2nd Eid Salah | Ml Ahsan Syed

Opening Takbirat

Eid Address — Moulana Ahsan Syed

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Master of Prophets and Messengers, and upon his family and companions.

Allah said in His glorious book — after I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan, in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful:

"Today I have completed for you your religion, I have fulfilled for you My favor, and I have made Islam a religion for you." Allah Almighty has spoken the truth.

Centrality of Worship on Eid

All praise is due to Allah. The celebration — of birth, of nikah, whatever it may be — or even if it's loss, even if it's loss, death, anything like that — all of that pivots, all of that is centralized to what? Allah. So even on this day, when we're here celebrating this day of Eid, we celebrate it through worshipping Allah.

This day of Eid, this Eid al-Adha. In this month, there are two great acts of worship — in the month of Dhul Hijjah. One is the Hajj itself. Those who Allah gave the opportunity to go for Hajj, may Allah accept from them. For those of us who have not gone for Hajj yet, we make du'a that Allah allows us to go, perform that Hajj, fulfill this fard. And for those of us who have gone, may Allah take us again and again and again. Ameen.

But for those who are there now, alhamdulillah, the major arkan, the major pillars of the Hajj have been performed. And now the couple of days after that are left — they're performing those now, as we speak.

The deen is focused on worship of Allah. That's the primary focus of the deen — worship of Allah. And the definition of worship is what Allah decides, what Allah dictates, what Allah commands — the servant of Allah fulfills. That is the definition of ibadah.

Ibadah is not that you and I decide what we want to do, when we want to do it, how we want to do it. That's not ibadah anymore. That's now considered — if it is considered worship — worship of one's own self. It's no longer worship of Allah. The worship of Allah is that if Allah says, "Do this, at this time, in this manner," the servant of Allah says what?

"We listen, we obey" — we follow the command, as Ya Allah, You have commanded.

The Dream of Ibrahim and the Reality of Revelation

This day, in fact, in actuality is a celebration — or it's a remembrance — of this very idea. That when Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was shown a dream. And it's important to keep in mind that the dream of the anbiya (peace be upon them) is a type of revelation. It's something that's discussed in the books, among the mufassireen as well, in the books of tafsir, that even the dream of a prophet cannot be interfered with — no shaytan can interfere even in the dream of any prophet. So whatever dream that a prophet sees, it is in fact revelation. It's something that the prophet has to carry out, whatever the case may be.

We see the example of this even within the life of the Prophet ﷺ. Now, one thing to keep in mind within a dream is, the exact detail of it may be kept from the prophet. But we see in the time of the Prophet ﷺ that he saw this dream — that him and the sahaba are going to go perform umrah. Now, we know that the dream of the prophet is true.

The dream didn't tell the Prophet ﷺ exactly when that umrah would be performed. The Prophet ﷺ felt that perhaps it means this year — this very year, which was the 6th year Hijri — they should go and perform umrah. And so the Prophet ﷺ and about 1,400–1,500 sahaba approximately prepared and they went for umrah.

However, what happened that year? This is the first time after the Prophet ﷺ migrated to Medina Munawwara that he is going back to Mecca Mukarrama. And the mushrikeen did not allow the Prophet ﷺ to enter into the noble precincts. Eventually, there was a treaty that took place, and the Prophet ﷺ and the sahaba went back. But the following year — the 7th year Hijri — the Prophet ﷺ and the sahaba were then able to return and perform that umrah.

And Allah recounts this in the Quran, in Surah al-Fath:

"Allah has surely fulfilled the dream for His Messenger with truth — you will surely enter al-Masjid al-Haram, if Allah wills, in safety, with your heads shaved and shortened, not fearing." That happened in the 7th year Hijri. But again, the point is that the dream that a prophet sees is also revelation.

Ibrahim's Greatest Trial: The Sacrifice of His Son

Here, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) — who is from the forefathers of the Prophet ﷺ — he sees this dream. He has a young son. And we know, even through the ayat of the Quran, that when Ibrahim (peace be upon him) had this son, Ismail, he was at a very old age. At a very old age.

