Dhul-Hijjah 10, 1447AH (Wednesday, May 27, 2026).
In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy
Praise be to Allah, the Most High, the Most Great, the Exalted, the Supreme, for whom honour is a garment and majesty is a robe. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger. May Allah exalt and send peace to him, his family, and his companions abundantly, ameen Ya Hayyu Ya Qayyum. To proceed:
Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest. There is no god but Allah. Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest, and to Allah belongs all praise!
Allah is the Greatest, truly the Greatest. Allah is the Greatest and the Most Majestic. Allah is the Greatest, and to Allah belongs all praise!
Dear brothers and sisters! Today is the greatest day in the sight of Allah. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said:
“The greatest day in the sight of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, is the Day of Sacrifice, followed by the Day of Rest.” [Narrated by Abu Dawud]
Today, Muslims all around the world follow the command of the Lord of the worlds:
“Thus, pray to your Lord and sacrifice [to Him alone].” [Surah Al-Kawthar: 2]
Indeed, prayer, the noblest of physical acts of worship, and sacrifice, the noblest of financial acts of worship, are the most exalted means of drawing close to Allah. Today, Muslims perform the Eid prayer and then sacrifice their offerings to Allah as a form of worship and devotion, with their acts of obedience marked by, “O Allah, from You and to You.”
This is what the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said when he sacrificed his offering. Jabir Ibn Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
“The Prophet (Peace be upon him) slaughtered two horned rams, black and white in colour, on the Day of Sacrifice. When he faced them towards the qiblah, he said: ‘I have turned my face to Him who created the heavens and the earth, inclining toward truth, and I am not of those who associate others with Allah. Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds. He has no partner, and of this I have been commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims. O Allah, this is from You and for You. In the name of Allah, and Allah is the Greatest,’ then he sacrificed them.” [Narrated by Abu Dawud]
The way of Prophet Ibrahim, the close servant of Allah, who submitted and surrendered to the command of Allah along with his son Prophet Ismail, peace be upon them.
Allah commanded His friend Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Prophet Isma’il, and he submitted, obeyed, and complied. He went to his son and said:
“O my son, indeed I have seen in a dream that I must sacrifice you, so see what you think.” He said: “O my father, do as you are commanded. You will find me, if Allah wills, of the steadfast.” [Surah Al-Saffat: 102]
How great this trial was! That a father would willingly sacrifice his only son, whom he was granted in old age, out of obedience and submission to Allah. And that the young son would submit to the command of his Lord, willingly offering himself to be sacrificed. Allah the Almighty said:
“And when they had both submitted and he put him down upon his forehead, We called to him, ‘O Ibrahim, You have fulfilled the vision.’ Indeed, We thus reward the doers of good. Indeed, this was the clear trial. And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice.” [Surah Al-Saffat: 103-107]
And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice! The test and trial demonstrated the immense love for the Lord of the worlds in Prophet Ibrahim’s heart, showing that he placed no love or command above that of Allah, not even his son Isma’il.
The Muslim believer whose faith is firmly established in his heart and whose love for Allah is immense, his life and death are for Allah. His own self and everything he owns become insignificant if Allah commands and it pleases Him, because he is certain that his self, wealth, child, and all he possesses are from Allah and His grace. And this is the truth:
“O Allah, from You and to You.”
The motto of his life, as Allah the Almighty says:
“Say, ‘Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds. He has no partner. And of this I have been commanded, and I am the first [among you] of the Muslims.” [Surah Al-An’am: 162-163]
The Muslim believer remembers through the ransom that Allah provided for Prophet Isma’il that he must ransom himself from Allah’s punishment.
Did our Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) not say to his beloved daughter Fatimah, may Allah be pleased with her:
“O Fatimah, save yourself from the Fire, for I do not possess for you the power to avert anything from Allah”? [Narrated by Muslim]
And he said to her:
“Save yourself from Allah’s punishment. I cannot avail you anything from Allah.” [Narrated by Bukhari]
Allah has commanded His servants to worship Him alone without associating partners with Him. He has prescribed obligations and forbidden prohibitions. However, a person is often conflicted within himself, pulled by his desires, and whispered to by his devil. Thus, the struggle ensues: will he prioritise what Allah loves and is pleased with, ascending in the ranks of Paradise, or will he prioritise what his soul desires, descending into the depths of Hellfire?
