Eid Al Adhaa 2015

Salam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato.

smilla rahmanir rahim al hamdu Lillah wa Salatu was Salam ala rasulillah who Allah Allah, he was happy woman who had

all praises, indeed due to Allah subhanho wa Taala. We praise Him we thank him for everything he has bestowed upon us all his, all the conditions that he has chosen for us. We asked him to bless us with the best still

complete blessings and salutations upon Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, his entire household all his companions May Allah subhanho wa Taala bless them all. And may He bless every single one of us. I mean, may He also bless our offspring those to come up to the end, may Allah subhanho wa Taala keep them steadfast on the deen and keep us steadfast as well. I mean,

my beloved brothers and sisters, this is a beautiful day of eat. This day of eat goes back to the Sunnah of Ibrahim alayhi salatu salam.

And we celebrate it because it was the instruction of Allah subhanho wa Taala given to Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to inform us about what happened to Ibrahim alayhi salatu salam, and to celebrate it as a result, had it not been for the instruction of Allah subhanho wa Taala to Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to ask us to celebrate this day, we would not have celebrated it. And this goes to show that everything we celebrate as muslimeen as an act of worship, is connected to the instruction of Allah subhanho wa Taala. We also know that the story of Ibrahim alayhi salatu salam appears in the scriptures of the Jews as well as the Christians. But we also know that the

most accurate narration of this particular story of Ibrahim alayhi salatu salam happens to be in the Quran. And in the Sunnah of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam. If we find for example, details that are against what the Quran has come with, or against what the Sunnah of Muhammad Sallallahu Sallam is, we will actually discount those details because they are against what was revealed to Muhammad Sallallahu Sallam for example, the issue of who the person was, who was sacrificed according to us, and according to the Quran, and the Sunnah of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. It was isma li li salatu salam. And according to the previous scriptures, it was the Prophet is haq

la Salatu was Salam. We believe that there was tampering that occurred with the previous scriptures in a way that they changed it such that they said it is his house, or Isaac May peace be upon him solely because they felt that if they said it was Ishmael and his salatu salam, then it would not be any merit for them because Jesus and Moses or Isa Ali Salam and Musa alayhis salatu salam were connected to his heart Ali Salaam and not to his main idea his Salatu was Salam. So we believe it was changed. We believe the Scripture and the correct narration is what appears in the Quran and the Sunnah of Muhammad Sallallahu sallam, his story historically also it is proven because it's Milan is

Salatu. Salam was given birth to after a long time, and he was the son who was alive at the time. So to say it was his heart when he wasn't even born is something that is definitely rejected. We ask Allah subhanho wa Taala to help us understand the accuracy of the narrations in the Quran and the fact that they can never ever be a contradiction or a mistake in the revelation that Allah subhanho wa Taala has sent. So one might ask what is the big deal? Regarding the story of Ibrahim alayhi salatu salam, I've been asked the question as well then why Ibrahim alayhis salam, why not Adam alayhis salam, he was the first why not No. La salatu salam, the reality is yes, these were all

messengers of Allah subhanho wa Taala. They were indeed powerful people. They were chosen by Allah subhanho wa Taala. They brought a similar message. In fact, when it came to worship, they brought the exact message

in that all the messengers of Allah subhanho wa Taala called towards worshiping one Allah worship your maker you make alone, do not associate partners with Allah subhanho wa Taala. So all the messengers brought exactly the same message when it came to worship when it came to believe. They all taught their people to believe in the angels to believe in the fact that they have been scriptures sent by Allah subhanho wa Taala those that had been revealed before the particular messenger and those that were to come afterwards.

