The

Chishti Nizami Habibi Soofie 

International Sufi Order

Pietermaritzburg

South Africa

786/92

Eid al-Adha 2008

The Great Sacrifice

Allah Y says in the Holy Qur’aan in the 37^th Sura, as-Saffaat (Those drawn up in Ranks) in verse 107:

The blessed verse refers to the willingness of Hazrath Ibrahim u to sacrifice his son, the attempted sacrifice of Hazrath Ismail u and the replacement in the sacrifice. Allah Y says He ‘compensated the willingness of Hazrath Ibrahim u to sacrifice the willingness of Hazrath Ismail u to be sacrificed’ with a ذِبْحٍ عَظِيمٍ (zibhe azeem).

The point to reflect upon is that both Hazrath Ismail u and his father Hazrath Ibrahim u are Prophets and the attempted sacrifice was carried out with the command of Allah Y. Hazrath Ibrahim u was ordered by Allah Y, in a vision in a dream, in which he saw himself sacrificing his son. He acted upon the order and when he was about to enact the command Allah Y replaced Hazrath Ismail u with a ‘ram’ and accepted the willingness of both father and son. Generally the scholars say that the ‘replacement’ by a ‘ram’ was the ‘fidya’ or ransom / compensation.  No one rejects this interpretation and it is the popular interpretation. But ishq invokes intellect to raise a question that when Ibrahim u reported his dream to his son Ismail u as mentioned in the Holy Qur’aan in the 37^th Sura, as-Saffaat (Those drawn up in Ranks) in verse 101:

The order of Allah Y, the vision of the sacrifice of Hazrath Ismail u is referred to in the Holy Qur’aan as ذِبْحَ (zibha) - ‘sacrifice’; whilst the sacrifice of the ram, the ‘replacement’ is referred to as ذِبْحٍ عَظِيمٍ (zibhe azeem) – ‘significant sacrifice’. This makes us wonder why the sacrifice of the Prophet is referred to as ذِبْحَ  (zibha) - ‘sacrifice’ whilst the sacrifice of the ram, the ‘replacement’ is referred to as ذِبْحٍ عَظِيمٍ (zibhe azeem) – ‘significant sacrifice’? This points to the fact, that there is a great secret meaning within the words (zibhe azeem) – ‘significant sacrifice’.  It has to be a sacrifice that holds a greater significance and excellence than the intended sacrifice of Hazrath Ismail u. We have to unravel the mystery as to how zibhe Ismail became ذِبْحٍ عَظِيمٍ.

At the sacred ground the haram, Hazrath Ibrahim u who is accompanied by his son Hazrath Ismail uhad to face many tests in the barren desert. Hazrath Ibrahim u passed all the tests and then the order was given by Allah Y to rebuild the Holy Kaaba and when they began the task they prayed as mentioned in the Holy Qur’aan in the 2^nd Sura, al-Baqara, verse 126:

They stood on a rock, utilizing it as scaffolding to raise the walls whilst praying to Allah Y to accept their service. They made three invocations (duas) to Allah Y as mentioned in the Holy Qur’aan in the 2^nd Sura, al-Baqara, verse 128:

They had heard that a ‘community submitted to Allah Y’ (ummate Muslima) would be born in a later age, whose excellence would excel all previous ummahs. When Allah Y asked them what reward they desired for this service they prayed that this community should be from their family. Allah Y accepted this plea of theirs. They further asked Allah Y to make that personality through whom that ummate Muslima would be granted the highest status, and in whose honor this Kaaba is being rebuilt; for whom the universe was created; whose coming was mentioned by every prophet, that seal of the Prophets, the greatest creation of Allah Y, the Holy Prophet Muhammad e must be born in their family.

These questions and answers are not in books, it is a means of explaining and some questions are part of our ‘ecstatic state of being’ (wijdania khayfiat) and are not in any books. Allah Y must have asked them, “you are also blessed as prophets so why do you desire that the last prophet be from your progeny’. Ibrahim u must have answered that I wish for him to be from my family so that on the Day of Qiyaamah, I may be called the ‘Grand Father of Muhammad’. You have granted me a great status and much excellence but this honour, of being addressed as, ‘Grand Father of Muhammad’, will outweigh all others”. So they are making this dua whilst raising the walls of the Kaaba Shareef standing on the rock, as mentioned in the Holy Qur’aan in the 2^nd Sura, al-Baqara, verse 129:

