3 days ago
Trust in Divine Will
Id-ul-Azha is the id (festival) of sacrifice that symbolises commitment to obey Allah's orders in all circumstances of life. This was exemplified in Muslims through the tribulations faced by Prophet Ibrahim, who endured it all with his unwavering belief in Divine Will.
According to the holy Koran, one such trial came as a commandment to sacrifice his first-born child, Ismail, blessed by the Almighty, when Ibrahim was in his 80s.
A young Ismail obliged to the wishes of his father and willingly offered himself to God, and as Ibrahim readied his blade standing atop Mount Arafat, where Prophet Muhammad would deliver his final sermon centuries later, the heavens held their breath. Muslims believe a miracle occurred when God, moved by their act of obedience, replaced Ismail with a sheep — a moment now symbolised through qurbani, where livestock are offered in remembrance and a portion of the meat is shared with the needy.
The Haj pilgrimage culminates with the special prayer on the day of Id-ul-Azha. A series of rites performed during this close to a week-long religious peregrination mirror the incidents in the life of Prophet Ibrahim and his family.
One of these rites, sa'i, which involves walking seven times between the points of Safa and Marwa within Mecca's Grand Mosque, is deeply intertwined with the story of Haajar, the devoted wife of Prophet Ibrahim, and her search for water amid trying times.
It is said that God directed Ibrahim to part ways with his wife and their baby Ismail in the middle of the Meccan desert. In here lay another trial for the family.
'If it was God's command, he would not abandon us,' she said. The small bag of dates and a few ounces of water skin in her possession soon dried out. In desperation, Haajar ran back and forth between the small hills of Safa and Marwa looking for water until the angel Jibril (Gabriel) descended and struck the earth, whereupon the blessed spring of ZamZam bust forth, its waters flowing in grace unto this very day.
Islamic tradition says when water started to appear near baby Ismail's feet, Haajar rushed to contain it, fearing it would run dry. She supposedly cried out, 'Zam, zam!' thought to mean 'Stop! Stop!'
The tale of Ibrahim, Haajar and Ismail, their legacy of faith and their sacrifice lives on as light through every age.
Mohammed Hidhayat
