Eid Al-Adhaa- A Time for Community and Generosity

Breathing is a time for community. It's a time for community. And as we said, during the read the football, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, when he commanded us with the ritual of sacrifice, he told us how to divide up our sacrifice into thirds. He said, a third for yourself and a third for your friends and a third, for the poor.

This makes sense. Some people could look at our sacrifice and our holidays and our rituals, and they can say, Wait a second, this might seem wasteful at first glance, you're telling me that every single Muslim family sacrifices and entire animal this is too much. And these days, we have things like vegan read and vegetarian or even people doing these sorts of things. But there's wisdom in everything that Allah subhanaw taala commanded, and there's wisdom and everything that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has given us. And when he told us to sacrifice an animal, and then he instructed us to separate it into thirds. The point is that it's too much for one person. There's no

possible way that you could use one animal all by yourself. It requires a relationship. It requires you to turn to the person to your left, it requires you to turn to the person to your right, your neighbors, people across the streets, and people in the community that food was not meant to be enjoyed alone.

Now even cathedra, in his tafsir, of sorts of note, he points out a hadith where the prophet muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is approached by some men. And they said the complaints of the Prophet alayhi salatu salam. They said, we have a problem here rasool Allah, He said, What is it?

He said, we eat and we eat and we eat, but we're never satisfied. We never get full. It doesn't seem to matter how much we consume. It's never enough.

And so the prophets Allah Allahu alayhi wa sallam asked him a question. He said, Do you eat together? Or do you eat by yourselves?

And they responded, they said, we eat by ourselves. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa salaam responds to them eat together because there's Baraka, there is blessing in eating together. Now compare that to the system that we have today. Some of us we eat lunch alone in our cubicles, we see the cars lined up at Dunkin Donuts or McDonald's. Maybe their their car can seat 5678 people, but they're just there by themselves in the driver's seat, eating something quick alone and their car.

And they wonder why do we have these problems? Why doesn't there seem to be Baraka? Why it doesn't ever seem to be enough. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told us, we have to be together. We have to be like a community. And there's no time that reminds us better about what it's like to be a community than eat. And especially either Aloha, there's blessing and being together. Now the problem with being together and doing things together, is that every time you try to come together as a community, there's always going to be challenges. There's always going to be the possibility of misunderstandings. There's going to be difference. There's going to be different ideas and different

opinions and different traditions, which is why the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam on the Day of Arafah and the day of our Eid when he himself made Hajj. For the one and only time during his life when he did it. He gave what's known as multiple totally that he gave his Farewell Sermon, his parting advice to the entire Muslim Ummah for all time. He had very, very important things to say about community. In fact, much of his Farewell Sermon can be considered a roadmap, a roadmap for community life, and what was going to happen after one of the things that he said some Allahu alayhi wa salam, yeah, yo had NAS Allah in the coma and welcome Aleykum haram Illa and Tara poo tilaka

Allah, Jehovah to make them harder fish AFRICOM ha the feed feasability caminhada he said, alayhi salatu salam, O you people and he's addressing everybody.

Certainly your blood and your wealth and in another narration. He says what out all the command your reputations is haram. It's sacred, it's inviolable. You can't mess with it. You can't touch it until you meet Allah subhanaw taala meaning from the cradle to the grave. From the moment you come into this world

The moment that we wrap you in white claws and put you under the ground, those things are off limits.

How off limits is it can hold me Yomi compiler as off limits and sacred as this day the day of our Eid.

Feast Shafi called her in this month all hedger, one of the most sacred months that we have the ability come had and of course he was in Mecca, in this land.

We look at the Kaaba, many of us have the Kaaba up in our homes a picture, or we have the live stream we see people making throw off going around the Kaaba, it's 24/7 access. It's a beautiful thing. And we have reverence for the kava, and we have reverence for Mecca, we have reverence for Medina. And that's a wonderful thing. But the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told us there's something more sacred than that, more sacred than that, that is the blood of your brother, and the wealth of your brother, and the reputation of your brother in Islam.