They all gave glad tidings of another messenger who was to come after them. And Muhammad Sallallahu Sallam being the last messenger of Allah subhanho wa Taala. So, in that regard, they all brought exactly the same message, what was different, how Allah subhanho wa Taala wants to be worshipped, he chose that at the time of every prophet, they would be differences in how I will be worshipped, although I will be worshipped alone. For example, the Salah that we just fulfilled now Salah to the fudger Mashallah how we read it was as per the instruction of Muhammad Sallallahu sallam, the Salah of the Christians is different. When Jesus or Isa Allah is salatu salam was sent by Allah subhana wa

Jalla. He taught them a different way of prayer, but it was also known as Salah or a prayer. Similarly, when it comes to Ibrahim alayhi salaatu wa sallam, the exact method of prayer would not be the same as what we have today. You and I would know that the Qibla we face was an instruction to Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam by Allah subhanho wa Taala

after he arrived in Madina, munawwara Subhan, Allah, so before that they used to face baytril mock this, they used to face Jerusalem, and who knows, perhaps before that they may have even faced somewhere else, if it was the instruction of Allah and perhaps, maybe it was not related to us, but it was not connected to us. And if it was not given to us as information we do not need to know, all we know is whatever the instruction of Allah was, they followed it. So are we following the instruction of Allah for us and to us? May Allah make it easy for us to understand these instructions, and this is where we take a look at the life of Ibrahim alayhi salatu salam, the

speciality of it. As a young boy, he started questioning, he was questioning his father, he was questioning his family members, he was questioning his community members, this was loved by Allah subhanho wa Taala, to ask questions, why are you doing this? Why is this happening? How come you are carving idols and people are worshipping these idols, they are literally believing that these things can bring us goodness, and, and they can alleviate the suffering we are going through perhaps ward off the evil or the sadness. And these are just stones and pieces of wood that have been carved. So they told him Stop asking questions. I'm sure you and I know when the little child asks too many

questions. We tell him keep quiet. Stop asking too many questions. The reality is my brothers and sisters, let's learn a lesson. Children are inquisitive. If you do not answer your child, they will get the wrong answer from somewhere else. And by that time, you might regret it will be too late. So when a child asks a question, answer it in an appropriate manner. Sometimes you need to answer it like an adult. They are waiting for an answer that is convincing in the sense that you might want to word it in a manner that they understand it according to their age. But the answer will never be and should never be a lie. Don't lie to your children. Don't tell them something just to get them off

your back. No, if you don't know it, tell them I will tell you next week we will sit and talk about this thing here next week. And it gives you one whole week to go and prepare the answer. Go and ask go and find out the problem with us. Sometimes we are guilty of not knowing something and as a result, we just tell our children that you know what, don't ask me Allah Subhana Allah Allah forgive us. May Allah subhanho wa Taala help us. For example, today on the globe, so many things are happening. There is a lot of chaos and confusion. Sometimes we don't know the Islamic rulings regarding certain things. When the children come to ask us and we don't have an answer. Perhaps they

will continue asking others they didn't get it from you. May Allah subhanho wa Taala help us May he make us from those who realize the importance of responding to the children. So Ibrahim alayhi salatu salam began to ask his father, the answer was not satisfactory. They shut him up literally. They kept him quiet. And they told him listen, stop asking you follow as he said, Why should I do this? How can I ask an idol? That does not? Meaning this idol is unable to ward off a fly that sits on it. And you want me to say, Oh, I do give me goodness, give me this Give me that. And I see flies sitting I see things happening. The idle cannot help itself, let alone others. The idle cannot ward

off evil from itself. How will it ward off evil from myself and all the other people so they won't him visit? Hey, you Be careful, we will punish you if you begin to continue in this way, or if you continue in this way. And what happened is, as a result, he hatched a plan. He decided, you know what, I cannot allow this thing to happen.

And I want to fix them up, fix them up in the sense that I want to make them think they don't want to talk to me. Let's engage in a different type of a discussion. What is the discussion they are saying these idols give goodness these

idols come forth with so much of control, they have a lot of control of what happens around us. So let me break up all these idols and prove to them the idols didn't do anything. So there was a day, a day of celebration that they all had gone out. And he told them, I'm sick, sick here, not meaning physically ill, but he was sick and tired of what they were doing, he was fed up basically, of what they were doing. So it's not a lie in the sense that he was sick of what they were doing. But physically, he was, well, he was healthy mentally, he was extremely healthy, maybe of Allah chosen by Allah subhanho wa Taala. But this was in his young days. And then he decided to stay back. And