Whilst they were making this dua that the Beloved of Allah Y be born in their family then Allah Y spoke to the rock, saying, ‘O fortunate rock, your lot in life has been enhanced, these are the moments of Divine Acceptance (qabuliat). My Intimate Prophet, The Khalil of Allah Y, Ibrahim u is standing on you asking that My Beloved Prophet, The Habeeb of Allah Y be born from his progeny; so capture This Moment (waqte-da’im) for eternity, by becoming soft like wax and retain the footprints of Hazrath Ibrahim u on your being, so that your Temporal Originated Existence (al-wujud al-hadith) may be transformed into Eternal Existence (al-wujud al-qadim). That stone on which the remembrance of the Holy Prophet e takes place becomes wax due to the descent of rahmah. If we make reference to a tradition that whichever rock prophet’s feet touch turns to wax then in this mountainous area, was this, the only place where the blessed foot of Hazrath Ibrahim u touched?  In his lifetime he must have walked on thousands of rocks, so why where all these footprints not preserved? The only rock on which the footprint was preserved was that rock on which the ‘moments of prayer of the coming of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e’ was made. Till Qiyaamah those who see the blessed footprint think about Hazrath Ibrahim u but those who know this inner secret think of the blessed dua for the blessed birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e to be in his progeny.

The nishaane duae Mustafa e was preserved on the rock and Allah Y protected and preserved this rock together with the Holy Kaaba. Those who make the Tawaaf of the House of Allah Y complete their tawaaf by reading two rakaats of salaah at the Maqaam e Ibrahim. During the physical term of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e when he took all the stone figures of the idolaters out of the Holy Kaaba and its precincts, he retained the Maqaam e Ibrahim. All other stones and rocks of worship constituted shirk but the rock that was the Sign of Risaalat was retained. Allah Y says in the 2^nd Sura, al- Baqarah in verse 125:

The seekers of knowledge will know that مَقَامِ means, the ‘place of standing’ and Allah Y orders that spot where Ibrahim u stood to be the spot where one must  prostrate or make sajda for Allah Y. Sajda is exclusively for Allah Y but it has greater merit at the blessed ‘place of standing’ of His beloveds. There is also another rock preserved on the Kaaba which was also retained to be kissed and revered. Hazrath Umar Faruq t addressing this stone during Hajj said:

Hazrath Umar t said, وَلَوْلَا أَنِّي رَأَيْتُ ‘if I had not seen’ the Holy Prophet Muhammad e  ‘s blessed lips kissing you I would not have kissed you. Hazrath Umar t said he saw the Holy Prophet e kiss the stone but Allah Y knows the reality whether the Holy Prophet e kissed the black stone or if the stone kissed the Holy Prophet Muhammad e. Hazrath Halima Saadia y says that when she took the blessed infant Holy Prophet e from the lap of his mother, Hazrath Amina y to nurse him in the countryside, she decided to first make tawaaf and then leave for home. She says she carried the infant Holy Prophet Muhammad e in her lap and performed the tawaaf and when she went to kiss The Black Stone (called الحجر الأسود al-Hajar-ul-Aswad) she also put the infant Holy Prophet e blessed lips near the Black Stone and she reports:

Qadi Thanaullah Panipati (قاضي ثناء الله بنيباتي‎) (d. 1225 AH) a great muhaqqiq (verifier), commentator of the Holy Qur’aan and renowned author of Tafsir al-Mazhari

(تفسير المظهري‎)[1], has related this incident in Tafsir al-Mazhari.

All these stones carry blessings and are revered due to nisbah with Allah Y‘s blessed Prophets or servants. One gushed out water due to connection with the feet of Hazrath Ismail u and the area between two Mountains, Safa and Marwa, became blessed due to being the place where the blessed feet of Hazrath Hajra u walked.

As I was saying, before taking a branch of love, The nishaane duae Mustafa e, in the form of the footprint of Hazrath Ibrahim u was preserved on the Maqam-e- Ibrahim. So two duas were made; firstly that the ‘blessed community’, the ‘community submitted to Allah Y’ (ummate Muslima) be from their progeny; secondly, that personality through whom that ummate Muslima would be granted the highest status, the seal of the Prophets, the greatest creation of Allah Y, the Holy Prophet Muhammad e must be born in their family. The third dua was accepted when Allah Y announced His being pleased with Hazrath Ibrahim u and said that as a further reward as mentioned in the Holy Qur’aan in the 2^nd Sura, al-Baqara, verse 124:

إِنِّي جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا

Surely I will make you an Imam of men

The Ibrahim u asked the third dua for his progeny:

قَالَ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِي

O Allah Y will you grant Imamate to my progeny also?