The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said:
“Every person goes out in the morning and sells his soul, either freeing it or bringing about its ruin.” [Narrated by Muslim]
Every human being is either striving for the destruction of his soul or for its salvation. Whoever strives in obedience to Allah has sold his soul to Allah and freed it from His punishment. But whoever strives in disobedience to Allah has sold his soul to humiliation and ruined it with sins that incur Allah’s wrath and punishment.
There are only two paths, two transactions, two sales: Either you sell yourself and what you own to the Lord of the worlds, so you have no choice but to follow Allah’s command and the command of His Messenger (Peace be upon him), and you do not place the love of anyone above the love and pleasure of Allah. In return, the reward is a Jannah (Paradise) as vast as the heavens and the earth because you favoured Allah, so He favoured you and chose you for closeness and bliss.
Or a person sells himself to his devil, follows his desires, and is deceived by false hopes. He will lose himself and find it only in the depths of Hell in this world and the Hereafter. Did you not hear Allah’s words:
“Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties in exchange for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed. It is a true promise binding upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur’an. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. And it is that which is the great attainment.” [Surah Al-Tawbah: 111]
By Allah, what a great and precious contract this is, the one made by the Lord of the worlds with His believing servants, who sold their lives and properties to please Allah, thus achieving great success and winning the ultimate victory.
Did you not hear about what Suhaib Ar-Rumi, may Allah be pleased with him, did?
When Suhaib Ar-Rumi, may Allah be pleased with him, wanted to emigrate to Madinah, the disbelievers of Quraish said to him: “You came to us as a poor, destitute man, then you accumulated wealth among us and reached what you have reached, and now you want to leave with your wealth? By Allah, that will not happen.” Suhaib said: “What if I leave my wealth for you, will you let me go?” They said: “Yes.” So he gave them his wealth, and when this reached the Prophet (Peace be upon him), he said: “Suhaib has succeeded, Suhaib has succeeded.” [Narrated by Ibn Hibban]
Yes, by Allah, the sale was successful, and Suhaib triumphed when he gained the pleasure of Allah, Blessed and Exalted.
What has he lost who has gained Allah’s pleasure, and what has he gained who has incurred Allah’s wrath? Allah the Almighty says:
“And of the people is he who sells himself, seeking means to the approval of Allah. And Allah is kind to His servants.” [Surah Al-Baqarah: 207]
Dear servant of Allah! Where is what you sold seeking the pleasure of Allah? Where is what you sacrificed and gave for Allah, seeking His pleasure?
The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said:
“Paradise is surrounded by hardships, and Hellfire is surrounded by desires.” [Narrated by Muslim]
Indeed, human nature is inclined to greed, and preference for this world, and it is only Iman (faith) in Allah and the Last Day that can remove it from that.
On the Day of Resurrection, the Day of Regret, people will be divided into two groups: Allah the Almighty said:
“For those who responded to their Lord is the best reward, but those who did not respond to Him – if they had all that is in the earth entirely and the like of it with it, they would attempt to ransom themselves thereby. Those will have the worst account, and their refuge is Hell, and wretched is the resting place.” [Surah Al-Ra’d: 18]
Those who responded to Allah will have the bliss of Paradise and the joy of looking at the noble face of Allah. As for those who did not respond to Allah and His law and His command, they will wish to ransom themselves from Allah’s punishment with everything in the earth, but alas!
The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said:
“Allah will say to the person with the lightest punishment in Hell on the Day of Resurrection: ‘If you had all that is on the earth, would you ransom yourself with it?’ He will say: ‘Yes.’ Allah will say: ‘I wanted less than that from you while you were in the loins of Adam: that you do not associate anything with Me, but you refused except to associate with Me.'” [Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim]
Dear servants of Allah! Allah commanded Prophet Yahya the son of Zakariyyah, peace be upon them, with five words to act upon and to command the Children of Israel to act upon. Among these five, he said:
“I command you to give charity. The example of that is like a man captured by the enemy, who tied his hands to his neck and brought him forward to cut off his head. He said, ‘Can I ransom myself from you?’ So he began to ransom himself from them with small and large amounts until he freed himself.” [Narrated by Tirmidhi]
This charitable person sacrificed some of what Allah had given him, thus ransoming himself in this world and freeing himself from destruction on the Day of Resurrection.
