Opinion: Hajj 1441/2020, Prophet Ibrahim and the Life of Sacrifice, By Murtadha Gusau
Let us, during these momentous days of Dhul-Hijjah, remember Prophet Ibrahim, Allah’s peace and blessings on him. Let us remember who he was and what he lived for and died for. His great legacy is still with us today: Love Allah more than anyone or anything else, be willing to sacrifice anything in Allah’s cause, and strive your whole life to be a primordially upright person.All Praise is due to Allah, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him.
My Dear brothers and sisters, the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic has rendered the Hajj for 1441/2020 impossible for millions of people around the world. This year’s Hajj will be the smallest number of pilgrims in living memory. Let us pray that Allah will allow a universal cure that will save lives and make it safe for Hajj next year, In Shaa Allah. Say Ameen!
Hajj takes us on a journey back through time, retelling the moral and spiritual history of humankind. We visit the Ka’abah, the first place of worship, built before the first church, before the first temple, or synagogue. Here we find ourselves at the Baitul-Lah, the House of Allah. It is the home of Monotheism, the cradle of Tauhid, and of Divine Unity. Here we walk around the geographical centre of Islam, the Ka’abah. This is centre of our Islamic universe.
This is exactly as Allah sees us. Allah isn’t looking at our social status or our designer clothes and expensive jewellery. Allah isn’t interested in what’s on the outside, only what’s inside.
Dear brothers and sisters, if you have not yet undertaken this blessed journey, make your intention, your Niyyah, to do your Hajj In Shaa Allah, as soon as possible, especially after this covid-19 pandemic. “Those who Believe, and whose hearts find contentment in the Remembrance of Allah; for truly, in the Remembrance of Allah do hearts find contentment.”
Let us not forget the powerful message here. It’s easy to say, I love Islam, I love Allah and I love Prophet Muhammad . Talk is cheap, but where’s the evidence? How much are you and I willing to sacrifice for Allah? Let us show that we truly love Allah, by coming forward to help with our time, our knowledge, our talent and our money, to serve others, to make our neighbourhood, our city, our country and the world a better place, a safer place for everyone.
Prophet Ibrahim’s father was a devout mushrik, an idol worshipper. Despite all his son’s efforts, the father adamantly refused to stop worshipping idols. When he died he was still in denial of Allah. Prophet Ibrahim, the Friend of Allah, the quintessential monotheist, the Patriarch of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, could not save his father. We, too, must accept that we have no real power to influence others, not even our own parents, to accept Islam.
Let us think of Zamzam as Allah’s mercy overflowing, waiting to quench our spiritual thirst, our quest for meaning, our quest for nearness to Allah. When Allah ordered Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice what he loved most, both he and Isma’il knew what that meant. Neither father nor son had the slightest hesitation. They fully understood what ‘we hear, and we obey’ means. No questions, no lame excuses. Just do it! Shaitan attempted, thrice, to dissuade Prophet Ibrahim to change his mind.
This beautiful declaration was one of Prophet Ibrahim’s wonderful gifts to us. Every time we recite this prayer, at least seventeen times a day, we rededicate our lives to Allah’s service. We remind our forgetful and infinitely distractible human nature, where our true priorities lie. Let us remember with gratitude the awesome debt we owe Prophet Ibrahim and his family.
O Allah, send us a complete cure for the covid-19 pandemics, so that we can safely do the Hajj next year. Say Ameen.
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