when they all went away, he destroyed all of the idols besides the big one, intentionally, he kept it. And he hung the x on the neck of the big one. And as they came back, and they were shocked what happened to these idols, they had a system whereby the wealthy would afford bigger idols. So what would happen is, when you have a big problem, you need to go to a rich man to say, Can I borrow your idol? This is how they were thinking, imagine how the mind was. So if you have a small problem, the daily issues, this one will, idle you might have with you here and there. And you you know, they would call out to eat. But when you have a major problem, I need to have something big. And if it

was a huge issue, they would go to those that were semi immobile, so to speak, not able to move them with unless with extreme difficulty. So he destroyed all of them. And he kept this big one, they came back and they asked the question, what happened? And someone said, Oh, we heard that there was a young man, this young man, Ibrahim, he was talking about this. So it must be him. When they went to question him. Guess what happened? For the first time they had a decent discussion. Now they had to talk to him because he thought of a plan. Now they came to him what happened here or Ibrahim? Initially, they didn't want to talk to him. He said, What do you mean what happened here? Go and ask

that big one.

If he speaks,

see how he added it on? He says go and ask the big one. Then he says if he speaks, which means if there is no speech coming from him, then you should know that all this is just a waste. They felt so insulted because they knew within themselves that way are we going to talk to these idols. So the point was made, he won completely, but guess what? Nobody accepted. Everyone was so fearful of society of what the forefathers used to do. Everyone was so scared of the gnomes in the community. They said, whether this is right or wrong, we are not going to ask we will continue doing whatever has been done all along. He was the only man the only man and later on after some time, he was

granted Nobu by Allah subhanho wa Taala. He was given Prophethood when he was given Prophethood saara his wife accepted the message and Lupe alayhi salatu salam at the time a young boy, the nephew of Ibrahim alayhi salam, he accepted the message. The narrations make mention of just the two of them. Two people imagined the Nabhi of Allah, no following just two people, and that's it. And he was one of the greatest of the prophets of Allah subhanho wa Taala. So much so that narrations make mention of the fact that after Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he is the greatest of ambia of Allah subhanho wa Taala the Prophet Ibrahim alayhi salaatu wa sallam. So at that particular

juncture, they decided to punish him penalize him in several different ways. They decided to cast him into the fire and as you know, the fire became cold by the instruction of Allah subhanho wa Taala. Why? That's a question you want miracles in your life, I want miracles in my life.

Something needs to happen. I need to develop a link with a law that is strong. When when I've recognized Allah subhanho wa Taala. I need to understand he will instruct me to do things that sometimes will not make sense to me.

But for as long as I know, it was Allah subhanho wa Taala, who instructed me and the source of this instruction is my maker himself. I must never question I must surrender. This is the meaning of the term Islam. This is why when you hear several of the messengers, they say, what an hour will Muslim mean? I'm the first to submit or an hour, meaning I'm the first to believe which means if there is anything coming in this direction, here I am, I'm the first one to submit Subhana Allah. So Ibrahim alayhi salatu wa sallam he submitted to Allah He recognized Allah subhanho wa Taala. Do you know there are verses in the Quran? Where mentioned is made of him having looked at the stars and asking

a question, having looked at the moon and asking a question, having looked at the sun and asking a question, What was the question? The question was, could this be lowered? The answer is no. So some of the ahaadeeth make mention of a very interesting point. That Ibrahim alayhi salatu salam never

Ever worshipped the stars? nor did he consider worshipping them from the beginning. He didn't worship them. He did not consider worshipping them. If you read the verse, it seems like he considered to worship them because he's asking the question, this is the star, or these are the stars, and

perhaps they could be God. And then he says, No, they disappeared, my God does not disappear. The truth is, that incident happened in a place known as heroin. In heroin. They were people who were also worshipping the stars and worshipping deities besides Allah subhanho wa Taala. So he raised the question, not because he was considering it, but for the same reason that he raised the questions with the idols to say that could this be gone? And then when he disappeared, he said, Look, it can't be because it disappeared. That was just a way of talking to them, a way of communicating to them. So sometimes people feel that Ibrahim alayhi salatu. Salam was considering this. He was considering

that the truth is his status is higher than that he did not consider worshipping the sun. He did not consider worshiping the moon, but he raised the question so that the people could hear the answer so that what they were doing would actually be nullified from proven points. May Allah subhanho wa Taala guide us all. So once he recognized the law, you know, at the end of that discussion in Harlan, the Quran says, Allah subhanho wa Taala says that Ibrahim alayhi salatu was Salam said, What just do

