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- Friday Sermons
The first khutbah (Sermon):
Dear brothers, we are about to welcome Eid Al Adha, and some of our honorable brother (as we speak), from all over the Islamic world, are at the sacred lands (Mecca) in order to offer Hajj.
In respect of Hajj, there is a delicate topic that is rarely tackled, and to introduce to it I would say: Hajj is an obligatory act of worship that is imposed upon every Muslim who has the financial resources to pay for it, the physical ability to offer it, and the permission from the authorities of his/her country to visit the sanctified house of Allah (Kabah).
Hajj, according to all scholars, is one of the Islamic five pillars around which Islam revolves, needless to say that whosoever denies its validity will be considered as Kafer (Unbeleiver) (according to all scholars) Allah says:
((And Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House (Ka'bah) is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can afford the expenses (for one's conveyance, provision and residence); and whoever disbelieves [i.e. denies Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah))
Namely, he was able to perform it but he didn’t, in that case Allah stands not in need of any of the 'Alamin (mankind and jinns)., and Allah also says:
((And whoever does good voluntarily, then verily, Allah is All-Recogniser, All-Knower))
Namely, the Nafel (supererogatory) in Hajj, and Allah is All-Recogniser.
Types of Nawafel (supererogatory acts of worship):
Dear brothers, since I have mentioned the word “Nafl”, then you should know that there are many types of Nawafel (plural of Nafl):
Nafl that is specifically related to individuals:
Some Nawafel are performed by individuals, such as Salah (prayers) and Sawm (fasting), as both types are for the benefit of the person who offers them per se, and most likely, sh3er will not be hurt by these acts of Nawafel, nor will they benefit them directly.
Like when you perform night prayers, for you might pray as much as you want, and it is considered as Nafelah that is reckoned up for you and this Nafelah doesn’t benefit sh3er, nor does it hurt them. These types of Nawafel are the worshipping types.
The Nafl that is useful to sh3er:
The other type of Nafl is the one that is useful to sh3er, such as Sadaqah, charity, and good deeds. When you pay your Zakat by helping a Muslim brother of yours, who is in dire need for a surgery, you will be offering Nafl by such an act that is beneficial to Muslims wherever they are, and its goodness is spread to most people. For that reason it has been said: “No excessiveness in spending in charity”. Though this is an outstanding statement, but it is not without exception (which is: not to spend all your money on charity), as Allah the Almighty says:
((And spend in the Cause of Allah (i.e. Jihad of all kinds, etc.) and do not throw yourselves into destruction (by not spending your wealth in the Cause of Allah))
Some scholars said: you will be doomed twice in these two cases, once when you spend all your money (on charity), and once when you don’t spend any of it. For that, the prophet PBUH ordered Saed Ibn Abi Waqqas to keep back some of his money when he bequeathed all of it, and that was for his own benefit as it was reported by Bukhari and Muslim.
And the story of the three who did not join the Tabuk expedition (and whose repentance was mentioned in Quran) was also reported in the two authenticated Sunnah books (Sahihain: Bukhari and Muslim), as Kaeb Bin Malek said: O Allah’s prophet, I repent on the following terms: Not to say a lie ever and to pay all my money as Sadaqah for the sake of Allah the Almighty and His messenger, to which the prophet PBUH said:
((Keep back some of your money, as this is better for your own benefit))
The Nafel that is neither useful nor harmful:
Now we are getting to the essence of this topic, and there is still the third type of Nawafl which are three types, the first that hurts no one, the second that no one benefits from, and the third that, with some restraints, its goodness will spread all over to people around you.
The other type of nafl is not about individuals only, yet, it is directly related to sh3er, because of space sharing (over-crowdedness) either in place or anything else, like Hajj, Omrah and the like.
Dear brothers, the Symbols of Allah are limited to certain times, scheduled, and can’t be performed before or after that time.
As odd as it might sound, Saudi Arabia used traffic experts to organize the traffic between Mina, Arafat and Mecca. They studied, investigated, examined carefully, analyzed, used statistics, and eventually they have had their own results, according to which they suggested a list of proposals to the people in charge of Hajj matters. They suggested that Hajj be performed over five periods of times in a year, that is, once every two months, in order to decrease the stressful traffic, and this was the point of view of the foreigners’ experts.