And as parents we know that the most beloved commodity, the most beloved thing that we have in this world, are our children. Anybody who is a father, anyone who is a mother, knows that. What is most beloved to me — I don't care. I'm ready to sacrifice wealth, I'm ready to sacrifice time, I'm ready to sacrifice everything. But children — they are our greatest investment. We do whatever we do for the sake of our children.

If we are working long hours — fathers who are working long hours — they are doing it for whom? They are doing it for their children. Mothers who are spending nights awake — they are doing it for their children. This is the greatest, most precious thing that Allah has given us as human beings.

So here, at this old age, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) has a son. And now as his son is growing up, he had to leave his son and his wife — this is a big trial from Allah. Allah tested him. At one point in time, Allah ordered Ibrahim (peace be upon him) that his son Ismail and his mother Hajar — you are going to have to leave them in this Wadi Ghayri Dhi Zar'in. Allah mentioned this in the Quran. Yet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) leaves them there. But from time to time, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) would come and visit.

And now this day comes, when he sees this dream — where he sees himself sacrificing his son. And Ibrahim (peace be upon him), being a prophet of Allah, knows that this dream is revelation. It is not something that needs to be interpreted.

For us, when we have dreams, our dreams are very often symbolic. What we see in our dreams very often — there are different types of dreams. There are some dreams that are inspired by Allah. And there are certain dreams where shaytan interferes within them, trying to put fear in our heart. And there are certain dreams that may not have any interpretation to them either. But those dreams that are inspired by Allah — for most of us they are symbolic in nature. That's why a person who is well-versed in dream interpretation can tell you, "This thing that you saw — it means this." And sometimes we'll see something that seems scary, but it's actually not. It may even refer to something good.

Nevertheless, when Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) saw this dream, he knew it was revelation from Allah. He knew what he had to do. Yet, part of the tarbiyah that a father does of his child — in Islam — is that he wants the children to follow the commandments of Allah. There is a divine wisdom in the way that these prophets rear their children.

So here, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) — Allah mentions this in the Quran — he didn't say, "Oh my son, I saw this dream, it's a revelation from God, we have to do it. End of discussion." What did he say?

"Oh my dear, beloved son — I saw in my dream that I am sacrificing you. So look — what do you think?" He didn't say, "You have to do it." He said, "What do you think? What should be done?"

And the son — subhanAllah — Allah granted him hilm. Allah granted him forbearance. And he grew up in the home of a nabi. His mother also sacrificed. So he had from the beginning the mindset — he understood what it means for his father to see a dream like this, where Allah is commanding him to do something like this. What did he say?

"Oh my beloved father — do what you have been commanded. You will find me, if Allah wills, from those who are patient."

Look — he recognizes it. It's a command from Allah. It comes in some narrations that Ismail (peace be upon him) said to his father, "Oh my father, put a covering over your eyes. I don't want your love for me to stop you from carrying out the command of Allah." So Ibrahim (peace be upon him) agreed. As he now put down the knife — the command of Allah came. The objective wasn't to sacrifice Ismail. The objective was to see: is Ibrahim willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of Allah?

And that's why, in another place in the Quran, Allah says:

"And when Ibrahim's Lord tested Ibrahim with certain words — and he fulfilled them all." Whenever Allah tested Ibrahim, whatever test, whatever task, whatever difficulty Allah put on Ibrahim — he fulfilled it each and every single time. Here, كَلِمَاتٍ is in the meaning of imtihanaat — examinations. Every time. Every single time.

Ibrahim's Tests From Youth

From his young age, where he's growing up in a household of idolatry — his father is the individual who is sculpting the idols.

"Oh my father, are you going to take these idols as gods?" From that time on — test after test — being thrown into the fire, why? Because he believes in one Allah.

It comes in Tafsir Ibn Kathir that the king at that time gathered as much wood as he could. In fact, the people started to take it as an omen. Sometimes we have it ourselves, right? We say, "Oh, so-and-so is sick — Ya Allah, if You give him cure, I'll donate this much money to the masjid." Or "Ya Allah, I'm going through this difficulty — if You bring ease, I will perform this many rakaat of nafil." People at that time — those who were worshipping these idols — would do the same thing. But with Ibrahim (peace be upon him), they would say, "Whatever gods we worship — if you remove this difficulty from us, we'll donate this many number of firewood, this much rope to tie Ibrahim with."