it for us? sama demon, Oh, honey

Amina mushy ki, I have turned my face to the one who created the skies or the skies in the earth. And I have turned my face to Him alone in a clean cut way I will worship Him alone, and I will not associate partners with him. This was the conclusion. Now Allah subhanho wa Taala decided to test him in a bigger way. What was the bigger way? The bigger way is Oh, Ibrahim, we are instructing you to sacrifice your son is ma il le Salatu was Salam.

And he was given to Ibrahim Alayhi Salam after a period of time.

Guess what happened? Ibrahim Alayhi. Salatu was Salam. He knew the source of the instruction. So he did not ask a single question. Immediately. This instruction came through a dream he spoke to his son and his son was given such a brilliant upbringing. so brilliant. The relationship was so strong that when Ibrahim alayhi salatu wa sallam told his son that you know I had a dream. Now his son knows that this dream cannot be just an ordinary dream because this man is a messenger of Allah subhanho wa Taala My dream was that I was sacrificing you for Allah subhanho wa Taala. So what do you think you know the term used in the Quran? in me?

Me.

Me as back okay. fonville Ma, da da da, I have seen in my dream that I am sacrificing you. So look into it. What is your opinion from the mother, Tara, look into it. What do you see what is your view? He says, Yeah, but if mom or my father do as you are instructed, he understood the dream is an instruction. And also you said my father, if it's coming from Allah, that's it said that he dooney

Shah Amina sabi, you will indeed find me from among those who are patient, I will take it if it's from Allah, we take it let it happen.

So you and I know how the how it ended some Hannah law where the two of them went shape man tried to deceive them, try to distract them, they kept on pelting the devil and continuing until they ended in a position whereby this body of the child was replaced by a ram from Jenna and this is the sooner we are following. And as a result, Allah subhanho wa Taala

gave Ibrahim alayhi salaatu wa sallam so many gifts.

The result of what a result of continuously following the instruction of Allah, whether he understood it or not, it is clear for everyone that you will never as a human being understand the wisdom behind a question to you or an instruction to you to sacrifice your own son, you and I would refuse obviously completely and immediately because this instruction for you and I we are not prophets of Allah subhanho wa Taala You know, there is an incident of a man

in fact, it's mainly Salah to

sallam. At one stage when he was in Mecca, Tomoko Rama, he was married, and his father, Ibrahim Alayhi, salaatu, wa Salaam visited the home in his absence. So there happened to be a discussion between the daughter in law and the father in law, and the father in law was not satisfied. So he asked his son to divorce this wife of his, but in a way that

the instruction was given to the woman herself that when my son comes back, let him know that you know, the doorstep is not right. He needs to get rid of it. Which means, you know, you're the person who welcomes us at the door is not right. So he got rid of his wife. And the next time he came, according to the narration, he said, Keep her. So he kept her. Now the difficulty is, and the point I'm raising is today, people sometimes out of their weakness of understanding, say, I am the father, and I instruct you to divorce this wife of yours. So some people come and ask a question to say, look, is that the status of a father, look at what happened to me, but I made a solemn, that's the

evidence they use, that he instructed the Son and the son obliged. So I'm instructing you, you must have lied. So we say you are not Ibrahim, and he is not dismayed. You are not a prophet of Allah, and he is not the son of a prophet. If you are a prophet, indeed, it was going to be an instruction he was going to have to take from you. So don't come about saying that because I am a father and Ibrahim Alayhi. Salam was a father, my instruction is complete, according to us, and according to what we've been taught by Muhammad Sallallahu sallam, when you are instructed and instruction by your own parents, you need to ask yourself, firstly, Is this correct? Or is it wrong? If it is wrong

in the eyes of Allah subhanho wa Taala you throw it out of the window, no matter who instructed you. And if it is correct, you will acknowledge it, you will accept it, you will adopt it because it for it. It comes within what Allah subhanho wa Taala has instructed. So similarly, we cannot say that when we have seen a dream, to do something of this nature, that it's an instruction for us, it's not an instruction for you. That's the point I'm raising. It is not an instruction for you, it was only in an instruction for the Messenger of Allah subhanho wa Taala. For you and I, we have other instructions that are far more simple. I asked you a question my brothers and sisters, which is a