Dear brother, Hajj should be performed in a limited place, time and symbols, and if we allowed one person to perform Hajj on behalf of one hundred Muslims, we would have twelve million people in Hajj, and all of you know that it is impossible for this number of people to attend Hajj, whereas if one person performed Hajj on behalf of one thousand people, approximately we will be having not less than two million people.
Thus dear brothers, there is suffering in this tremendous over-crowdedness, which affects this act of worship in terms of spiritual and sacred sentiments, not to mention that it turns it into clamor, hurly-burly, quarrel, and arguments. Annually we have hundreds of dead people crushed under feet while performing one of the acts of worship (Hajj), and this is to be considered as a bitter fact.
Let me put this fact in other words, if we have a rug with the capacity to have fifty persons on it to offer prayers, so if we have one thousand people around it, two hundred of them didn’t offer Fard (obligatory Salah) yet, and the eight hundred did, but they want to offer Nafl Salah on this rug of limited dimensions, so who is more entitled to offer Salah on it? The two hundred people, who didn’t offer Fard yet, are more entitled to offer Salah on that rug.
Dear brother, it is taken for granted that this Nafl- Hajj is performed out of faith, so how come that this Muslim (who wants to offer Nafl Hajj) is not aware of the hazardous outcome of performing Hajj every year? What is the point I am aiming at? I want to tell this person, who wrongly thinks that he should perform Hajj every year, who brags about having offered Hajj thirty times, who even lies in order to get a permission from the authorities, who might commit fraud, and who might bribe and pay thirty thousand in return for the visa (to Saudi Arabia), I want to tell him/her that you don’t have to start this Nafl act of worship with wrongdoing Allah the Almighty, you don’t have to be an impostor saying that you are a butcher or a driver, you don’t have to lie, you don’t have to bribe, you don’t have to lose face, you don’t have to offer Hajj to the sanctified house of Allah, you don’t have to beg people to offer Hajj, and you don’t have (as a woman) to get yourself into a formal marriage with any man just to offer Hajj with him (as Mahram: a husband or a relative of the opposite gender who a woman can appear before without observing hijab and who a woman cannot marry). You are abusing Allah’s religion, and by Allah there are so many violations in this month of unlawful ways of lying, false claiming, bribing, passing off for another person, or formally getting married, is that Islam? It is a rule of thumb that Allah The Almighty is not worshiped but through Islamic laws.
An actress, who has repented to Allah, called stating that she wanted to marry a man formally in order to offer Hajj with him, and then she will a get divorce upon coming back, well, a woman who can’t find a Mahram is not obliged to perform Hajj.
By the way, pay attention to this: affording Hajj means to be strong in your body in order to be able to put up with the rituals of Hajj, and to own the money for it, but it doesn’t mean in any way to sleep on the street and smear Muslim’s reputation, as by such an act, (when you sleep with your family on the sidewalk), your wife might expose her body accidentally, so if you can’t afford a house in Mecca or in Madina, then you can’t afford Hajj in the sight of Allah, and you don’t have to borrow money, to cringe in front of a rich man in order to pay you money for Hajj, to lie, to give a false claim, to bribe or to sin in any way.
Affording Hajj is when you are strong in your body, you own the money to perform Hajj with dignity, you own the money to spend on your family in your absence, and when you get the permission from the authorities of your country without any middlemen, bribing, fraud, or any false signature.
Dear brothers, for some years, I was a member of the high committee of Hajj, and it was suggested then not to allow anyone to offer Hajj unless he/she has reached the age 50, sometimes over fifty, and fifty nine, but why? Those who apply for Hajj have already performed Hajj, that is why the policy this year is to forbid any one, who has performed Hajj before, to perform it again, and to let those who didn’t perform Hajj at any age, even if they were eighteen years old, to perform Hajj. Thus, one of the requirements to apply for Hajj is to give a declaration that he/she hasn’t performed Hajj before. However, two thirds of the applications were given with a false declaration, and when this was revealed after checking old records, the people in charge marked those who did so by the phrase “a lying Hajjee (the person who perform Hajj)”, that is how it was.
Allah shouldn’t be worshipped but according to Islamic laws, and if you long for visiting the sanctified house of Allah or the mosque of the prophet PBUH, you can go for Umrah (the Sunnah pilgrimage performed in Mecca. Unlike hajj, ‘umrah can be performed throughout the year) when there are no over-crowdedness, and this is available and facilitated for every Muslim.