Allah Y then answered:

قَالَ لاَ يَنَالُ عَهْدِي الظَّالِمِينَ

I will, but not to those who transgress (only those who follow on your path)

One dua was for Nabuwwat whilst the other was for Imamat. Keep in mind we are revealing the secret of the ‘replacement’ which is referred to as ذِبْحٍ عَظِيمٍ (zibhe azeem) – ‘significant sacrifice’.

The last stages of nabuwwah had come after all prophets had come from the children of Hazrath Ibrahim u’s son Hazrath Ishaaq u whilst the last prophet came from Hazrath Ishmael u. So the fulfillment of the third dua remained. That Imams should be born in Hazrath Ibrahim u’s family. The door of nabuwwah was closed with the advent of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e. The door of nabuwwah was closed but the fayz[2] of nabuwwah and risaalah had to flow into the universe.

Here we have to quote Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlavi (شاہ ولی الله دهلوی)[3] (1703–1762), the great muhaddith of Delhi, to clear the misconceptions in this age of religious strife who have attributed the sahaba to this group and the ahle bayt to another. A wall has been erected to separate one household. Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlavi refers to the two types of khilafah that spread out after the passing of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e and this was also stated by Imam-e-Rabbani, Mujaddid Alf Saani, Shaykh Ahmad al-Farooqi Sirhindi[4] (1564–1624) commonly renowned as Mujaddid Alf Sani.

Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlavi t said that two types of khilaafat and imaamat appeared; one was khilafate zahiri and the other khilafate baatini. The first Caliph from the Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs (الخلفاء الراشدون al-Khulafā’u r-Rāshidūn) inherited the ‘apparent caliphate’ (khilafate zahiri); this, the manifest caliphate is the political office of the religion of Islam, established for improving the administration of the earth. The direct caliphate of Abū Bakr as-Siddīq t was established with the consensus of the people and is categorically proved by the evidence of history and its blessings percolated down to the righteous and just rulers. This was to establish what the Holy Qur’aan speaks of in the 61^st Sura, as-Saff (the Ranks) in verse 9:

This model of administration, da’wah and call to Islam will prevail till Qiyaamah due to the efforts of the Sahaba, especially Hazrath Abu Bakr Siddique t and the righteous caliphs that followed him.

Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlavi t said that the second type of Caliphate that emanated from the Holy Prophet Muhammad e was the spiritual legacy of ‘internal (hidden) sovereignty’ or khilaafate baatini or Imaamate baatini. This spiritual legacy of the Holy Prophet e was known as wilāyah (spiritual sovereignty) and imāmah (spiritual leadership). The hidden caliphate is exclusively a spiritual office, being not an is an elective and consultative issue but a selective act, selected by Allah Y, therefore the election of the first Imām of spiritual sovereignty — ‘Alī al-Murtadā e — required neither anybody’s proposal nor support for it is Allah Y’s selection. Therefore, therefore, the Holy Prophet e declared it in the valley of Ghadīr Khum with the Divine Consent. The hidden caliphate started with ‘Alī al-Murtadā t and its blessings gradually trickled to the members of the Prophet’s family and the saints of the Ummah.   By means of the declaration:

And

The Holy Prophet e thus pronounced ‘Alī t as the opener of the spiritual kingdom. This spiritual treasure house, whose fountainhead is ‘Alī al-Murtadā t, is shared by Hazrath  Fātimah y, Imam Hasan t and Imam Husayn t as its direct legatees and then it was filtered down to the twelve Imāms (spiritual leaders), the last leader being Imām Mahdī u. Just as ‘Alī al-Murtadā t is the opener of spiritual sovereignty, Imām Mahdī u is the seal of spiritual sovereignty.

The combination of the manifest caliphate (zahiri khilaafat) and the hidden spiritual (sovereignty) baatini imaamat has preserved the deen of Islam. If you throw away the peel of a banana how long will the contents be preserved? The peel is the outer protection and the contents are the hidden fruit. If one sees the outer (zaahir) as being unimportant and discards it the worth will only be known when the inner hidden (baatin) fruit begins to become discolored. So, both act in unison serving their own purpose. Thus the unison of the manifest caliphate (zahiri khilaafat) and the hidden spiritual (sovereignty) baatini imaamat preserves the deen of Islam.    

