Allah the Almighty (swt) states in the verse I have just recited: "To thee have we granted the fount (of abundance). Therefore to thy Lord turn in prayer and sacrifice."[1]
Prophet Muhammad (saw) said in the hadith I read: "The children of Adam cannot commit a more pleasant deed other than sacrificing animal in the presence of Allah on the day of Eid al-Adha."[2]
Honorable Believers!
We started to feel the excitement of the Eid al-Adha which is an occasion for us to come closer to Allah and to reinforce our bonds of brotherhood with Believers. May endless praise and thanks be to the Almighty Allah (swt) Who lets us see these blessed days. On Sunday, August 11, insha'Allah we are going to rejoin with the eid altogether. We are going to refresh our submission and loyalty to Allah (swt) by means of our sacrifices and the affection with our brothers and sisters by means of our help and bestowals.
Dear Muslims!
Sacrifice means slaughtering animals that have certain qualifications by following a procedure and in order to worship. As in all worships, the real purpose of sacrifice, too, is closeness. That is to say, it is an effort to become closer to Allah (swt). It is the desire to reach taqwa (piety). Sacrifice is a declaration of sincerity and respect sent from His obedient servants to al-Rahman. The Almighty Allah (swt) informs us about this fact as follows: "It is not their meat nor their blood that reaches Allah: it is your piety that reaches Him."[3]
Honorable Believers!
Sacrifice is a worship that has been commanded to every tribe from Hazrat Adam (as) to today. Allah the Exalted (swt) states in the Holy Qur'an: "To every people did we appoint rites (of sacrifice) that they might celebrate the name of Allah over the sustenance He gave them from animals (fit for food)…"[4]
Remember the children of Hazrat Adam, Abel and Cain whose sincerity was tested by means of sacrifice. In this test, Abel who obeyed to the command of Allah (swt) in a good way and acted abstinently won and Cabil who was not sincere and was jealous lost. Because the essence of all worships is ikhlas and taqwa.
Remember Hazrat Ibrahim (as) and his son Ismail (as) who were tested for their submission by means of sacrifice. In this hard test, a Prophet father and his son showed the humanity that everything that is owned can be sacrificed in the way of Allah (swt) without hesitation.
Remember Prophet Muhammad (saw) who sacrificed animal every year until he died. The Beloved Messenger of Allah (saw) slaughtered his sacrifices in person, both himself and his family ate their meat, he also served them to his friends and distributed some to the needy people for the way of Allah (swt). The fidelity and dua of our Prophet Muhammad (saw) are hidden in the worship of sacrifice. His morals of infaq and sharing are also in it.
Dear Muslims!
Sacrifice is a supreme responsibility in material and spiritual terms. It is to meet with our spouse, friends, neighbors, relatives, and brothers and sisters around the same food. Sacrifice is to keep the conscious of performing infaq and benevolence in the way of Allah and of sharing His blessings alive. It is to make the needy, the oppressed, the poor, and the lonely people smile, starting from our closest ones. It is to bring affection and joy to the house of the needy people regardless of color, language, or geography. It is to extend the hand of benevolence to the countries we have never heard and to people we have never seen. It is to have the conscious of being brothers and sisters, being one, and being ummah.
Honorable Believers!
Our Presidency of Religious Affairs, as it did in the previous years, carries out the operations of animal sacrifice by proxy in collaboration with Turkiye Diyanet Foundation also in this year. You appreciated much our works of animal sacrifice by proxy in the last year. Alhamdulillah we delivered the four hundred thirty thousand shares of sacrifice that were entrusted to us by you to seventeen million six hundred and fifty thousand oppressed and needy people and refugees.
This year, a part of the sacrifices entrusted to us by you within the framework of the activity that we started with the slogan of "Share Your Sacrifice, Come Closer to Your Brothers and Sisters", will be slaughtered within our country and the other part will be slaughtered abroad under the supervision of our officials. We are going to deliver your trusts to the really needy people with a great meticulousness. Therefore, we are going to conduce to establishment of pleasant relations between the hearts of believers and to strengthening of the conscious of ummah. We will have served to keep the morals of infaq and the spirit of collaboration and solidarity of Islam alive before the entire humanity and to make these become widespread.
Turkiye Diyanet Foundation is going to continue to receive donations until the evening of eve of the eid. We would like to invite you, our valuable community, to take part in this act of charity. Let us remember that one share of sacrifice is going to return to us as thousands of duas. You can receive detailed information about the activity from the related officials of our mosques and our mufti's offices.
With this occasion, I wish that May Allah (swt) let us reach to the eid within health, peace, and welfare. May the Almighty Allah (swt) accept our sacrifices and our other worships in His supreme presence.
_______________________________
[1] Kawthar, 108/1-2.
[2] Tirmidhi, Adahi, 1.
[3] Hajj, 22/37.
[4] Hajj, 22/34.
General Directorate of Religious Affairs