And when the fire was ignited, it comes in Tafsir Ibn Kathir that the heat of that flame was so intense that no bird could fly above it. No bird could fly above it. They removed the clothes of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and they threw him in there.

But this world is a creation of Allah. The sky that you see above you is created by Allah. The earth beneath you is a creation of Allah. The water that comes down from the sky is a creation of Allah. The birds that you see are a creation of Allah. Allah can use them to help you, and Allah can use them as a force against you. That fire which we use for warmth — if you touch it, it can burn you. But Allah says:

"Become cool, become peaceful for Ibrahim."

The same rain, the same water that we need to survive — if Allah commands it, it could become a flood, just like you see in the story of Nuh (peace be upon him). The same birds that we look at and enjoy in all their varieties — those same birds Allah can use as an army against you:

The same wind that, on a hot day, when a nice cold breeze comes, we say alhamdulillah — that same wind, Allah could put such power to it:

That it destroys a nation, as we see with Qawm 'Ad. That earth that we stand on — that we find so stable, that we walk on sometimes with arrogance — the same earth, if Allah commands it, could swallow up its people, just like Allah did with Qarun:

"We had the earth swallow him and his home."

All of that is in the control of Allah. For His servants, Allah can have all of this facilitate our life here in this world. In fact, that's what all of these things are created for. All that you see around us are things that are there to facilitate our worship of Allah. It's not the objective. How could we make it the objective? When we know that there's a point in time where we're no longer going to be here.

Tell me — which of our homes are we going to take with us into our graves? Which wealth are we going to take with us into our graves? Which family members are we going to take with us into our graves? None. Nothing. You could build a mausoleum on top of the grave — it's not going to help you. You could have people stand around your grave 24/7 remembering you — it's not going to help you. Your actions that you have done, the actions that you perform — those are the actions that will either benefit you or harm you after this life. That's what this life is here for. But we've made it the objective. It's not the objective.

And so we're reminded again and again. We're reminded again and again that you are created for the worship of Allah, for the time that you have — the duration that you are living, which Allah knows, we don't know. This body that has been given to you — it's given to you by Allah. You didn't purchase it. Where do we get the right, the claim, to say, "This is my body, I could do with it what I want"? Did you purchase this body from somewhere? Did somebody give it to you? Where did you get it from? You didn't. Allah granted it to you. The hands that you have, the eyes that you have, the ears that you have, the mind that you have — all of that given to you by Allah. To do what? To worship Allah.

The eyes — use those eyes to recognize the wonders of Allah. SubhanAllah, what a beautiful day. How did this beautiful day come to be? Allah. If I'm standing today, if I'm able to speak, if I'm able to see, if I'm able to hear — who gave me those faculties, who gave me those abilities? Allah did. That's why if Allah at any time wants to take any of these blessings away, only Allah can.

So we're reminded time and again that you are created to worship Allah. And worshiping Allah is not according to what you think is worship. Worshiping Allah is based on what Allah has determined for you. And that's what we learn in the life of Ibrahim (peace be upon him).

A Lesson for Parents: Encouraging Children in Worship

This day that we have today is a reminder of that very fact — that when Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was commanded to sacrifice the most precious thing that he has. And so that's a very important lesson for our parents. One of the most effective ways of getting our children to do good — or to do anything in general — is you encourage them. You teach them, you encourage them. And when it comes to actions, when it comes to worship of Allah, you encourage them.

I have a good friend of mine — his father passed away, rahimahullah. But he used to tell us, he said, "You know when we were younger, for Fajr prayer — you know what my father would do? He would gently come and wake us up. 'Beta, let's just pray Fajr together. Let's pray Fajr, and then let's go to sleep. We'll go to sleep after that.' Very gently he would wake him up." He said, "Me and my brothers — gently he would wake us up: 'Let's pray Fajr, and then let's go back to sleep.' Every day, when we were younger. When you wake up, you make wudu, you get a little fresh." So he said, "You know, Beta, let's read a little bit of Quran, and then we'll go back to sleep." So they would read a little bit of Quran together. And then, okay — maybe in the summer months, when you have Fajr very early, go back to sleep. In winter, when you don't have a lot of time and you have to go to school and whatnot.

