Eid al-Adha 1433 Khutba

Today is a joyous day. We sit in here in Providence, Rhode Island in peace and prosperity. We look to our brothers and sisters in faith across the sea, gathered in Makkah for the Hajj, and we see a vibrant community of worship and ethics that makes us proud. In short, we are civic participants in a nation, and religious adherents of an ummah, that are blessed, in myriad ways.

It was not always like this. At one point, this country was torn apart by Civil War, brother killing brother over the future direction of the American project. Far earlier than that, Muslim killed Muslim to determine who was most qualified to be the khalifa, the political leader of all Muslims. But we have been spared the need to shed the blood of God’s servants. We, instead, are empowered to build a faith-based civil society that reflects the best of our ideals.

Recently, the Dalai Lama came to Brown. Known throughout the world for his principled stand against the Chinese usurpation of Tibet, he reminded the Brown community that the 21st century must be the century of dialogue. We do not want to recreate the bitter divisions and immense human sufferings of the past, and in order to do that, we need to know each other, respect each other, and ideally, love each other. He mentioned that one of his Muslim friends told him that the true Muslim must love all of God’s creation. He could not have been more right.

The Muslim looks at the world through the eyes of love, for she or he knows that God did not create all of this in vain. As the verse towards the end of Surah Al Imran states: “Those who remember God standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the Heavens and Earth, saying ‘Our Lord, You have not created this in vain, but glory be to You, so save us from the punishment of the Fire.’” (3.191) In each moment, the Muslim strives to understand why God has chosen to manifest what God has chosen to manifest. Today, He has granted us permission to gather in His name, and to recite His praises, and to come together as a community reflecting global diversity. Why? Is it just an accident? Do we just mindlessly say Allahu akbar and then move on with our day, or do we ponder the significance of this moment? A well-known saying in the Islamic tradition has it that an hour of sincere and purposive contemplation (tafakkur) is better than a whole year of worship (‘ibadah). So in these short moments we have together, we hope to contemplate the meaning of why we are here.

Ibrahim (may peace be upon him), who we remember on this day, became who he was through contemplation. He looked at the setting sun, and knew that it was not worthy of worship. He looked at the idols in his peoples’ temple, and knew that they could not even help themselves, let alone fulfill the needs of those who came to worship them. His was a natural and pure monotheism that came from reflecting on the nature of the universe, and arriving at the only acceptable conclusion: that it was created from nothing by One entity Who has no beginning, and that it will end one day at the command of that same entity Who has no end. And that if everything that we can see, hear, taste, touch and smell was brought forth into existence by the will (irada) and power (qudra) of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala - Glorified and Exalted), then surely only that Being is deserving of our deepest devotion and sincere worship.

Allah (‘azza wa jall – Mighty and Majestic) does not call us to gather here for the Eid prayer because Allah needs us to worship Him. He does so to manifest His Beauty and Majesty before us, so that we may begin to see with the eyes of faith, and trust that it will all make sense in the end. Let us look at all the beauty that we have brought into the room by our presence here today. Our faces are testimony to the Oneness of God. Inna Allaha jameel yuhibb al-jamal (Truly, God is beautiful and loves beauty). Let us reflect on the beauty outside these windows – the trees rustling in the wind and the immense sky above us and the firm ground upon which we build the dreams of our lives. It reminds us of the verse of Qur’an which states: “God is the One who made the earth for you a place of rest, and the Heaven as a canopy, and fashioned you, and made your forms beautiful, and sustained you from good things. That is God, your Lord, so exalted be God, the Lord of all worlds.” (40.64) This room is empty and lifeless without all of you, but when you enter, it becomes a place that we all want to be. It breathes with your breaths, and glitters with your presence. So too does this wonderful creation scream out to be populated by its most beautiful inhabitants, the descendants of Adam and Hawwa (may peace be upon them). God has said that He gave us the best of forms – fa ahsana suwarakum – and so each of us, in our own unique ways, praises God just by existing.

