Fri, 29th Mar, 2024 / 19 Ramadan 1445
الجمعة ٢٩ , مارس , ٢٠٢٤ / 19 رَمَضَان 1445
Fri, 29th Mar, 2024 /
19 Ramadan, 1445
الجمعة ٢٩ , مارس , ٢٠٢٤ / 19 رَمَضَان , 1445

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

All Praise is due to Allah, the Creator and the Sustainer, the Knowledgeable and the Powerful, the One who created the throne as a symbol of His Absolute Power, and did not take it as a place for Himself, and may Allah raise the rank of Prophet Muhammad, his kind Al and companions and protect his nation from that which he feared for it.

Thereafter brothers and sisters in Islam, acquiring the knowledge is the path of safety in this life and in the hereafter, the one who acquires the knowledge in this life, will have the capability to determine what is lawful and what is unlawful, keeping him from committing sins and on the straight path to Paradise. Allah, the One (One here is not in the context of numbers, rather in the context of Allah being One without a partner) clear of resemblance to the creations, said in the Holy Qur’an, in Suratul Mujadalah, Ayah 11:

يَرْفَعِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ

This Ayah Means: {Allah raises the ranks of those amongst you who believed (i.e. believes in Allah and his Messenger) and who acquired the knowledge}

 

Allah raises to higher levels in Islam (and this in turn raises one levels in Paradise), the one who learns the Islamic knowledge, however for the acceptance of the good deeds, one has to be a Muslim, one has to have the correct belief in Allah and His messenger, one must believe that Allah exists and is unlike the creations in any way, one must believe that Allah exists without a direction and without a place, and one must believe in Prophet Muhammad, and that he is the last Prophet and that he was truthful in everything that he told and conveyed from Allah.

Also important when performing the good deeds, is for one to hold the proper intention, one must perform the good deed in obedience to Allah in order to maximise reward, if one performs a prayer or fasts so people can say about one that he is fasting or praying, to seek their recognition, then one falls into what is called the insincerity, and this is unlawful and is classed among the major sins, as per the saying of our Prophet Muhammad, related by Ibn-Hibban:

 

اِتَّفُوْا الرِّيَاءَ فَإِنَّهُ الشِّرْكُ الأَصْغَرْ

Ittaqur-riya’ Fa-inahosh-shirkul Asghar

The Prophet here in his statement is warning us to stay away from the insincerity, as it is, what is called the minor shirk, shirk is to associate partners with Allah, and results in one committing blasphemy, when the Prophet likened the insincerity to blasphemy, the Prophet didn’t mean that if one commits the insincerity, one commits blasphemy, rather it means that one is committing a major sin.

Among the good deeds that one can perform, is participating in the Eidul-Adha celebrations, both in the Prayer of Eid and its associated events.

Brothers in Islam, the blessed occasion of Eid-ul-Adha is upon us, and there are a few things that we need to go over before this great occasion, to remind us of the recommended matters.

It is sunnah (recommended) on the day of ^Id to do the following:

·        Take a bath before going to the prayer.

·        Use perfume.

·        Clip one’s fingernails.

·        Wear the best of one’s clothes.

·        Take different routes to and from the place of prayer.

·        Leave early to the mosque excluding the Imam.

·        Have a light snack such as dates or the like before going to the prayer.

·        Walk to the prayer place.

·        Say takbirs of ^Id. This is highly recommended after the sunset of the last day of Ramadan and remains until the Imam says the opening takbir of the ^Id prayer. This includes saying takbir in one’s home, the market places, mosques, and the streets.

·        Congratulating one another on the day of ^Id is rewardable, as both Ibn Hajar and Al-Bayhaqiyy stated.

 

It is sunnah to spend the night preceding the day of ^Id in acts of worship such as praying or the like. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to pray ^Id prayer consistently as it is sunnah mu’akkadah. The first ^Id prayer that the Prophet performed was in the second year after the Hijrah (migration).

 

^Id prayer can be performed in congregation, or individually any time between sunrise and noon. The best time of the ^Id prayer is after the sun has reached the height of a spear (approximately 20 minutes from sunrise). However if one missed it one should make it up.

 

The ^Id prayer is not preceded by the adhan (the call to announce the prayer time) or iqamah (the call to start prayer). The one who performs the ^Id prayer must satisfy the conditions and avoid the invalidators of prayer. The ^Id prayer consists of two Rak^ahs. It is initiated with the opening takbir, with the intention to perform ^Id Prayer with the Imam, followed by the opening supplication, and seven takbirs. In between each takbir of the seven takbirs one recites ‘subhanallah, walhamdulillah, wla ilaha illallah, wallahu akbar. Then one recites al- Isti^adhah (seeking refuge with Allah from the shaytan by saying ‘A^outhu billahi minash- Shaytanir-Rajeem’, Suratul-Fatihah and Surat Qaf or Suratul al-‘A^la alternatively.

 

In the second rak^ah one says five takbirs before reciting the Fatihah followed by Suratul-Qamar or Suratul-Ghashiyah. If one started with the Fatihah leaving out any or the entire takbirs, ones prayer is still valid, however one would miss out on the reward of the takbirs. Hence one should continue with one’s prayer order.

After the prayer, it is recommended that the Imam delivers two speeches (same as in Friday) starting with nine takbirs in the first half

of the khutbah and seven in the second. The Imam should teach the people the rules of breaking the fast, visiting one’s relatives, and other significant matters pertaining to ^Id.

 

In the end, I ask Allah to keep us guided on Islam, to grant us the sincere intentions and grant us Paradise without torture, and Allah Knows best.

 

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