Dr. Hüseyin Kami BÜYÜKÖZER
Our eid al-adha is Friday, June 6
The act of sacrifice directs us to the obedience of the Prophet Ibrahim (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ) and the submission of the Prophet Ismail (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ), showing us the ways to be sacrificed to our Lord against the troubles and tests of life and to find solutions to our troubles by becoming His friends.
Praise be to our Lord, who has brought us to these blessed days, as many times as the number of His creatures.
There are standards for everything that defines what is acceptable and what is not in this world. The ultimate standard for Muslims is the Quran, and the measure of success is the exemplary life and teachings of Hadrat Muhammad (pbuh), as stated in the 33rd chapter; Verse 21: “Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example for whoever has hope in Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah often.” (Surah Al-Ahzab – 21)
And Allah Almighty mentions our Prophet (pbuh), whom He has declared to be a perfect example, in the verses 161 and 162 of Surah Al-An’am: “Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Surely my Lord has guided me to the Straight Path, a perfect way, the faith of Abraham, the upright, who was not one of the polytheists.”and “Say, “Surely my prayer, my sacrifice, my life, and my death are all for Allah—Lord of all worlds.”
As 2 billion Muslims worldwide celebrate Eid al-Adha next week, which includes the ritual sacrifice of animals in memory of the Great Sacrifice, the essence of sacrifice is much deeper and goes beyond the sacrificial animal and the knife. Embrace everything that secures the pleasure of Allah Almighty and stay away from everything that invites His displeasure and wrath; the success of the Ummah lies in this simple formula.
Gaining the pleasure of Allah Almighty requires embracing submission and sacrifice, especially the basic requirement of consumption. A strictly Halal diet is a Divine command that contributes to a life enriched by goodness and physical, mental and spiritual well-being.
We have witnessed with our tears that our brothers in Gaza, who have been struggling to survive under difficult conditions under the blockade for years, have been subjected to great oppression for years…
“And We ransomed his son with a great sacrifice,” (Surah As-Saffat, verse 107) “So pray and sacrifice to your Lord ˹alone˺.” (Surah Al-Kawthar, verse 2)
“Whoever can afford it, but does not offer a sacrifice, let him not come near our prayer place.” ( Sunan Ibn Majah 3123)
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) has ordered in many of his hadiths that those who are well-off should sacrifice. They themselves have fulfilled this obligation every year.
The act of sacrificing on the day of Eid al-Adha is a known act of worship since the time of the Prophet Adam and is performed by believers in every nation. Allah informs us of this.
“Relate to them in truth ˹O Prophet˺ the story of Adam’s two sons—how each offered a sacrifice: one’s offering was accepted while the other’s was not, so he threatened ˹his brother˺, “I will kill you!” His brother replied, “Allah only accepts ˹the offering˺ of the sincerely devout.” (Surah al-Maidah, Verse 27)
Allah Himself informs us that the act of sacrifice exists. In all the nations of the prophets, sacrifice was made from the following five types of animals: camel, cow, buffalo, sheep and goat. It cannot be made from any other animal. Because Allah commands that the animals to be sacrificed should be from the “AN’AM”. Allah Himself has informed us what An’am means.
In the 34th verse of Surah Al-Hajj, Allah Almighty says:
“For every community We appointed a rite of sacrifice so that they may pronounce the Name of Allah over the sacrificial animals He has provided for them. For your God is only One God, so submit yourselves to Him ˹alone˺. And give good news ˹O Prophet˺ to the humble.”
How, when and where is it best to fulfill Allah’s command to sacrifice?
Today, our people have become strange. Instead of experiencing the beauty, virtue, reward and happiness of celebrating Eid with friends, relatives, adults and children on Eid days, they try to arrange holidays in places where no one will be. They consider Eid celebrations as a chore. They are not aware that by doing this, they are undermining the most important of our social dynamics that bind us together.
Before our holidays leave us!..
We sacrifice the joy and happiness of sacrificing animals as a family, which is another important dynamic of our being a Muslim society, for the sake of our “Hedonism”, which is a Western import for our comfort. Our brothers who have the obligation to sacrifice animals tend to delegate this obligation to someone else. When this is the case, big and small associations, foundations, companies, and even market chains are literally competing. Some try to attract with the cheap price of sacrifice, some promise 5 kg of meat to be delivered to your home on the first day, some try to convince by making pathetic literature that they will sacrifice animals in places where the most hungry people in the world are.
I wonder which of them is sincere, and which one really delivers the sacrifice of the Muslim they have entrusted to them? Do these associations and foundations do this much of their dedication to the sacrifice business for the sake of Allah, as a service to Muslims, or do they work to gain an important benefit? Which one is sincere, which one is not? To be honest, it would be very naive to entrust your sacrifice without researching this and establishing full trust. We hear that some associations and foundations have used the money they collected for sacrifices to invest in other places, betraying the trust. These sacrifice owners should know that if the sacrifices are never slaughtered in the places they have given power of attorney or if the conditions are not followed, they will be considered as not fulfilling their sacrifice obligations.
There has also been a major scandal for years. Every day throughout the year, including religious holidays, large market chains that sell various alcoholic beverages, and some sell pork and products made from pork, also sell sacrificial animals to Muslims. We cannot have a say in those who sell them. Although we are Muslim subjects, we have been sentenced to a secular state administration. But a Muslim cannot be secular. If he is, he cannot be a Muslim. If he is truly Muslim, it is an important circumstance for his own benefit not to shop from places that sell alcohol. In that case, it should also be important for his own benefit not to entrust his sacrifice to these institutions.
Is it an eid or a holiday?
Let’s stop this wrong course this eid. Let’s cancel our uncertain holidays. Let’s celebrate our eids with our children, relatives, friends and neighbors as a real eid. Let’s slaughter our sacrifices ourselves at the places indicated by the local administrations, if we can’t do it ourselves, let’s have them slaughtered by butchers we trust by joining their takbirs. Let’s divide our sacrificial meat into three pieces according to the recipe of our religion and distribute them. Let’s cook the meat of our children’s sacrifices at home and eat them together. Let’s experience the eid with the taste of the eid. If we take the eid lightly because of this behavior, I’m afraid one day our eids will leave us. If our eids leave us, our Islam, which is the reason and source of our eids, will also slip from under our feet and one day, may (maazAllah)Allah protect us, we will be down without Islam.
Our brothers and sisters who want to fulfill their sacrifice duty can fulfill their duty in the safest way in Türkiye by applying to our affiliated GIMDES Halal Certified company.