Thus, the Muslim believer is always willing to sacrifice himself and what he possesses for the sake of Allah, firmly believing and saying:
“O Allah, this is from You and for You.”
Indeed, placing the love of Allah above the love of oneself, wealth, and family is the essence of jihad, which Allah has chosen for His faithful servants and made them His true allies. It is the essence of the sacrifice (Udhiyyah/Layyah) that Allah has prescribed for His servants, so they may sacrifice these animals as a means of drawing closer to Allah. They understand that every beloved thing sacrificed at the threshold of servitude is a means of getting closer to Allah, the source of all good, to whom all things return. He is the Great, who is greater than everything, and to Him belongs all praise. There is no god but He.
Dear brothers and sisters! No doubt, feeding, clothing and educating the orphans, poor and needy are among the acts that draws us close to Allah Almighty, especially in these blessed ten days of Dhul-Hijjah. We earn Allah’s forgiveness, His mercies, and His blessings through those great act of charity.
As a result and as usual, our great center, Nagazi-Uvete Islamic Center in Okene, Kogi State, presents the opportunity to feed and educate the orphans, poor and needy Muslims during the 1447/2026 Eid-al-adha celebrations.
This provides a chance to multiply our efforts in seeking Allah’s pleasure, and earn His everlasting mercy and favour upon us as sponsors and donors as we put smiles on the faces of beneficiaries.
Over the past twenty five years, we have been providing Udhiyyah/Layyah meat to our orphans and needy Muslim families during the Eid-al-adha festivals.
With sincere support from generous donors like you, we have been able to serve over 10,000 orphans and needy families so far. This year 1447/2026, we seek to feed more orphans and families In Shaa Allah.
It is our hope that you will continue to make this campaign a fruitful one, and help feed orphans, poor and needy Muslims during the celebration of sacrifice.
Charity/Sadaqah is a key part of first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah activities and is obligatory to all able Muslims, and feeding the orphans, poor and the needy is an act that draws us close to Allah. We earn Allah’s forgiveness, mercies, and blessings through this act of charity and Sadaqah.
Nagazi-Uvete Islamic Center is a non-profit organisation in Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. The organisation is non-partisan and non-sectarian, established to provide relief and humanitarian aid to help the vulnerable. We currently have our office in Okene, Kogi state.
Through this Eid-al-adha festival program, we aim to provide meat, food, clothes and education to the orphans, needy, widows, and struggling families—restoring dignity, spreading hope, and sharing the blessings of this sacred season.
Join us in feeding the orphans. Support this noble cause. Let your Zakkah and Sadaqah become light for you here and the hereafter. Together, we can extend the mercy and blessings of the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah to every heart in need.
Trust and Amanah is at the core of all our activities because the lives and well-being of millions of needy people depend on it.
You can send your donations to the following account details:
1. Account number: 0048647196.
– Account name: Murtala Muhammed.
– GTBank
Or:
2. Account number: 1779691620
– Account name: Murtala Muhammed.
– Access Bank.
Or:
8056557477 OPAY.
Donate Fisabilillah!
Finally, I pray, our Lord, accept from us, indeed You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. Turn to us in mercy, indeed You are the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.
Ya Allah, grant victory to Your oppressed servants and destroy the criminals.
Ya Allah, grant us safety in our homelands, and rectify our leaders and those in charge of our affairs. Make our authority in those who fear You, follow Your commands, and seek Your pleasure.
May Allah accept our sacrifices, purify our wealth, and grant us the strength to always give generously in His path.
All perfect praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad (Peace be upon him), and upon his family, his Companions and his true followers.
Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of: Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah Mosque; and Late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene Mosque, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: [email protected]; or +2348038289761.
This Eid Khutbah (Eid Sermon) was prepared for Wednesday, 10 Dhul-Hijjah 1447AH (equivalent to May 27 2026), at Nagazi-Uvete Eid prayer ground.
