AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): On the occasion of the great Eid al-Adha, the day of man’s liberation from material dependence, the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly issued an important message.
In this message, with Quranic references, he mentioned the truth of the Qorban (sacrifice), and reminded the points that today Muslims should follow upon the example of the life of Prophet Ibrahim Khalil (a.s.).
Ayatollah Reza Ramazani’s message is as follows:
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
“And remember that Abraham was tried by his Lord with certain commands, which he fulfilled: He said: ‘I will make thee an Imam to the Nations’.”1
Eid al-Adha is the anniversary of the release of the “perfect righteous man” from all the constraints, each of which was enough to is eternal imprisonment, whether these constraints are the tricks of the devil, or the bonds to the complexity of carnal desires, or the obsessions that aim at the assurance of the heart, or the dependencies that are rooted in the depths of the human soul.
On the way to this liberation, Ibrahim (a.s.), the father of the prophets, was tested with the most severe afflictions to prove the verse “I love not those that set”2 in practice. So, when he took the “beloved who sets (his non-eternal son, Ishmael)” to the slaughter place to sacrifice for the “beloved who is eternal (God, Almighty)”, the message came: “O Abraham! * Thou hast already fulfilled the vision!”3. It was then that he became Khalilullah (friend of God), and when he became “Khalil of God”, he qualified to become “the Imam of the worlds”.
So, no messenger was sent after him unless he was sent to follow the religion of that prophet (Ibrahim): “So We have taught thee the inspired (Message), Follow the ways of Abraham the True in Faith”4, and, no Ummah came, unless that Imam (Ibrahim) was his good model: “There is a goodly pattern for you in Abraham” 5.
In the meantime, the Ummah of the last Prophet (p.b.u.h) is the most rightful to this follow, and the most deserving to follow this example: “Without doubt, among men, the nearest of kin to Abraham, are those who follow him, as are also this Prophet and those who believe: And Allah is the Protector of those who have faith” 6.
The truth of the Qorban (sacrifice) is to leave any kind of belonging and sacrifice the all “Ishmaels” within, so that man can be guided to the path of Tawhid, and only by reaching this truth the message of the great architect of Tawhid can be fully received: “Say: Truly, my prayer and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death, are (all) for Allah, the Cherisher of the Worlds”7.
Now, in the age of the parade of lust, Satan and doubt, the path of emancipation and liberation of the children of the Ummah is to follow the covenant and nation of that father, and struggle upon his way: “And strive hard in (the way of) Allah, (such) a striving a is due to Him; He has chosen you and has not laid upon you a hardship in religion; the faith of your father Ibrahim; He named you Muslims before”8.
On this auspicious day, while congratulating this great Eid to all the Islamic Ummah - especially the followers of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) - as well as congratulating the Eids that will follow, and connect the “Abrahamic Imamate” to “Muhammadi Mubahila” and “Alawite Velayat”, I invite everyone to follow the example and tradition of the owner of this dear Eid, namely Ibrahim Khalilullah.
“Self-Cultivation”, “Strengthening faith”, “Breaking worldly ties”, “Scarifying the inner obstacles to reaching God”, “Rising for God”, “Disavowal from polytheism and polytheists”, “Invitation to monotheism”, “Courage and breaking idols”, “Fighting against tyranny and arrogance”, “Struggle and resistance in the way of guidance”, “Refusing to submit to lust”, “Stoning the devil and who have devil traits”, and “To prosper mosques for the worship of God”, all are clear examples of the life of the Prophet Ibrahim (a.s.), and If Muslims follow them, no power or superpower will prevail over them.
Eid al-Adha is the return of man to the pure divine nature, and to himself, to look at the Tafsir of “I am going to place in the earth a khalif”9 in the perspective of “And We ransomed him with a Feat sacrifice”10, and in the Karbala-like glory, put the ascension of the “Righteous Soul”11 envied by “Marked angels”.
This is the path by which one can attain the status of God’s friend and chosen one in this world, and one be among the righteous and those who are close to God in the Hereafter.
“We certainly chose him in the [present] world, and in the Hereafter, he will indeed be among the Righteous”12
Reza Ramazani
Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly
Eid al-Adha 1442 AH
July 21, 2021
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- “وَإذِ ابْتَلىٰ إِبراهيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِماتٍ فَأتَمَّهُنَّ قالَ إِنِّي جاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِماما” Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse: 124
- “لا أحبّ الآفِلین” Surah Al-An’am, Verse: 76
- “یا إبراهیمُ ٭ قَدْ صَدَّقْتَ الرُّؤْیَا” Surah As-Saaffat Verses: 104, 105
- “ثمَّ أوْحَينا إلَيكَ أَنِ اتَّبِعْ مِلَّةَ إبراهيمَ حَنيفا” Surah An-Nahl, Verse: 123
- “قَدْ كانَتْ لَكُمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ في إبراهيمَ” Surah Al-Mumtahanah, Verses: 4
- “إِنَّ أَوْلَى النَّاسِ بِإِبْرَاهِيمَ لَلَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُ وَهَذَا النَّبِيُّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَاللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ” Surah Al Imran, Verse: 68
- “قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ” Surah Al-An’am, Verse: 162
- “وَجَاهِدُوا فِي اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ هُوَ اجْتَبَاكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ مِلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ هُوَ سَمَّاكُمُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ قَبْلُ” Surah Hajj, Verses: 78
- “إِنّي جاعِلٌ فِي الأرضِ خَليفَة” Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse: 30
- “وَ فَدَیناهُ بِذِبْحٍ عَظِیم” Surah As-Saaffat, Verse: 107
- “نفس مطمئنه” Surah Al-Fajr, Verse: 27
- “وَلَقَدِ اصْطَفَيْنَاهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا ۖ وَإِنَّهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ لَمِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ” Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse: 130
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