You engage your children in this manner. And especially in the time that we're living in — the ibadah of Allah, these are things that we have to have our children understand from the beginning. There are ideas, there are philosophies, that are bombarding us and our children — and they have no answer to them. Where do they go for answers? If we don't have the answers, then you have to direct them to people that have the answers for them. How do they navigate through these difficult times?

Standing Firm Against Ideological Challenges

We may not be facing an onslaught of zulm and oppression like some Muslims around the world — may Allah save them, help them, and protect them — who are being put in prison because they say لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ. Women who wear hijab, who are protecting their iffah, who are following the commandments of Allah — they're being mocked, they're being told they can no longer wear a hijab. By government policy, they are not allowed to wear hijab anymore.

We, alhamdulillah, are not in a state like that — and we make du'a to Allah that that peace and that opportunity that we have to worship Allah freely, Allah continues that for us. But the onslaught that we are facing is all ideological. Why is it wrong for one man to marry another man? Why is it wrong for one woman to marry another woman? LGBTQ — the whole last month was all LGBTQ. Our kids, they don't know what to think. From a young age, from the time that you put them in preschool, these are the things that are being taught. And now they question: "What's wrong, if one person loves another person, can they not get married? If a person wants to change their gender, what's wrong with that?"

It goes back to the same idea. Your body — for us, morality is not subjective, it is objective. It is what is determined by Allah. It is morally wrong for a person to change their body. Why? Because this is a ni'mah given to a person by Allah.

Now, we're not denying — are there individuals who may be going through difficulties, who may feel like they weren't born in the body they would like to be in, who are going through those psychological difficulties? That's a test from Allah. Just like you see these prophets — they're going through these tests. Each one of us goes through various tests in life. There are some people in this crowd who have gone through financial difficulty, who have gone through personal loss, whatever it may be. These are all tests from Allah.

When you hear these stories about the various prophets, these are reminders. They're there to actually give you solace. They're there to give you confidence that Allah is there. Just like Allah helped and assisted His prophets, Allah is there to help and assist you. But what's the difference? The prophets are ready to sacrifice whatever Allah orders them to sacrifice. Are we willing? Are we ready to do that or not? Ask the question.

The Teachings of Hajj: Pure Obedience

So where Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was thrown in the fire, and Allah commanded كُونِي بَرْدًا وَسَلَامًا — it's not difficult for Allah to make that. Allah is the one who created that fire. Is it difficult for Allah to change the properties of that fire, where the fire normally burns but Allah commands it to no longer burn? It's not difficult for Allah. Not difficult at all. So that help and assistance from Allah comes when the person is ready and willing to sacrifice for the sake of Allah. And that's what we're remembering in these days.

In fact, if you look at the various acts of worship that Allah has commanded us, you find — what is Allah trying to teach us at the end of the day? Look at the actions of Hajj. Do any of the actions of Hajj have any sort of logical meaning to them? Tawaf is seven times around the Baytullah. Why is it seven? Why go around it?

For sure, we're not worshipping the Ka'bah. The Ka'bah is not our object of worship. It's simply something that unifies the Muslims — something that Allah made that allows for Muslims to come together. But when we're doing the tawaf, we're not worshipping the Ka'bah. People accuse the Muslims. They say, "Look, you tell us that you don't have any idol worship. But look what you're doing — you're praying towards the Ka'bah, you're circumambulating around the Ka'bah." No — the Ka'bah is not our object of worship. Rather, it's the focus that Allah has given. It's a focus — that's it. Our object, the one that we are worshipping, is Allah. That's our objective.

When we're doing tawaf of Baytullah, we're worshipping Allah. When we're praying towards the Ka'bah, we're worshipping Allah. And that's also a symbol of unity — if you're a Muslim, you know what direction you're going to face. Anywhere you live on this planet — where are you going to face for the worship of Allah? It's going to be Baytullah. It's going to be Baytullah.

It comes in hadith that a person who prays salah in Masjid al-Haram, his salah is multiplied by 100,000 times. Yet on the 8th day of Dhul Hijjah, you're told to go to Mina — stay there in the tents of Mina for the whole day. If a person thinks to himself, "I traveled from so far away to come to Masjid al-Haram. And now, instead of praying in Masjid al-Haram, I have to go to Mina? No — let me just stay here." He will be going against the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ in the actions of Hajj, and he will no longer get that type of reward.

