Eid al-Adha: As we celebrate this great festival…

Eid al-Ad-haa, otherwise known as al-’Id al-Kabir (the great festival), is the event that marks the culmination of Hajj and the end of the spiritually glorious period of the first 10 days of the month of  Dhul-Hijjah.

While only the pilgrims performing the Hajj in any particular year observe the rites of that fifth pillar of Islam, the rest of the Muslim world joins in celebrating the culmination. What that signifies is, among other lessons, that the status of Prophet Ibraahim/Abraham (peace be upon him) as a worthy role model applies not only to the pilgrims but also to all the faithful the world over.

The crux of religion as revealed by Allah (God) to all of His Messengers and Prophets is unconditional acceptance of, and unreserved submission to, directives coming from Him (Qur’an 2:38); that is, the doing of the will of God on earth as it is done in Heaven by the angels, who do not disobey Him (Qur’an 66:6). That is the only concept of religion that is acceptable to God (Qur’an 3:19, 85).

Meanwhile, though some Messengers and Prophets preceded Ibraahim, Allah chose him as role model for all mankind (Qur’an 2:124), saying that only the foolish of mind would turn his back to the religion of Ibraahim (Qur’an 2:30).

Prophet Ibraahim (peace be upon him) demonstrated that crux of religion when he laid down his only child at the time — namely Ismail/Ishmael (not Is-haq/Isaac) — with a view to offering him to Allah as commanded by Him, most trying as that command was.

However, all that Allah wanted Ibraahim to demonstrate was the unreserved willingness to comply, not the actual slaughtering of his son. Having so demonstrated, he was given a ram to offer in the place of Ismail; and that signified Allah’s Grace of rewarding you richly in this world and more so ultimately in the Hereafter if you place obedience to Him over fulfilling the desires of the flesh (Qur’an 79:40, 41).

This is the main and overall lesson of the Hajj, whose rites are a sharp reminder of Ibraahim’s and his family’s total surrender to Allah throughout their lives. It is also the crux of the message of the slaughtering of the ram by the rest of the Muslims back home in different parts of the world.

An assuredly effective and rewarding solution to the challenges that our nation — indeed all mankind — battles with today can be achieved only through resort to true righteousness.

The various threats to security as well as the numerous forms of corruption bedevilling our society and the resultant implications of these for the economy are nothing but results of lack of consciousness of ultimate accountability to God, especially in the life to come. This is also true of the mistrust that hinders cordial relations among our various ethnic and religious groups.

What we need as a nation are sincere, concerted and sustained efforts towards propagating the kind of God-consciousness demonstrated by Prophet Ibraahim (peace be upon him). It will surely guarantee for our nation and for us as individuals a lasting solution to all the challenges confronting us. Our life here will be much more peaceful, trouble-free; and the Hereafter eternally glorious for us.

It is instructive that Allah not only rewarded Ibraahim in this world but also guaranteed for him eternal success in the Hereafter (Qur’an 2:30). Conversely, striving to achieve success in the Hereafter guarantees true success even in the present life (Qur’an 17:19, 20).

Prof. Noibi is the Executive Secretary, Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria ( MUSWEN).