Dear brothers, one more thing, the motive is a noble one, which is to long for Hajj, and you, by performing this Nafl, are almost hurting Muslims, and every year we have accidents (because of over-crowdedness)!!! People die under feet because of over-crowdedness, because the capacity of the place is short for more than two millions, so if a large crowd goes to Hajj illegally, they will be a burden on those who deserve to perform Hajj in acceptable conditions. Dear brother, one of us might say: What will be the use of my absence, and what will be the harm of my presence, as I am just one person? However, this statement is said by millions other than you, and the unbearable over-crowdedness will be the result.
What is better than Nafelah Hajj is Sadaqah (alms giving) in it:
Now let us move to the evidences from sayings of earlier scholars in respect of this topic. Scholars said: “pay Sadaqah for the amount of Nafelah Hajj expenses”.
Pay attention dear brother, the obligatory Hajj has more priority over anything else, as it is one fifth of Islam, and it is more important than helping your son getting married, helping other people, or paying Sadaqah, Allah says:
((And Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House (Ka'bah) is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can afford the expenses (for one's conveyance, provision and residence); and whoever disbelieves [i.e. denies Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah))
Namely, if he can afford Hajj and has never performed it before. But it has been said as regard of the Nafelah Hajj: paying its expenses as Sadaqh is more useful in recent times when people’s need for money is reaching high levels.
Take for example the earthquake which hit Pakistan, our brother in Palestine whose houses were wrecked, and the poor who suffer hunger. Hence, if you performed Hajj five times, that will be enough, and you should pay the expenses you are about to pay for another Hajj to save a family, to help a young man get married, to serve abelieving family who are short on their financial resources to serve their needs.
Imam Ahmad was asked once: Should I perform Nafelah Hajj or help my kin instead? Imam Ahmad, whom is known by being a knowledgeable scholar, answered: “If they are in dire need for your help, it will be dearer to Allah.”
Ibn Mubarak was on his way to Hajj when he saw a girl picking up a dead bird from the dump, so he put someone on her tail to follow her to her house, and he found out that this family finds nothing to eat and they resort to the dump to find food, so accordingly, he gave this family all his money and he went back home and didn’t perform Hajj to the sanctified house of Allah.
Imam Ahmad said: “put that money in hungry livers”
Another one said: should you perform Hajj, should you perform Hajj and you already did, help your kin instead, pay Sadaqah to the grieved, and be charitable to your neighbor.
There is an outstanding statement of Ibn Al Jawzee, he said: “Paying Sadaqah is better than performing (Nafelah) Hajj.
When you say better than Hajj, it means better than Nafelah Hajj, because there is no question about the obligatory Hajj.
Wakee’ reported, Sufian reported, that Ibn Miskeen said: “They believe that Sadaqah is better than performing Hajj repeatedly”, and Imam Al Kukha’ee were inclined to this opinion.
And Shaikh Al Islam (Ibn Taymiyah) said in his book “The great Fatawa”: “Repeating Hajj is better than the Nafelah Sadaqah, but if there are kin in need, then giving them Sadaqah is preferable”
Some people spend one million or two hundred thousand to perform Hajj nowadays, and this money could be of great help to get a young man married, as young people are suffering from being jobless, for there is a high rate of unemployment, slackness in the marriage market, and an increase in the prostitution market, and unless we make our move to solve these great problems, then we, as Musliims, will be in a serious situation dear brother.
Over-crowdedness in Hajj:
The Prophet PBUH said in respect of over-crowdedness:
((O Umar, You are a strong man; don't jostle (through the crowds) to reach the (Black) Stone, lest you should hurt the weak, If you find a gap then you may touch it, otherwise, you may face its direction and utter Tahleel and Takbeer (i.e., saying: ‘laa ilaaha illallaah and Allaahu akbar”))
Some Hujjaj (people who perform Hajj) do the unthinkable (horrible acts) just to perform Sunnah, and they forsake the Fard which is to keep Muslims safe in this case.
Ibn Abbas said: “If it is crowded when you face the corner, then leave and don’t stand there”.
Some scholars reported that the mother of believers Aishah, May Allah be pleased with her, was visited by one of her Mawlat (person of slave origin who does not have tribal protection) who said to her: O mother of believers, I circumambulated Kabah seven times, and I faced the corner twice or thrice, to which Aisha answered: May Allah not reward you, are you jostling men? Are you not too old for such an act?”
