01-14-2004, 02:22 PM
In the Name of Allah The Benificient, Most Merciful
1. In completion to the the above mentioned, as we mentioned the sacrifice is performed in commemoration to the major trial Prophet Ibrahim and his son Ismail were put through. Both messengers were released when Allah (S&T) sent the Angle Gabriel with a lamp to be slaughtered instead of Ismail. This happened only when both father and son manifested true submission to the Divine order. The father made three attempts to cut over his son’s neck, only to be surprised that the knife never went through. The knife itself was ordered by Allah not to. This proved that they were serious about fulfillment of the command.
However, the ritual of sacrifice has additional aspects as received from Prophet Mohamed (SAW).
At this point it is worth mentioning that Prophet Mohamed (SAW), when he began his Haj rituals told the companions “Take your rituals after me”. He meant to follow his footsteps in regard to Haj rituals including order, method, schedule and so forth. He taught us how to perform Haj.
The additional angle about the sacrifice is that Prophet Mohamed (SAW) instructed us to divide it into three parts. One third to be donated to the poor, one third to be offered as a present to neighbors, members of the family or any other party while the remaining third to be consumed by the household.
This division carries multiple implications. The poor people will share happiness of the feast receiving a gift of which they are other wise deprived. The present part fosters amicable relations among people bringing them together in such occasions. And of course consuming the remaining part of the meat in the household is a symbol of sharing also the feast with others.
2. New Muslim members of the group are encouraged to share their experiences with us or post it on: islammesage.com in an effort to help those who are thinking and shed light on different circumstances.
3. Members of the group are also encouraged to share material, articles or raise issues that are of relevant and benefit to the objective. However, only contents that are in conformity with the Quran and Sunna are allowed. We need to strictly adhere to our accredited sources, which consist of our Holy book and Sunna.
We supplicate to Allah to help us do so and accept our deeds