more difficult instruction, one to sacrifice a son, or one to get up for Salatu

Subhana Allah, there is no comparison. So a lot of it is minor. It's something small compared to the other instruction, but look at how weak we are. We want the miracles of Allah, we want solution to our problems, but we are not prepared to dress appropriately, just appropriately. That's all what Allah has instructed. Allah says, You dress you cover this and you cover that and this is how it should be. We're not prepared, but we want the miracles in our life. Just like Ibrahim alayhi salatu salam, where is the logic? If you want to miracle Allah says, okay, I've given you some simple instructions, follow them. Let's see your dedication, we will give you the miracle, so much so that

when the miracle doesn't come, we will make you so happy and content that you will be convinced that whatever Allah has done is better for me. Sometimes we are asking a dua to Allah subhanho wa Taala Oh Allah give me this, Oh Allah give me that. And we don't know it's bad for us. And we are crying for years on end, Oh Allah, I want this I really want this Allah give it to me and we are good Muslim mean we follow the instruction of Allah. Trust me, if we are really good Muslim mean, we understand that if Allah has kept something away from you, as desperately as you may have wanted it, perhaps it was not good for you. That's something you need to know. May Allah subhanho wa Taala help

us. This is something we learn from Ibrahim alayhi salatu salam story, that he constantly obeyed the instruction of Allah, even though this particular instruction did not make sense to him, not at all. He didn't doubt because of the source.

So panela with us instructions that make sense to us. We know we see the light, we've been explained everything to by Muhammad Sallallahu wasallam. Still, sometimes we find ourselves you know, dilly dallying, May Allah forgive us. So a day of eat is a day of reconciliation a day to turn to Allah subhanho wa Taala a day to make peace with Allah subhanho wa Taala Oh Allah, my bad ways, my bad habits. I'm cutting them out. And this is why they're Allah, the fuqaha Maha Devi in so many of the scholars of Islam, they have spoken about the sacrifice. The Quran says Lani Nan De La

Hoya deema ooh Ha.

come from the sacrifice. The meat is not going to get to a lot of blood is not going to get to Allah subhanho wa Taala what leeches Allah, the piety out of it, the consciousness of Allah that you achieved through it today. Let's take a look. You have a cow and everyone says, Wow, that's beautiful. I paid so much per kilo. Do you know that you have

Have an animal you see the big goats Mashallah or the sheep, and you're so excited Subhana Allah and people say, look at that goat, we can enjoy the meat. Don't stop there. The enjoyment is part of the celebration, but the point is not the meat. And the point is not the blood. It is, did you slice out or sacrifice or cut out your bad habits as you were sacrificing that animal to say, Oh Allah, your instruction to Ibrahim alayhis salam I am fulfilling today. So all your other instructions to me I need to fulfill even before this Subhana Allah amazing, it's something logical, simple, straightforward. So you turn to Allah, what you and I should be achieving when we witness the

sacrifice in the next few days.

Is closeness to Allah Subhana Allah to Allah to say, Oh Allah, this animal has been the life of it has been taken in the most humane way and we will eat we will enjoy but the lesson from it Oh Allah, forgive me, my sins, my ways, my habits, my weaknesses, Allah strengthen me Make me strong. And don't think you're a strong person without calling out to Allah. No matter how powerful you think you are, no matter how intelligent you think you are, make dua to Allah, ask Allah, Allah helped me, no matter how wealthy No matter whatever you have in life, continue to ask Allah, it is only through the mercy of Allah, only through the mercy of Allah subhanho wa Taala that you have achieved what

you have, and you will continue to have it and you will achieve in the future as well. So a person who has good health for example, they cannot think to themselves I've got good health, so I don't need to make dua to Allah to say, well, like give me good health. No way if Allah wants, he can take it away. Now he can take it away here. It has happened to other people. So you say Oh Allah, I thank you for what you have given me. And I asked you not to take it away from me and I asked you increase in it SubhanAllah. That's a three fold. thank Allah for what you have asked him not to take it away and ask him to give you more. This is indeed something noble, Subhana Allah and when you are tested,

you need to tell yourself, there were people better than me who were tested with bigger tests than this. And this is the reason why look at Muhammad Sallallahu Sallam study his life, you will find that he has been tested in a bigger way than any one of us could ever have been tested.