On the 9th day of Dhul Hijjah, those who are doing Hajj go to Arafah. You will pray Dhuhr and Asr together — even though Asr time hasn't come in — if you're praying behind the imam who is leading the Hajj. If someone says, "Asr time hasn't come in, I'm going to pray Asr at its own time" — no, you're going against the Sunnah.

In Arafah, you stay there until Maghrib. At Maghrib, you have to go to Muzdalifah. You cannot pray Maghrib in Arafah — even though you're going to stay there till Maghrib. You have to pray Maghrib in Muzdalifah. You're going to combine Maghrib and Isha together. What is this Hajj teaching us? Allah is essentially teaching you: I am the one who gave you the commandments. I can change them. I can do whatever I want with them. You have to obey. You have to follow. And your ubudiyyah — your worship of Allah — will be determined by your following those commandments. Not following what you think.

Even though we know Maghrib is supposed to be prayed as soon as Maghrib time comes in — in Hajj, you don't do that. It's a command of Allah. So it's all again a way to teach the people: what is essential, what is important, is Allah's command. It's not what you think is right or wrong. It's what Allah has commanded.

The Story of Mahmood Ghaznawi and Ayaz

Umar Jalaluddin Rumi, rahimahullah, mentioned this in his famous book, the Mathnawi — the story of Mahmood Ghaznawi. Mahmood Ghaznawi was a king, and he had a servant by the name of Ayaz. The ministers didn't like Ayaz very much, because Mahmood Ghaznawi would give him a lot of importance, would ask him things, would treat him well — more than the other ministers.

So Mahmood Ghaznawi decided to make it very clear to the ministers why Ayaz had the position that he had. One day, a very valuable gem was brought from the treasury. After it was brought, the king ordered the various ministers to come and break it. Each minister would come up, think about it, and say, "We can't do it. This gem is very valuable, very precious. If we break it, its value will diminish. It will be lost to you — so thinking of you, we're not going to do it." One would think, oh, they're doing something right.

Finally, after all of these ministers were done, Mahmood Ghaznawi called Ayaz. He said, "Oh Ayaz — take this hammer and break it." Without thinking, what did he do? He took the hammer and broke it into pieces. All the ministers said, "Look — we've been telling you, Ayaz is a fool! Look at the loss he caused you and your treasury."

What did King Mahmood say? He said, "This is the very reason why Ayaz is so precious to me. Because Ayaz didn't look at the value of that gem. He looked at the value of my command. Do you understand? He looked at the fact that I commanded it. That was enough for him."

Our lives are valuable. Our money, our wealth is valuable. But not in the eyes of Allah's command. If Allah's command comes, then we have to be ready to sacrifice that. That's where the nur, that's where the barakah comes from. And through that — not only in this life. Of course in this life, Allah — as Allah mentioned in many places in the Quran — those who worship Allah, those who do the dhikr of Allah, Allah will give them a type of peace and contentment.

And greater than this is in the hereafter — that's where we're all headed. And the pleasure of Allah will be the greatest blessing of all:

I ask Allah that He grant us tawfiq. Allah allow us to understand this. And I ask Allah that He give us the tawfiq to truly become His servants — that we're ready to sacrifice our lives, our wealth, whatever it may be, for the sake of Allah — so that one day, when we stand in front of Allah, we can say: Ya Allah, I sacrificed whatever I could for Your sake.

The Formal Eid Khutbah (Arabic)

All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, we seek His help, we seek His forgiveness, we believe in Him, and we place our trust upon Him. We seek refuge with Allah from the evils of our own souls and from the evil consequences of our deeds. Whoever Allah guides, there is none to misguide him. And whoever Allah misguides, there is none to guide him. We bear witness that there is no god except Allah, alone, without any partner. And we bear witness that our master and our leader Muhammad ﷺ is His servant and His Messenger.

Know, O Muslims, that this day of yours is a day of Eid. And the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 952; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 892)

"Indeed every people has its celebration, and this is our celebration."

