The Sunnat of Your Forefather, Ibraheem (Alaihis Salaam)
The Sunnat of Your Forefather, Ibraheem (Alaihis Salaam)
It comes in the Hadeeth Shareef that the Sahaabah (Radhiyallahu anhum) asked: “Yaa Rasulallah! What are these sacrificial animals?”
Rasulullah (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) replied: “Your forefather, Ibraheem’s Sunnat.”
People make Qurbaani artificially. The reason for this is that the reverence for Qurbaani is not in their hearts.
Here I wish to make known its reverence which is mentioned in the Hadeeth.
The Hadeeth will be translated. It has two parts to it. In the one part the significance of Qurbaani is mentioned, whilst in the second part the nature of Qurbaani is stated.
When Rasulullah (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) mentioned that there is reward for every strand of hair of the sacrificial animal, the Sahaabah asked: “O Rasool of Allah! What is this Qurbaani actually?”
In reply, Rasulullah (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said: “It is the way and Sunnat of your forefather, Ibraheem.”
Rasulullah (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) called Ibraheem (Alaihis Salaam), “forefather” because the audience was the Arabs, and most of the Arabs can trace their lineage back to Hazrat Ibraheem (Alaihis Salaam). In this case, Ibraheem (Alaihis Salaam) is really their forefather.
If, on the other hand, the audience is considered to be the entire Ummah, then in this case Ibraheem (Alaihis Salaam) being the forefather of the entire Ummah will be metaphorical, that is the spiritual forefather.
A spiritual forefather is he who serves as a means for the self-reformation and spiritual rearing of a person. Our spiritual tree goes up to Hazrat Ibraheem (Alaihis Salaam). Therefore, he is the spiritual forefather of the entire Ummah.
(Sunnat-e-Ibraheem)
