contain the same features and
characteristics. Prophet Ibrahim (peace and blessings be upon him)
sacrificed his most loved ones for the sake of Allah. He loved his
only son, Isma`il (peace and blessings be upon him), more than
anything else. Allah Almighty asked him to sacrifice Isma`il.
Prophet Ibrahim was going to sacrifice his son Isma`il in the way
of Allah by His Order:
(Then
when (the son) reached (the age of) (serious) work with him, he
said: “O my son; I see in vision that I offer thee in sacrifice.
Now say what is thy view.” (The son) said: “O my father; do as
thou art commanded; thou will find me, if God so wills, one of the
patient.” So when they had both submitted their wills (to God),
and he flung him down upon his face (for sacrifice), We called out
to him, “O Ibrahim; thou hast already fulfilled the vision; thus
indeed do We reward those who do right.)
(As-Saffat 37:102-105) The Qur’an says (And
We ransomed him with a momentous sacrifice.)
(As-Saffat 37:107)
The
sacrifices made by Prophet Ibrahim and Isma`il for the love of
Allah left an indelible imprint on the history of mankind. This
sacrifice is still remembered and reenacted during Hajj. Prophet
Ibrahim left a record of sacrifice to please Allah. In modern
times, sacrifice is symbolized by an act of slaughtering a camel
or cow or lamb for the sake of Allah during the days of `Eid
Al-Adha, i.e., starting after the `Eid prayer till the sunset on
the third day of `Eid. Sacrifice is a strongly recommended Sunnah
of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and
was introduced in the second year after Hijrah. The purpose of
sacrifice is to remind oneself of the great sacrifice of Prophet
Ibrahim (peace and blessings be upon him).
The
sacrifice of life and wealth in the way of Allah is the zenith of
a man’s belief. Allah says: (You
shall not attain righteousness unless you give of that which you
love; and whatever you give, Allah surely knows it)
(Aal `Imran 3:92). This means that when something that has been
held so dear is sacrificed in the way of Allah, one may hope to
secure Allah’s pleasure. The verse tells us that to attain
righteousness one has to sacrifice things, but to attain it in
perfection one has to sacrifice things dearer to oneself.
Every
sacrifice and effort is to be aimed at seeking Allah’s pleasure.
That Allah be pleased with us is the real capital of our lives,
and it is for this pleasure that everything should be sacrificed: (Surely
my prayers and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death is
for Allah alone, the Lord of the worlds)
(Al-An`am 6:162).
Hajj
is the greatest training and practical demonstration of the spirit
of sacrifice in the way of Allah. It shows that Islam does not end
with giving some utopian ideals for human life. It is not only a
religion, it is the guidance for the whole of mankind to shape
their lives around in this world and hereafter. That’s why Allah
makes provision for the teaching and training of humankind in
every quality through practical implementation.
Muslims
were not only taught, but also trained, to make sacrifices and
wage jihad in the broader concept of the term: in the way of Allah
and for the establishment of justice, peace, and harmony in the
world. There is a wrong conception that has been deliberately
propagated about jihad. Jihad does not only mean waging war in the
path of Allah. The truth is that whatever endeavor can be made at
a particular time for the moral and spiritual reform and guidance
of mankind is jihad of that age. Jihad is a broad term, which
includes struggle for the right cause to be undertaken in the way
of Allah. This struggle is not for any personal material end, or
to acquire wealth and property, but it is a struggle for winning
the pleasure and love of Allah, for the establishment of justice
and peace as prescribed by Allah.
Throughout
history, Muslims have demonstrated their spirit of sacrifice in
the way of Allah. All of the prophets implemented jihad to
establish the truth, sometimes leaving behind their home and
hearth for the truth and even sacrificing their lives for the
cause of truth. In fact, they sacrificed everything which they
had.
You
will find in the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon
him) the highest prototype of loyalty, sacrifice, and submission,
from the 13 years of tumultuous Makkah life, the return from
at-Ta’if, the monotonous Hijrah, the headship of Madinah and the
Arabian Peninsula, the day of the conquest of Makkah, to the day
of the Farewell Sermon. And in spite of his submissiveness, the
force and strength of his (peace and blessings be upon him)
pronouncements of Prophet Muhammad can be ascertained from the
following verse:
(And
who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does
acts of righteousness and declares; I am surely of those who
submit.)
(Fussilat 41: 33)
Allah
has, in the Qur’an, given the task of religious preaching,
reform, and guidance, the name jihad: To devote oneself to the
noble task of guiding the ignorant, the wayward, and the
thoughtless to the straight path of Islam, and of bringing them
nearer to Allah; to spend one’s time and money on it; to
sacrifice one’s comfort, all this is jihad in divine estimation.
The
pilgrim who has come to Makkah leaving everything behind for the
love of Allah should turn into a good da`i, and should have
the willingness to sacrifice all his loves for Allah’s sake and
to bear patiently all anguish for His sake and accept all losses
for His sake.
*
Excepted, with some modifications, from:
http://www.iccuk.org
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