Conservation and protection of a Muslim woman, and not hurting other Muslims are at the head of any Sunnah in Hajj, such as the Sunnah of kissing the stone or facing the corner.
Aishah Bint Saed Ibn Abi Waqqas said:
“My father used to say to us: If you find a gap among crowds then you can face the corner, otherwise, you may say Takbeer and leave”.
Ibn Abbas used to say: “He (the prophet) used to avoid jostling through the crowds lest he hurt Muslims”
Saeed Ibn Ubaid Al Ta’ee said: “I saw Al Hasan (grandchild of the prophet PBUH) approaching the stone, but when he found that it was crowded there, he didn’t kiss it, he just supplicated, and moved to the Maqam (Ibrahim Maqam) and offered two Rukaats”.
This is not only about kissing the stone or facing the Yamani Corner, but it is a general rule in regard of every stressful matter on people, as in such cases, a Muslim should be flexible in facing that matter.
Nowadays, there are people who insist on offering two Rukaats after Tawaf (circumambulating around Kabah) in front of Ibrahim Maqam (The station of Ibrahim), which causes obstruction in people movement, and it disturbs the Tawaf tremendously. Such an act is a lack of Hajj’s Fiqh (knowledge).
For this reason, some countries obliged people who want to offer Hajj to go through a six month course, in which they learn all Fards (obligatory acts of worship), Sunnan (supererogatory acts of worship), ethics and major objectives of Hajj.
However, there are exceptions in Nafelah Hajj, that is, when someone is performing Hajj on behalf of his mother, father or sister, or those who performed Hajj before, but need to go as Mahram with their female relatives (such like sister, wife, or mother…).
Dear brother, it is deemed unwise to isolate oneself from people’s problems, afflictions, and anguish, yet, one should be an aid to ease things for them and to serve their needs.
Muslims’ Eids are acts of obedience and sources of lawful rejoice:
Dear brothers, Eid comes after Hajj, and it is considered as an occasion of rejoice for the obedient whose acts of worship were accepted by Allah, and Eid will be a source of happiness for them after a long time of striving (in performing the acts of worship) and following Allah’s orders.
Dear brothers, according to Muslims, this is (Eid) considered as one of Allah’s great graces, as they are Eids of acts of obedience not occasions of celebrating sins.
Our Eids usually comes after great acts of worship, such like Eid Al Fitr, which comes after the month of Ramadan, and Eid Al Adha, which comes after Hajj.
Dear brother,s the Eid are for those who obeyed Allah, and sorrow will be upon those who disobeyed Him.
When a servant turns back to Allah, a caller calls those in the heavens and earth to congratulate him as he has reconciled with Allah.
The reality of Eid in Islam:
The real Eid lies in turning back to Allah, Eid is for him who perfects his work during the day, and spends the night in obeying Allah, and Eid is for him who stays all night long reciting Quran not listening to songs and music.
It is out of heedlessness to rejoice anything else save Allah, as the heedless rejoices his/her pleasures and fantasies, whereas the prudent is the one who rejoices his Lord (Allah).
Imam Al Hasan Al Basri said: “Every day in which Allah is not disobeyed will be considered a Eid, and every day that is spent, by the believer, in obeying his Lord, remembering Him and thanking him is a Eid as well.”
Eid means to draw close to Allah rather than wearing new cloths, Eid is for the one who feared Allah and the day of menacing (Day of Judgment) rather than for the one who is adorned with cloths and vehicles, and Eid is for the one whose sins are forgiven. O you who rejoice Eid by putting on best clothes, O you who believe beyond doubt in death yet never get ready for its gravity, O you who enjoy befriending brethren, companions and comrades, feeling secured from being taken by death, Where will you be on the day when hearts and eyes will be overturned (from the horror of the torment of the Day of Resurrection)?
Dear brothers, we should be able to bring together the permissible joy and the real meaning of it as Allah meant it for us to be, that is, to rejoice Tawbah (repentance), to rejoice turning back to Allah, to rejoice reconciliation with Him, and to rejoice strengthening our connection with Him.