In that Farewell Sermon, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he gave us instructions. And if you look at the instructions, it's as if he's trying to stop and end every single thing that could possibly cause hatred, and enmity in between Muslims as a community. He said in his Farewell Sermon that the river of Jaya Helia is over all of what people owed each other from, from interest bearing loans, everything's forgiven. And he said, The vendettas and the feuds, the revenge. Remember, people had been involved in tribal warfare, people had scores to settle. Some people had killed other people's children, or fathers or brothers. And he said, The vendettas are all over. It's all

over. We're going to leave whatever has we think that you're owed from one to another, we're going to leave it because community life is more important. And then the prophets of Allah Allahu alayhi wa sallam, he addressed conflicts inside of the home.

Inside of the home, he said that men have rights and women have rights. And each has to take care of the other. There is a complementary relationship between men and women. We're not each other's enemies. We're not each other's competition. We don't judge how we're doing based off of the privileges that the other one has. It goes both ways. And he said specifically to the men, because the men have a degree of authority. The men have a degree of strength. Women have a degree of vulnerability when they are in our homes. He said, Your women are a man. The women that you have in your household, they're dependent upon you for your income, they're dependent upon you for

protection, they are a trust, and you have taken them and trust. So fulfill your trust to Allah subhanaw taala.

Then the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he addressed ethnic conflict, tribal conflict, something that continues to this day. He said a Yohannes in narangba courroie head were in a Kumar had a quick look only Adam, Adam in Taarab chronicle Mendala here at Spa calm while a Sally Arabi Allah Hi Jamie follow L V. Taqwa. He said oh you people, certainly your Lord your Sustainer is one and your father is one. All of you come from Adam, Allah, he said, and Adam came from dirt. If Adam comes from dirt, then what business do you have taken pride if your skin is white to your skin is black. Every single one of you is from dirt. But he didn't stop there. He said the most noble of you

in the sight of Allah subhanho wa taala. It doesn't have anything to do with your skin color or your ethnicity, or your tribe or your nation. It's at all come. The people of Taqwa the people who are most aware of Allah, the people who are most conscious of Allah who fear Allah the most. And that he goes even more specific, and he says and there is no benefits. There is no degree of nobility for an audible over a non auto accepts by tequila. No person in this room or in this OMA or in this entire world. Has any step above the other person accepts your taqwa accept what's in your heart, something that you cannot see something that I cannot see. And that's why Allah subhanaw taala made it that

way. Because only he knows and on the Day of Judgment, he will inform us so he does the time to be together. Or he does that

aim to come together as one community as one OMA, remember Allah subhanho wa Taala said that this is not just some extra thing that we do. This, in fact is our only means of survival. Allah azza wa jal he said that while Lilina Kefa Robotham, Olia, Oba INLA Toronto who to call and Pfitzner to infill all day with Assad on Kabir, those who deny faith, the people of Cofer, the people who reject Allah subhanaw Dona, they are helpers of one another. They will unite against you. They're going to team up and gang up on you. If you don't do the same, meaning people of faith if you don't gather up and come together, then there's going to be fitna on Earth and great corruption. And we all know I think

if we look around us that we've seen Salat Allah Allah Aileen Akula Callie ha That was stopped for a lolly welcome Melissa la Muslim Inner Mongolia them but first up through in the whole of a full Rahim.

Alhamdulillah Sunni was Shukla who Allah Sophia for he wanted Ernie shadow ilaha illallah wa Aktueller shadow you gotta tell him and Alicia and a horse shadow and unabIe and I was eaten and Mohammed Abdullah Bora Sudha who had their 1120 so the Allahu alayhi wa early he was however he was when he was saline water Sleeman. kathira.

Read is a time of community and it is also a time of generosity. Remember what we said in the beginning the Prophet alayhi salatu salam instructed us how to separate and apportion our sacrifice, a third for the poor, a third for friends, and a third for ourselves. That means two thirds is going to someone else. And even that third that you're taking for yourself, Yanni. It's not really just for you, it's for your siblings and your dependents and the people of your household.

