An Islamic charity organization, Islamic Welfare Foundation has congratulated Muslim ummah especially in Nigeria.The group in its Eid-el-kabir message signed by Engr. Abu Salami ,National Coordinator,praised Almighty Allah for his bless over the Muslim ummah across the globe.
Read the statement in full :
“To Allah be the glory, praises and adorations. Allah is he whom we shall continue to bow and succumb as individuals and as a group. We thank Allah for keeping us intact as a group since the last Eid. May his name be praise.”
“May Allah’s blessings and favour continue to be on the Prophet Mohammad (SAW), his household and all those who believed and fought the cause for which the Rasul is known for from now till eternity.
On behalf of the Islamic Welfare Foundation I am therefore thanking God almighty, praising him and glorifying his name for sparing our lives to observe yet another Eid. For those of us and our relatives who have passed on to the world beyond, the Foundation share in your agony and pains but beside that, we say ‘May Allah overlook their shortcomings and grant them Jannatul Firdaus. For those of us and our relatives who are sick, we pray that Allah grant them quick recovery, sound health and wellness”.
“As a Foundation, even though we are celebrating Eid-el-Adha, the foremost thing we are celebrating is for being alive and healthy. These two things are the prerogative of God and it is only by his grace that we have it.
On behalf of the executive committee, I pray that we continue dwelling together in happiness, health, wealth, peace and grow in leap and bounds with quality membership.”
“Secondly, we are celebrating the few things we have been able to achieve despite the financial and economic constraints being experienced in Nigeria in particular and the World in general caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The IWF associates with Muslims all over the world in celebrating Eid-el-Adha also known as greater Eid or festival of Sacrifice which marks the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim (AS) to sacrifice His son Prophet Ismail (AS) in obedience to Almighty Allah. ”
“Eid means to celebrate and Adha refers to sacrifice so Eid-el-Adha is also known as the festival of sacrifice in which Muslims sacrifice a domestic animal that is a cow, sheep, goat, or camel in one of the three days of Eid-el-Adha for the sake of Allah Almighty. Muslims celebrate Eid-el-Adha on 10th of Zul Hijjah and it basically commemorates the faith of Abraham and devotion to Allah.”
According to the Belief of the Muslims, Allah asked Abraham to sacrifice his son for Allah’s sake, and even though he was a good man and loved his son very much, his devotion and faith to God was so strong that he did not hesitate to take this bold step and agreed to sacrifice his son.
“”The willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son for the sake of Allah caused Allah to spare his son’s life, and therefore a lamb was sacrificed in his place. This was a miracle of Allah and it proved that he has command over all things (known and the unknown). It is because of this holy incident in the History of Islam that the Muslims now celebrate Eid el Adha every year to earn Allah’s blessings and forgiveness.”
“The Qur’an describes Abraham as follows:
“Surely Abraham was an example, obedient to Allah, by nature upright, and he was not of the polytheists. He was grateful for Our bounties. We chose him and guided him unto a right path. We gave him good in this world, and in the next, he will most surely be among the righteous.” (Qur’an 16:120-121)
This single act of Prophet Ibrahim brings to fore the Qur’anic quotation that says:
“…and whosoever fears god and keeps his duty to him, he will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). and he will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine….” [Quran 65:2-3]
“It is very important at this point to understand that sacrifice offered by the Muslims on the day of Eid has nothing to do with washing ourselves from sins. This is basically a misunderstanding created by those of previous generations. The stance of Allah is very clear, and it is said in the Book of Quran
“It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Allah; it is your piety that reaches Him.” (Qur’an 22:37)
It is a pity that over scores of years, the act of sacrifice has lost its meaning. It has become a mere ritualistic performance among Muslims who sometimes slaughter goats, sheep and cows annually and mechanically, without understanding the underlying significance. ”
It has become a mere ritualistic performance among Muslims who sometimes slaughter goats, sheep and cows annually and mechanically, without understanding the underlying significance. There is a difference between mere charity and sacrifice. Charity is a regular all-time practice of helping the needy and no particular day is fixed for it. Sacrifice is an annual ritual, which is to be performed on the prescribed days commencing with Eid el-Adha.”
CONCLUSION
From above, it can be inferred that the sole purpose of this event (Eid-el Adha) is to earn countless blessings of Allah by sacrificing animals in the way of Allah, completing the rituals of Hajj and offering the Eid-el-Adha prayer. This Eid reminds us of the sacrifice that Prophet Abraham was willing to make for the sake of Allah. This also provides us an idea of the quality of faith that we should have in our one and only God. Distributing the meat from the sacrifice helps us to realize how we can share things and possessions that are very important for us. Distributing the meat from sacrifice promotes love and brotherhood, and allows the people to realize that they should be thankful to Allah for all the bounties that have been provided.”
“Finally, on behalf of the Islamic Welfare Foundation, I wish all Muslims and our admirers Happy Eid-el-Adha and pray that Allah help us concur the COVID-19 pandemic that is ravaging the world and changing the face of the world activities.”
Engr. Abu Salami (FNSE, FNiMechE)
National Coordinator, Islamic Welfare Foundation
