Millions of Iranian Muslims across Iran and other parts of the world have celebrated the Eid al-Adha (the Feast of Sacrifice). The ritual marks the culmination of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
The major rituals of the Hajj are performed during a five-day period from the 8th through the 12th of Dhu al-Hijjah on the Muslim lunar calendar.
The Hajj pilgrimage is a religious ritual, which must be performed at least once by every able-bodied Muslim, who can afford it.
Trying to perform the act of ultimate abnegation, Ibrahim, however, was sent a sheep through Archangel Gabriel to sacrifice instead.
Ibrahim’s obedience thus helped him pass the supreme test of subservience to God, and has been serving as an ageless model for the Muslim faithful.
It is noteworthy; a significant part of the Imam Khomeini’s messages and statements on the subject pertains to the revival of the Abrahamic and Mohammedan (PBUH) Hajj pilgrimage.
This had been central theme of a message to the hujjaj issued by Imam Khomeini in Dhu al-Hijjah 1403 (September 1983). The following comes a part of that message:
In the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful...
I congratulate the Muslims of the world on the great Islamic festivity, Eid al-Adha. This holiday brings to the minds of people the place of (Prophet) Ibrahim’s sacrifice – a place which offers a lesson of devotion and struggle in the way of Allah to the progeny of (Prophet) Adam, may the blessings of Allah be upon them all.
This leader of monotheism (tawheed), the great iconoclast (Ibrahim a.s.), taught us that offerings sacrifice for the sake of Allah, aside from monotheistic and religious considerations, also has political dimensions and social values. He taught us to offer our most cherished possessions for religion and the establishment of divine justice. He fostered understanding in Adam’s progeny that Makkah and Madinah were the places of sacrifice by all devotees of religion, places for the promulgation of monotheism and for the rejection of blasphemy.
He taught man to strive for truth and instructed us to convey to the world from these great places the virtues of devotion and self-sacrifice.
He told the people of the world to forget their own egotisms for the sake of truth, for the establishment of divine justice and for cutting the hands of the world’s infidels.
He taught man to sacrifice everything in the spirit of Ismail ibn Ibrahim. This idol-breaker and his beloved son, as well as another idol-breaker, Prophet Muhammad, upon all of whom be peace, taught man to break idols no matter what they are, and that the Ka’aba should be purged and cleansed from idols for as long as the world exists, no matter what the idols are, be they statues, the sun, the moon, animals or man.
No idols are worse or more dangerous than ‘taghuts’ which have been present throughout the course of history, from Adam to Ibrahim and to Muhammad, upon whom be peace, to eternity when the last idol-breaker shall issue the monotheistic cry from the Ka’aba. Are not the present superpowers big idols, which have forced the world to obey and worship them? They impose themselves upon the world through force and deceit. The great Ka’aba is the only place for breaking these idols. Ibrahim and Muhammad, upon whom be peace, raised the cry of monotheism from the Ka’aba, and their descendant the Mahdi will also do so in the world’s last days.
Allah said to Ibrahim: "And proclaim the pilgrimage among men. They will come to thee on foot and [mounted] on every kind of camel, lean on account of journeys through deep and distant mountain highways" (al-Qur’an, 22:27). They are to be purified from all impurities, above all blasphemy as it is said in the Qur’an (9:3): "And an announcement from Allah and his Apostle, to the people [assembled] on the holy day of the great pilgrimage: that Allah and his Apostle dissolve [treaty] obligations with pagans."
We should break idols with our cries, invitations, revelations and assemblies in Makkah. And we should reject all evils, the first of which is the great Satan [the US], lest it be said that there is "noise but few real Hajj pilgrims".
It is hoped that the Hajj pilgrims in Makkah, irrespective of their sects, will pray for the victory of Islam over global blasphemy, and for the vigilance of Muslims and their governments. May Allah show mercy to Muslims, help them to regain the splendour of their religion and cut the hands of world expansionists from their countries. And may Allah shower upon them forgiveness, for He is the most generous forgiver.