Condemned acts in Eids:
Dear brothers, there are condemned acts in Eids that are well known to all of you, and I am saying this from heart to heart: We have four days in Eid Al Adha in which we exchange visits, I hope that every family, including me, will be gathered in one house for two or three hours instead of putting cards on doors (informing them that we came and didn’t find them). Believe it or not, there are some people, who pay lots of visits in Eid, hoping that they don’t find anyone at home in order to put a card on the door, and if someone opens the door, they will be frustrated and disappointed, because this means that they have to enter the house.
So how about gathering, as a big family of close relatives, in one place every Eid, just as we did for long years where we used to gather on the second day of every Eid in this mosque from 10 AM till 2 PM, and from Mugreb (sun set) till one hour after Ishaa. During these times, all brother would meet each other.
So instead of exchanging cards, let us exchange nice words. If you happen to sit with people during Eid visits, what would you hear? Daily news; everyone is listening to the news, so if one of the twenty persons says: such and such, all of them have already heard the same, and he has added nothing to their knowledge. They also might spend the time in talking about insignificant matters, about topics that end with frustration, desperation, and bewilderment. Sometimes, people talk without any order or purpose to such an extent that they will be unable to leave their seats because of the frustration they got themselves into.
What did you learn in the mosque during Ramadan? Don’t you remember an Ayah that affected you by its interpretation? Don’t you remember Hadith that you liked its meaning? Try every time to remind people of Allah the Almighty:
‘Remember me and I will remember you, and remind my servants of me, but Allah’s remembrance of you is greater than your remembrance of Him. Allah says:
((As-Salat (the prayer) prevents from Al-Fahsha' (i.e. great sins of every kind, unlawful sexual intercourse, etc.) and Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism, and every kind of evil wicked deed, etc.) and the remembering (praising, etc.) of (you by) Allah (in front of the angels) is greater indeed [than your remembering (praising, etc.) Allah in prayers, etc.]))
Some scholars said: “is greater” means that Allah remembers you a billion times more than you remember Him, and when you remember Him, you will be worshipping Him, whereas when Allah remembers you, He will be granting you security, satisfaction, wisdom, strength, distance from hypocrisy and the power to move.
“Remembering (praising, etc.) of (you by) Allah (in front of the angels) is greater indeed [than your remembering (praising, etc.)”
If my servant remembers Me in his/her being, I will remember him/her in My being, and if my servant remembers Me in a group of people, I will remember him/her among better congregation.
If a group of people sit together remembering Allah, the angels will surround them, the mercy will shroud them, the peace will descend unto them and Allah will remember them among those with Him, and if a group of people sit together and don’t remember Allah, they will spread out with a smell worse than donkey carrion.
An ambiguous future lies in what is going on recently, as we are receiving threats from left and right, oppression is all over the world, crimes are committed every day, killing and breaking in is this era’s language, arresting and bombing, and the phosphoric bombs and weapons of mass destruction, needless to say that catching up with daily news makes us very nervous.
Dear brother, remember Allah, remind each other of Allah, remind people that matters are in Allah’s hand, that He is disciplining us, remind each other of this method that some architects follow which is called “tolerance test”. According to this method, if they have a balcony with cracks in it (for example), it would be a waste to wreck it if it is secure, and dangerous if we keep it while it is defective, and to tell which is which, they put barrels full of water in it, so if it collapses, then we know that it is not good, and if it holds out, then it deserves our maintenance, and we can continue cladding it.
Similarly, Allah is testing Muslims, who have deviated from their religion and slipped away from the divine method, so either they turn back to Him with repentance and believe in this noble Quran, or they neglect Allah’s assignment and deserve thereby Allah’s negligence in return.
Some signs of Allah’s love to His servant:
Dear brothers, the following are some of the signs of Allah’s love to His servant:
Protects him from the worldly life, as Allah protects His believing servant from worldly life like when one of you protects the sick person from food.
Another sign of Allah’s love to His servant is to keep him in sh3er’ minds, as Allah looks after all his matters.
And out of love and mercy for His servant, Allah grants him leniency in all matters, and this is to be considered as one of the signs of Allah’s love.
Also another sign of Allah’s love is to make him accepted by sh3er, “endued you with love from Me”.
One more sign of Allah’s love is to afflict you sometimes.
((The most in their suffering among the people are the prophets, then the best, then the (next) best))
Another sign of Allah’s love is to take his/her soul while he/she is performing a good deed.