non Muslims, if they spend time in a Muslim household around a time, it's something very strange for them. Every couple hours, one or two times a day there's a knock on the door if someone shows up with a bag of meat. This is something that's unknown to anybody outside of our OMA but it's a beautiful thing. Because people find that the spirits are eat is one of generosity. It's one of giving. And Allah subhanaw taala of course in his book The Quran has a lot to say about generosity. One of the things that he told us is that not only is his generosity the way to achieve righteousness, that there is no way to achieve righteousness without also being generous. Allah

subhanaw taala said lantana will be Rahat touch on people may metal hipbone walmartone Omen che in for in Allah hubbie here, alim, you will never attain righteousness, you're never going to become righteous, until you spend from that which you love. Ah, look at that. Do you love it? Of course you do. But we are better than what we love. We are more than what we love and are attached to you take that thing that you love the most. And you give and you give and you give until you achieve the righteousness that Allah subhanaw taala promised you he finishes the eye by saying whatever you spend, certainly Allah subhanho wa Taala knows it. You might give something to somebody else. It

might be the hardest thing for you to do. It might be extremely difficult to bring yourself to give it you are so attached to this thing, but the person receiving it doesn't know the person receiving it will never give you recognition the person receiving it might not even say thank you. No problem. I'll also paddleboats Allah knows he is the one who knows and he is the one that counts. The highest level of generosity that you can achieve is when you are yourself in need. Allah azza wa jal he praised the unsought, the people of Medina who welcomes the pilgrims, the hit the people making Hijra from Mecca, and he described them thus he says, Are you clear on Allah and foresee him what

oh, can it be him Kasasa Well, may your cash your hand after he fell, eco one roughly honed, how did he describe them? They give preference to others over themselves, even though they themselves are in need. And whoever is protected from the stinginess of his own soul, those are the people who will be successful.

It's easy to give when you have a lot it's very difficult to give when you are in need. And yet that makes it the most

valuable thing. And that puts you in very rare company to be able to fight against the stinginess of your own soul. How does one get to that level? How can you put yourself in a position to succeed? Just like if you want to play soccer at the top level, if you want to run a marathon, you're not going to sign up and run one tomorrow. You need to train, you need to work. You need to build your skills so that when the time comes, when the match comes, when the marathon happens, you're ready. It's automatic. How do we get to that place? What's the work that we should be doing? We were told if by Allah azza wa jal on the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that the secret how do we get

there? How do we fight the stinginess of our own soul is to only take from this dunya what we need, only take what you need, and don't take more.

Only take what you absolutely need, and this is going to bring you Allah's love and it will bring you the love of the people as well. Just as the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, somebody came to him or a salatu salam and asked, he said, What's one thing that I can do smart man, he only wanted to in one action. One thing that I can do that will make Allah azza wa jal love me. And the people love me as well. The prophets, Allah Allahu alayhi wa sallam, he said is headford dunya you hit book Allah was had female and a nurse who had been a nurse, take little from the dunya. And Allah subhanaw taala will love you, and take little from what belongs to other people. And they will

love you too. You see this with children. Sometimes you have children in your home, they're not your children. They're your brothers or they're your answer, whatever. And it's time to eat, it's time to share. And they haven't yet quite learned how to be polite. And so you ask them you want anything to eat? Yes, sure. Then they start opening your cupboards and going through your fridge and taking more and asking and asking and asking. We laugh because we're adults. We know that for adults, this would not be appropriate behavior for them, their kids, they're innocent. But there's the principle that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said right in this hadith, if you refrain, people will love

you. If you ask too much. If you take too much, you will never get the love of Allah subhana wa Tada. And you will not get the love of people either. And underneath all of it, underneath all of it has to do with how attached to the dunya your heart is, you cannot achieve this level of Zoho. You cannot achieve this level of refraining. You can't achieve this level of generosity of giving if your heart is attached to this world. And that was the biggest fear that the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had for this ummah, the biggest fear not shirk, not cover. It was love of the dunya he says that Allahu alayhi wa sallam for Wallahi no fakra Asha alikhan Well, that can

actually come and tuber settler la como dunya can Bosi thoughts? Allah men can Kabbalah come, feta naffaa su her come out and Urfa Suha What will he come from Latin. He said sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, and he swore by Allah. It's not poverty that I fear for you all. It's not poverty, but rather, I fear that the world is going to open up to you all, just as it was opened up to the people that came before you, and that you're going to start competing for it and jockeying for it and fighting for this dunya just like the people before you started competing and fighting for this dunya and that it would destroy you, just as it destroyed the people before you. This read. Let us

be generous with one another. Let us be together as one community, the way that Allah azza wa jal intended and the way that Allah azza wa jal wanted us to be