Japan Allah, this is the love of Allah subhanho wa Taala. So my beloved brothers and sisters, here is the son of Ibrahim alayhi salatu salam. I've presented to you the reasons why Allah subhanho wa Taala opened the doors for Ibrahim alayhi salaatu wa sallam primary reason is he followed the instruction of Allah, even the instructions that did not make sense to him. The fact that he knew it came from Allah subhanho wa Taala, he immediately surrendered to it. The lesson I learned and I would like to share with you is in my life, no matter what, when an instruction comes from Allah, I need to make an effort to fulfill it, as Allah wants it. I need to make an effort to understand that

Allah has blessed me he's tested me with Easy, easy tests compared to the rest or compared to others. May Allah make it easy for us all. Similarly, when it comes to Ibrahim alayhi salatu salam, from his offspring, you find Allah has chosen that all the prophets to follow. Were from his family, Allah Subhana Allah. They were from his family, just like new alayhi salatu salam, he called out to his people for 950 years and he lived in their midst for even longer.

What did Allah give him as a gift Do you want to hear?

Allah says in the Quran wa jal, renita, whom Albertine Allahu Akbar, we ensured that his family were the only family that actually continued in terms of giving birth, the rest of them who were with him on the ark, no one gave birth. Did you ever notice that you know, had a salatu salam is a common father for all of us before or closer than Adam alayhis salam, if someone says I'm related to you, they're not telling you a lie. They are related because we are all born from parents and the route goes back to Adam alayhis salam, but there is a closer relation than that. What is it? No Halesowen. He's a common forefather of all of us. Allah says as a gift to know alayhi salatu salam, the rest of

the people who came after were only from his family, the others, they passed away, they did not have children. Subhana Allah, this is a gift. So Ibrahim alayhi salatu wa salam as well. It's amazing how he was given the gift of Allah subhanho wa Taala. All the messages to follow from his family, including Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam from the family of Ibrahim Alayhi Salam through the lineage of Ismail la salatu wa sallam. Similarly, Ibrahim alayhi salatu wa sallam made to us. At a certain point, every single dua he made was given to him. He may do alpha maca or Allah

Make the people's hearts want to come there who from amongst us wouldn't like to go today to Mecca Subhana Allah, He says all like give them fruit give them vegetable, obviously that place is desert, but go and see what fruit is there. That's the drought allows miracle up to today. It's amazing. Let us understand when you show dedication to Allah, Allah subhanho wa Taala will grant you he will bestow upon you. He will definitely give you he will open the doors for you. The difficulty is we hear a powerful talk or we hear a decent reminder and we start saying okay, I'm turning to Allah. So today we read five Salah tomorrow morning we get a forfeiture, and after salado fighting we come and

say, Look, I've called out to Allah but he still hasn't given me Subhanallah you become impatient. This is what happens to men. you dedicate yourself for two weeks and after two weeks everything is gone. That's not how it is. It is a dedication of a lifetime until you die on that condition. Kill in a Salah T one Uzuki one Mama, Mama to me,

my prayer, my sacrifice, whatever I've done for Allah subhanho wa Taala my life my death is all for the sake of Allah Subhana Allah Allah, may Allah subhanho wa Taala grant His goodness, and May Allah subhanho wa Taala open our doors. It is a lesson that we learn from the life of Ibrahim alayhi salatu salam, I just want to end by saying my brothers and sisters think for a minute. The tests we have in our lives are nothing compared to what came to Ibrahim alayhi salatu salam, let us try our best to earn the pleasure of Allah subhanho wa Taala by changing ourselves in a way that we get closer to Allah, adjust your life so that it suits Allah subhanho wa Taala or it pleases Allah

subhanho wa Taala Let's never ever make changes to our lives that distance us from Allah subhanho wa Jalla wa sallahu wa salam ala nabina Muhammad