((When Allah loves a servant of His, He will Assalaho (sweetens him), so he was asked what is Assalaho? The prophet PBUH said: He will be guided to perform a good deed when he is close to be dead, then Allah takes his soul while offering it))
My last words in my first sermon are the following:
The prophet PBUH saw a funeral, so he said: Mustareeh (He found rest) and Mustarahon Minho (people found rest in his death), so he was asked: O messenger of Allah, what is Mustareeh and Mustarahon Minho? He said: When a believer servant dies, he finds his rest in death from all the hardship of life))
((It was said (to him when the disbelievers killed him): "Enter Paradise." He said: "Would that my people knew!))
He is done with all bad news, pressures, anxiety, fear, and elevation in currency value… etc.
((…and when the corrupted servant dies – Pay attention to those who have rest in his death – the countries, people, trees and animals find rest in his death))
People still suffer from the person who lives and who uproots olive trees, fills up drinking wells, wrecks houses, and kills women and slaughters children.
((When a believer servant dies, he finds his rest in death from all the hardship of life and, when the corrupted servant dies, the countries, people, trees and animals find rest in his death))
But don’t raise your hopes,
((Every time a new nation enters, it curses its sister nation (that went before))
The successor might be worse than the deceased.
* * *
Dear brothers, call yourselves to account before you are called to do so and weigh your deeds before they are weighed for you, and you should know that the Angel of Death has been reaching sh3er and will reach us soon, so pay heed. The clever one is he who upbraids himself and works for what comes after death; and the weak one is he who follows his desires and lives on wishful thinking, and praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.
***
Second sermon:
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds and may He bless and grant peace to Muhammad, the Faithful and the Honest, and may Allah bless his folks and companions.
Hukm (Islamic evidence) of Udhiyah (sacrificial animal) and the conceptions of it:
Hukm of Eid’s Udhiyah:
Dear brother, the Udhiyah is one of the religious symbols (Sha’eerah) of Muslims in Eid Al Adha, and its legislation came from the following hadith reported by Ahmad and Ibn Majah and narrated by Abu Huraira who said: the prophet PBUH said:
((Whosoever has the means to pay and didn’t slaughter his sacrifice yet, shall never come near our Musallah (prayer place).))
Abu Hanifah, May Allah have mercy on his soul, deduced from this Hadith that the Udhiyah is an obligation, as this kind of menace can’t be applied on an act that is not an obligatory one.
Whereas other than Ahnaf said: it is an evidence-based Sunnah, and they have their proofs for it.
Swinging between it being an obligatory and an evidence-based Sunnah, Udhiyah is mandadory once every year by the free, adult, prudent, settled and rich Muslim, and the one, who is travel, is not obliged to slaughter an Udhiyah.
Aishah, May Allah be pleased with her narrated that the prophet PBUH said:
((No act performed on the Day of Nahr by son of Adam is more beloved to Allah than shedding the blood (slaughtering the Udhiyah). Verily, it comes on the Day of Judgement with its horns, hairs, and nails. Allah gives reward for it before its blood reaches the ground, so be content for sacrificing Udhiyah.))
Also narrated by Anas, he said: ((the Prophet (peace be upon him) sacrificed two horned rams which were white. He said: and I saw him slaughtering them with his own hands, and I saw him putting his foot on them while reciting the name of Allah and glorifying Him (saying Allahu Akbar). ))
The objectives of Udhiyah:
The purpose behind the Udhiyah is that the rich Muslim expresses his gratitude to Allah the Almighty for His different graces, among which is guidance - – and having remained alive till Eid Al Adha year after year.
((The best of you is the one who lived long and performed good deeds))
Also safety (not having intractable diseases), good health, and sustenance in abundance, not to mention that Udhiyah is atonement from sins that were committed and it is a treat for the family of the person who is slaughtering the Udhiyah and his relatives, friends, and poor neighbors, how many objectives have we mentioned so far? Again: guidance, being alive year after year, safety, good health, atonement, and treat for the family of the person who slaughters the Udhiyah and his relatives, friends, neighbors and poor Muslims.
When is Udhiyah required?
Being rich is one of the conditions to necessitate Udhiyah, and rich by definition is the one who owns the minimum amount of money upon which Zakah is due. This money should be in excess of his basic needs, and he can do without the money he will be paying for the Udhiayh only during Eid days, or he can do without it for a whole year according to different schools of thought which defined the rich person.