And this day of yours is the Day of Nahr — the Day of Sacrifice. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1493; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 3126)

"No deed of the son of Adam on the Day of Nahr is more beloved to Allah than the shedding of blood. Indeed it will come on the Day of Resurrection with its horns, its hair, and its hooves. And indeed the blood reaches a station with Allah before it falls upon the ground. So let your souls be at peace with it."

And the companions of the Prophet ﷺ said, "O Messenger of Allah — what are these sacrificial animals?" He said:

They said, "And what do we get from it, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "For every hair — a reward." They said, "And the wool, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "For every strand of wool — a reward."

And the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 3123; Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 8273)

"Whoever has the means to offer a sacrifice and does not do so, let him not come near our musalla."

And it has been narrated that the Prophet ﷺ slaughtered on the day of slaughter two horned rams, white with some black — and when he turned them toward the qiblah, he said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1966; Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 2795)

"Indeed I have turned my face toward the One who created the heavens and the earth — upon the way of Ibrahim, purely monotheistic — and I am not of the polytheists. Indeed my prayer, my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds — no partner has He. And with that I have been commanded, and I am of the Muslims. O Allah — from You and for You, on behalf of Muhammad and his Ummah. In the name of Allah — Allah is the Greatest." Then he slaughtered.

Allah said:

"Their meat will not reach Allah, nor will their blood — but what reaches Him is piety from you. Thus has He subjected them to you that you may glorify Allah for that which He has guided you — and give good tidings to the doers of good."

May Allah bless us and you in the Glorious Quran, and benefit us and you by what is in it of verses and wise remembrance. I seek forgiveness from Allah for myself and for you and for all the Muslims — so seek His forgiveness. Indeed He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

All praise is due to Allah — we praise Him, we seek His help, we seek His forgiveness, we believe in Him, and we place our trust upon Him. We seek refuge with Allah from the evils of our own souls and from the evil consequences of our deeds. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide. And whoever He misguides, none can guide. We bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone — no partner has He. And we bear witness that our master and our leader Muhammad ﷺ is His servant and His Messenger.

As for what follows: Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, says in His noble Book — after: I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan, in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful:

Especially among them: Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, Umar al-Farooq, Uthman al-Ghani, and Ali al-Murtada — may the pleasure of Allah be upon them all.

O servants of Allah — may Allah have mercy upon you — indeed Allah commands justice and excellence, and giving to relatives, and He forbids immorality, wrongdoing, and oppression. He admonishes you so that perhaps you will be reminded. Remember Allah, the Most High, the Most Great — He will remember you. Call upon Him — He will respond to you. And the remembrance of Allah is the greatest. And Allah knows what you do.

Closing Announcements

From myself and from all of the Darussalam staff, faculty, and everyone that is here — Eid Mubarak to everyone. I apologize for the delay — we just wanted to make sure that we were able to get everybody in. Eid Mubarak to all of you and all of your families. JazakumAllah khayr.

I would like to mention one thing — alhamdulillah, we have a very large crowd today. So as we're exiting — here as well as in the parking lot — please be patient. There are a lot of people and our Ansar brothers are working very hard from this morning. Please be patient with them and please listen as they're directing you. JazakumAllah khayr.

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For our weekly programs: on Tuesdays, we have the Tafsir program after Maghrib — continuing with Surah Taha. Our Monday night Bukhari Dars has been temporarily postponed until after the summer — it will resume in August.

Udhiyah: There is a request to please consider donating your udhiyah to the Zakat Foundation of America. Pamphlets are available in the lobby. One of the greatest acts of ibadah today is the udhiyah. It comes in hadith that the person who sacrifices the animal — before the drop of blood touches the ground, Allah will forgive that individual. So anybody who has the means — I know it may be a little too late now, but if you still have the opportunity to do so, I would highly recommend that you do it yourself.

It comes about Shaykh Mahmood Hassan, rahmatullahi alayh, that he would buy the goat months in advance — so that when you have animals, after time, you develop an attachment. When the day of udhiyah would come, he would sacrifice — and as he was sacrificing, he would have tears in his eyes. Because that's when you actually realize — you feel — that this is a sacrifice. So if anyone is still able to, you should definitely try. Otherwise, you can give to the Zakat Foundation of America as well.