So when the door of prophethood and messengership was closed with the advent and eventual demise of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e the ‘hidden effusion of prophetic grace’ (baatini faizane nabuwwat), which was alluded to in the Holy Qur’aan in the 2^nd Sura, al-Baqara, verse 124:

 was promulgated by the Family of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e (ahle bayte Mustafa e).

Allah Y colored the Risaalah and Nabuwwah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e with the color of Tawhid. Just as Allah Y is God with no sons, to remain ‘unique with no equal’ (wahdahu la shareek), so too to keep your Risaalah and Nabuwwah, unique He took the Holy Prophet e’s sons in infancy.

So the wisdom of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e’s sons being ushered into the realm of Divine Beauty in infancy is that the Prophethood be sealed:

But the fayz of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e   via Imaamat had to continue.

When these two sons of Ali t were born the Holy Prophet Muhammad e declared that they were not Ali t’s sons but his sons.

Khatib Baghdadi’s book Tarikh Baghdad (11:285) contains the word ‘father’ (أبوهم) in stead of guardian (وليهم).  Hazrath Umar t narrates:

So Imam Hassan t and Imam Hussain t are not called the grandsons of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e but they are called his sons.

The Holy Prophet e stated:

  We can understand Hussain being from the Holy Prophet Muhammad e since he was his descendant, and grandson but what does و انا من حسين ‘I am from Hussain’ mean?

One of the interpretation is that ‘Hussain is from me’ from the time he was in the lap of Hazrath Fatimah y till Karbala and ‘I am from Hussain’ from Karbala till Qiyaamah. The Deen of Islam is from Hussain t till the Day of Judgment. 

The Holy Prophet Muhammad e is the tree of prophethood and he had two branches. One branch was Imam Hassan t and the other was Imam Hussain t. The branch of Hassan t bore the fruit of hidden shahadah whilst the branch of Imam Hussain t bore the fruit of open shahadah. These fruit of the blessing of shahadah are actually the fruit of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e.

When Imam Hussain placed his blessed head in prostration prior to being beheaded he was the personification of the 89^th Sura, al-Fajr, verses 27 to 30:

The righteous are welcomed to a life free from pain, sorrow, doubt, struggle, desire and disappointment; at rest, in peace, in a state of complete satisfaction. This stage of soul is the final stage of bliss. This was the ذِبْحٍ عَظِيمٍ (zibhe azeem) – ‘significant sacrifice’; the ultimate sacrifice for Allah Y and His Holy Prophet e to uphold truth. One man who can become the truth can topple an entire corrupt system. He left statement, and the mimbar of Madinah to give the ultimate sacrifice at Karbala. If Mina is the ‘place of love’ then Karbala is the ‘condition of love’.

The sacrifice of the son of Hazrath Ibrahim u is ذِبْحَ  (zibha) - ‘sacrifice’ whilst the sacrifice of the grandson of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e, Hazrath Imam Hussain u is the ذِبْحٍ عَظِيمٍ (zibhe azeem) – ‘significant sacrifice’. The sacrifice of Hazrath Ismail u was ransomed whilst the sacrifice of Imam Hussain t at Karbala was not ransomed. The intended sacrifice of Hazrath Ismail u reached the plain of Karbala and became ذِبْحٍ عَظِيمٍ (zibhe azeem) – ‘the significant sacrifice’. Shah Wali-ullah, in Sirrush Shahadaytan, and many other well known authors of traditions and history have accepted the fact that zibhe azeem refers to the sacrifice of Imam Husayn u.

Ask any Muslim why he slaughters animals on the occasion of Eidul Adha, and he will reply that it is in the memory of Hazrat Ibrahim's attempt to sacrifice his son, Hazrat Ismail, in response to a vision which he had.  Allah Y  changed / delayed the sacrifice and a lamb was offered instead..

From this brief report, we can draw two conclusions:

   1. Celebrating some important part of Islamic history with rituals and rites is not un-Islamic, in fact, it is so important that it has been passed on to us as part of Islamic customs.

   2. Remembering and respecting the memory, signs and relics of great Islamic personalities is also not only allowed, but also recommended in the light of Qur'aanic verses and Hadith and practice of Holy Prophet Muhammad e .