As for the animal to be slaughtered, it should be intact from all defects which might decrease the weight of meat or causes harm if it was eaten.
Thus, one can’t sacrifice the animal when it is sick, one eyed, lame, skinny, or mangy.
It is recommendable to choose the fat and the best animal for Udhiyah, as the prophet PBUH used to sacrifice a white horned bellwether ( male sheep).
The time of offering Udhiyah:
The time for slaughtering the Udhiyah is after Eid Al Adha prayers till sun set of the third day of Eid, which means all Tashriq days (11-12-13th of Dhul-Hijjah). But the best time will be on the first day after the Salah of Eid Al Adha till before Declination of sun of the same day.
It is properly disapproved to slaughter the animal at night, and the Udhiyah will not be valid unless it was from Al Ne’am, namely, either it is a camel, a cow, sheep or a goat but on one condition: that the sheep should have completed six months of age, and that the goat should complete one year of age according to some scholars.
It is sufficient for the Muslim to slaughter one animal for him and for his family, needless to say that his wife and kids (whom he supports) will get the same reward he gets, except for his married children, and they all share the recompense.
Commendable acts for Udhiyah:
Among the commendable acts for Udhiyah is that the person who sacrifices the animal faces Qiblah (the direction Muslims face during prayer), slaughter by his own hands if he is able to, and to say:
Bismillahi Allahu Akbar (In the Name of Allah, Allah is Greatest) O Allah! (This Sacrifice) is from You and for You, O Allah accept it from me and from my family.
It was mentioned in Tafseer (interpretation of the Quran) that the animal, which is created to feed humans, wishes that its body is offered as a gift to mankind.
The following, which I’ve read, is referred to an Egyptian great scholar who said: When the animal (which is created to feed mankind) gets sick, it elongates its head, as if it is saying to people around it: come and slaughter me in order to eat my Halal meat before I die.
The person who is offering Udhiyah can also assign another person to slaughter the animal on his behalf, but it is recommended in this case that he attend the event, because the prophet PBUH said to Fatimah:
((Go to your animal and witness it being sacrificed. Your previous sins [lesser sins] will be forgiven with the first drop of blood [you witness].))
How to apportion it:
It is recommendable that the Udhiyah is divided in three portions, one third is eaten by him and his immediate family, one third is given away to his relatives, friends and neighbors, and one third is donated to the poor Muslims.
((Eat thereof, and feed the beggar who does not ask (men), and the beggar who asks (men))
((And the Budn (cows, oxen, or camels driven to be offered as sacrifices by the pilgrims at the sanctuary of Makkah.) We have made for you as among the Symbols of Allah, therein you have much good. So mention the Name of Allah over them when they are drawn up in lines (for sacrifice). Then, when they are down on their sides (after slaughter), eat thereof, and feed the beggar who does not ask (men), and the beggar who asks (men). Thus have We made them subject to you that you may be grateful.))
((It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Allah, but it is piety from you that reaches Him. Thus have We made them subject to you that you may magnify Allah for His Guidance to you. And give glad tidings (O Muhammad) to the Muhsinun (doers of good).))
Supplication:
Dear brother, I will supplicate so please say Amin: O Allah let us overcome our desires so that we can gain victory for your sake, and due to which we can deserve your victory over our enemies.
We beseech you Allah to show us the way of rightness, together with those to whom You have showed it; and give us good health, together with those whom You have healed; and be our Protector, together with those for whom You have become their Protector; and bless us in what You have bestowed on us and save us from the afflictions that You have decreed, for You rule with justice and You are never judged. He whom You protect shall never be humiliated and he whom You make Your enemy shall never be exalted. Blessed and dignified are You, and we thank You for what You have decreed.
We seek your forgiveness and we repent our bad deeds, O, Allah guide us to perform a good deed, as you are the one who guides to the best of deeds.
O, Allah make us do well in the religion which is our dignity and make our lives good for it is our living and make us safe on the day of judgment for it is our final destination please make the life our supply for all good things and make the death a rest from every evil our master the Lord of all worlds.
O, Allah please make me with what You have made lawful needless of what You have made unlawful and make me with Your benevolence independent of all sh3er.
Grant peace and blessings to Sayyidina Muhammad, upon his Family and his Companions
