Commemorating Qorbaan-Adha

And when Ibrahim and Ismael raised the foundations of the House: Our Lord! accept from us; surely Thou art the Hearing, the Knowing.

Our Lord! and make us both submissive to Thee and (raise) from our offspring a nation submitting to Thee, and show us our Manaasek (rituals, and ways of devotion), and turn to us (mercifully), surely Thou art the Oft-returning (to mercy), the Merciful.

Our Lord! and raise up in them a Rasool (Messenger) from among them who shall recite to them Thy communications and teach them the Book, and Hekmat (Wisdom, …), and purify them; surely Thou art the Mighty, the Wise.

(Qur'an, Surah Baqarah [2], verses 127 to 129)

As we read in the aforementioned Qur'anic verses, the Prophets Ibrahim and Ismael (PBUT) raised the existing foundations (from the time of the Prophet Adam -PBUH-) of Ka'bah, and asked Allah to show them the Manaasek of Hajj; i.e. Allah taught them the rituals of Hajj. Then they prayed for Mohammad (PBUH&HP) and his Nation of Islam from their offspring.

Prophet Mohammad and his forefathers -Abdullah, AbuTaaleb, AbdulMotalleb, Haashem, …- all the way to Ibrahim (PBUT) were Monotheists, and followers of the Haneef faith of Ibrahim (PBUH); in the following verse, Allah directs the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH&HP) to say:

Say: Surely, (as for) me, my Lord has Guided me to the Seraat of Mostaqeem (Right Path); Qayyem (most Right) Religion, the faith of Ibrahim, the Haneef (Upright); and he was not of the polytheists.

(Qur'an, Surah An'aam [6], verse 161)

But many of the people of Hejaaz (Mecca and surrounding areas) -prior to the Prophet's Proclamation of his Prophethood- used to worship idols; the idols were brought in from Syria, and then placed in and around Ka'bah; ironically they had combined the Allah-Specified Hajj rituals of the Haneef faith with the man-defined rituals of idol-worshipping, and used to circumambulate (Tawaaf) around Ka'bah with the idols; i.e. the Hajj rituals were distorted in this manner; and then the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH&HP) re-purified and re-established Hajj. But the Family of the Prophet, such as Ali son of AbiTaaleb -the Amir-Ol-Mo'menin- (PBUT) were absolutely never ever, polytheists, and confessed and embraced the Prophet's Proclamation with heart and soul immediately, while people such as AbuBakr and Omar and … were all polytheists, and after the Prophet's invitation, it took them years before accepting Islam on the outside!

'EED OF QORBAAN MOBAARAK