We thank Allah Almighty for blessing us out of His immense grace and bounties, the opportunity to witness yet another blessed occasion of Eidul Adha. By the grace of Allah Almighty, the Gambia is joining the Muslim World in observing Eidul Adha (Tobaski) on Friday 31st July 2020. This period is that of great sacrifice as we celebrate the matchless sacrifice that Hazrat Ibrahim and his family (Hazrat Ismail and his mother Hazrat Hajira) undertook in the cause of Allah Almighty. It is a period of Happiness because we rejoice the mercy of Allah Almighty to the endless blessings He has bestow upon us and for granting us beautiful families who we join each year to happily observe this blessed occasion.
It is a period of Reflection because as Muslims, after all the celebrations, we should always reflect on all the blessings that Allah Almighty has bestowed upon us and should always be grateful to Allah Almighty and always thank and remember Him.
As we sacrifice our animals this year in the cause of Allah Almighty, we should always ask ourselves this question, what can we learn from Eidul Adha and such occasions? Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran verse 38 of Surah al-Hajj (Chapter 22 of the Holy Quran), the translation of which is:
“Their flesh reaches not Allah, nor does their blood, but it is your righteousness that reaches Him. Thus has He subjected them to you, that you may glorify Allah for His guiding you. And give glad tidings to those who do good.”
Looking at this verse we clearly understand that the animals that we sacrifice on this day, are not the only purpose of this occasion, but our own sacrifices in the Way of Allah Almighty and that of our righteousness is what actually matters. On this the Spiritual and Supreme Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V(May Allah be his Helper) said:
“Not only in Mecca, but all over the world, Muslims would be sacrificing animals. However, Allah has explained that although this is a part of Eid and it is a righteous deed, if the essence of sacrifice is not borne in mind during this practice, then these sacrifices are worthless. God is not desirous of the blood of animals, nor is He in need of this sacrifice.
If anyone is bereft of Taqwa (righteousness), even if hundreds of thousands of animals are sacrificed, God’s pleasure cannot be won. Allah thus explains that Taqwa is the actual essence of this sacrifice. One should be ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of Allah. One should be ready to sacrifice a small thing to attain a much more exalted goal; one should be ready to follow God’s commands always. Through this sacrifice, one should realise that faith must be given precedence above worldly affairs.”
The Khalifa went further and explained that “if this Eid of sacrifice does not draw our attention towards our responsibilities and obligations, then it is no more than a festival and is not a means of attaining the higher ranks of Taqwa. This Eid should take us to our actual purpose and we should not just be happy in consuming meat and feeding it to others.
We can only benefit from this day if we are ready to present our necks before God, worship Him as is required, become grateful servants of our Lord for turning us towards Islam…”
As Muslims of this great Nation of ours The Gambia, we can learn a lot from this extract of the beautiful word of the Spiritual and Supreme Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat and become such servants of Allah Almighty who are ready to sacrifice their life, wealth, time and honour for the sake of Allah and that of our great country the Gambia
As we rejoice with our families at home, enjoying the nice food and wearing beautiful new cloths, we should reflect and think of the less fortunate ones amongst us, those maybe our neighbours, our friends, our family, the poor, the needy, the orphans, widows, the sick and all those in difficulty. We should take the beautiful example of our beloved Master, The Holy Prophet of Islam, Hazrat Muhammad Mustapha(saw) who always looked after the welfare of the less fortunate ones of the society and also took care of their needs. We should share these beautiful moments with them as well and what a blessing and source of joy will it be for us if we can put a smile on their faces during such times.
As the impact of Covid – 19 continues to affect us, we should continue to help each other as brothers and sisters. The impact on the poor will even be more devastating so we should help them and take care of their needs.
We should all continue to observe the precautionary measures given to us by the health workers and experts and at the same time we should continue to pray to Allah Almighty to protect us from this pandemic and also bestow recovery and cure to those affected and bless us with a solution and cure. We are grateful to all the frontline workers and those in the battles to combat this illness and they are and will always be in our prayers.
At the end I am hereby extending to you the warmest salaam, love, prayers and EID MUBARAK of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V(May Allah be his Helper), the Spiritual and Supreme Head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad. On behalf of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at the Gambia, I humbly wish you all EID MUBARAK.
May Allah Almighty accept all the humble devotions and sacrifices that we have made during the Holy Month of Sacrifice. May He continue protecting and blessing our beloved and dear motherland, the Gambia and her people and shower peace, security, prosperity and stability on us all and May He make us all to experience more and more Eid. Ameen.
STAY SAFE AND STAY BLESSED
Wassalam
Yours sincerely,
Prepared By:
Baba F Trawally
Amir
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