Assalamualaikum, readers (May the peace and mercy of Allah be upon you). It is my solemnest honor to greet my Muslim brothers and sisters all around the globe Happy Eid Mubarak. Alhamdulillah (All praises be to Allah), He gives us another chance to experience this important religious event again this year. It is verily His mercy on us. By experiencing this festival of sacrifice, I hope we, Muslims, can reflect all the things we have done in our own lives and try to correct all the wrong things and mistakes we did intentionally and unintentionally. As humans, we are never free from making mistakes and being influenced by Satans (Syaitans). We are lucky because Allah tells us that He is Oft-Forgiving and will forgive all the sins we have made and will make. The proof of that can be seen in this translated verse from Al-Quran:
Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful." ~ (Al-Quran: Az-Zumar 39:53)
During this festival, we should also recall the history behind it. The festival is designated to commemorate the willingness of Abraham (Ibrahim) to sacrifice his son Ishmael (Isma'il) as an act of obedience to Allah, before Allah intervened to provide him with a ram to sacrifice instead [quoted from Wikipedia]. This sacrifice was already hard as it sounds. Yet, the situation was even harder on Abraham because he left Ishmael in a desert since Ishmael was a baby (due to Allah’s revelation) and reunited with him when Allah demanded Abraham to sacrifice his son. This boundless sacrifice and unbreakable devotion to Allah is beyond a capability of a human being. That’s why Abraham was named as one of the Ulul Azmi messengers (messengers who have a high unshakeable spirit, strong psychological mental, steadfast in his stands or views). From the event of Ishmael's abandonment, most of Hajj rituals and sites were erected and named. I hope everyone and I have a chance to visit Kaaba (Allah’s house) one day and I again hope that everyone set a goal to be an Allah’s guest.
From my experience as a Muslim who studies in USA, it is sometimes really challenging for me to perform my religious rituals and obligations. They are also some Muslims who confess as Muslims but never act like ones and never perform the obligations like the salats. Even everyday life is often hard. Most of the times when I performed the salats and somebody stumbled into me, the person tended to stare and ask what I did. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind doing the explanations. But when they heard it was about Islam, many lost their interest and started condemning. Not many tried to understand or at least tried be polite.
That’s one thing. Another thing is festivals like this one. Since the last five years, I always have to miss many religious festivals due to work, meeting, exams and presentations. Rarely can I get away from those, and this inevitable situation always leaves me sad and guilty. I feel sad because I don’t have a chance to experience the feeling that comes with the festivals and I feel guilty because I think I didn’t do my best to get away from worldly matters to celebrate and commemorate this festival of sacrifice. Anyhow, I am grateful because Eid Mubarak lasts for 3 days and at least I still have a chance to celebrate it personally and decently at home. May Allah grant us with more strength and religious devotion to carry His message to all His creations. InsyaAllah (With Allah’s Will). Wassalam.
“You should give preference to your brother's welfare over your personal needs. The Quran records the attitude of true Believers: But [they] give preference over themselves, even though poverty was their [own lot].” ~[Al-Quran: Al-Hashr 59: 9.]
p/s: I personally take back any wrong statements and ideas in this or other post/s. I apologize for any wrong or harsh words used insensitively due to any difference in race, religion or language as long as I live and after I die.
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