So surely one of the meanings of our gathering here today is to revel in the beauty of our diversity. Just as our brothers and sisters from around the world are gathered together under the banner of Hajj, so too are we gathered here under the banner of Eid. We are meant to know one another, and discover why God brought us together. From Africa, from the Middle East, from Asia, from North America and South America. From every part of the globe, we have come, and the world is changing because of it. When I was growing up, I knew nothing of Islam. It wasn’t until I was about 16 that had ever even heard of the Qur’an, or the name of Muhammad (may peace be upon him). And now, the vocabulary of Islam is on every lip. But unfortunately, it is a name associated with ignorance, with intolerance, and worst of all, with random and sadistic acts of violence. So surely, part of our purpose in this life, as beautiful creations of God, is to set this story straight. To show the world that Islam means beauty, peace, culture, and most importantly, eternal salvation. We need to become the best people that we can be, so that we honor the legacy of the Prophets (may peace be upon all of them), who left us with a noble heritage of spirituality, ethics, and universal vision.

It is not enough to curse the darkness that falsely speaks in the name of Islam. The only way that it can be fought is if our hearts are filled with the light of God, and that light pours forth from our face for everyone to see. The story is told that in the early generations, some of the Muslim ruler's representatives went to a group of people to collect the jizya. The jizya was the tax paid by non-Muslim residents of the caliphate in lieu of zakat and military service, both of which were only obligatory for the Muslims. This group of people refused to pay. When they asked why they used to pay and now will not, they said, “When your forefathers used to come, their clothes were old and torn, their hair was disheveled, and their eyes were streaked with red due to worshipping through the night. Yet their faces were so awe-inspiring that we were unable to raise our eyes toward them. Your characteristics are not like theirs, nor will you be as just. Be gone, we will not give you anything.”

The early Muslims changed the world because they did not need its riches nor did they crave power for its own sake. They were worshippers of Allah, first and foremost, and that worship led them to leave Arabia and change history. So too, if we hope to rectify our condition, must we put the worship of Allah before all else. Just as Ibrahim (alayhis salaam) was willing to sacrifice his beloved son, so too must we be willing to sacrifice that which is near and dear to us if necessary in the way of Allah. Eid al-Adha, the Celebration of the Sacrifice, reminds us that the road to Paradise is not an easy road. Just as the pilgrims to Makkah have to leave behind comforts and ease, so too do we sometimes have to undergo hardships in search of the greatest of blessings that God gives only to those whom He loves. But it is through facing these challenges, and doing our best, that we become real men and real women, human beings who can exemplify the noble ideals of Islam in our personal and professional lives.

Life will always alternate between periods of hardship and ease, as the Qur’an so eloquently states in a variety of places. God challenges us at times to raise us up, and makes it easy for us at times to help us feel like all the effort has been worth it. At some point, we learn that these ups and downs are not in our control. No one ever chose when their loved ones would die, when they would get fired from their job, or when their marriage was going to break apart. Sometimes, actually pretty often, things just happen to us, no matter how badly we want to be in control. So our job is to consistently try to be better than we were in the past, and to face what our lives bring us with courage and hope. Every day is an opportunity to embrace our lives to the fullest, by recognizing that no matter what happens to us, it does not change the fact that God is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy. No matter what difficulties we undergo in God’s path, it does not change the fact that God is the source of all love and affection in this world. No matter what pain or confusion we may feel, it does not negate God’s names of al-Rahman (The Universally Merciful), or al-'Aleem (the One Who knows all things). God is always there – God is always here. God is always calling us back, through so many things, whether it be the beauty and majesty that inspires our hearts, or the immense challenges we undergo which make us turn to God alone, desperately and passionately, knowing that only God can lift our burden. 

As with all things, Eid al-Adha is about la ilaha illa Allah. When Ibrahim (alayhis salaam) was willing to sacrifice his son, it was about la ilaha illa Allah. When the pilgrims in Makkah circle the Ka'ba, it is about la ilaha illa Allah. Tawhid is the open secret of the universe, the reason for its existence, and the purpose of our lives. So in God's name we gather here, and in God's name we will disperse. In God's name we will live, and with God's name on our lips we hope to die. Forever and ever, in Providence today and in the farthest reaches of the universe, in the Fires of Hell and the Gardens of Heaven, la ilaha illa Allah.