– Maaz Ahmed Javed (M.Tech. AMU)
Eid ul Zuha or Baqra-Eid, as we know reminds us of the sacrifice made by Prophet Ibrahim ( عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَم ). Prophet Ibrahim ( عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَم ) was one of the greatest prophets of Islam. Qur’an has said that, “there is a good example for you in Ibrahim”. So, knowing about the life story of Prophet Ibrahim ( عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَم ) is necessary for us. Qur’an tells us that Ibrahim ( ,(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَم while pondering upon this world and its creations i.e. the sun, the moon and the stars, asked many basic questions. And he ultimately inferred that these things which are rising and settling portray that these are bound in a certain set of path, and cannot be worthy of worship. He placed these questions in a very plain and simple terms in front of his people. He destroyed all the idols leaving the axe on the shoulder of the biggest one, in order to ask his people that, “If this idol can’t save the other ones, then how come it could save us”. But his people who had no logic behind their deeds, got angry and punished Ibrahim ( عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَم ) in whatever manner they were able to do so. This world is created, sustained and ruled by Almighty Allah ( سُبْحَانهَُ وَتَعَالَى ). So the concept of Tawheed (oneness of God) is the very basis of this world. And the concept which is diametrically opposite to it is the “shirk”(associating partners with Allah). That’s why Islam defines itself as a religion of Tawheed. And about shirk it says that “Shirk is the worst form of oppression”. Someone puts it rightly: Agar do khuda hotey sansar me To dono bala hotey sansar me (If there were two Gods, both would be trouble.) Today, the whole world is full of oppression and sole reason behind this topsy-turvy situation is shirk only, which is the very basis upon which whole society is standing now. Rejecting Almighty Allah, rebellion against the right concept of Tawheed and ample presence of false and self-acclaimed gods are some of the examples of shirk present in our society. Therefore, in this month of Zul Hijjah, we should try to include Abrahamic principles in our life. We should try to break all forms of idols present in our way of life. Just after few days of Eid ul Zuha, we experienced a historic event, the darkest day in the Indo-Islamic history, i.e foundation ceremony of Ram Temple on the ruins of the 500 year old Babri Masjid. This Mughal built masjid was destroyed almost thirty years ago by Hindutva goons. Destroying a mosque and building a temple over it, is not a simple event. Rather, it is an act of proclamation of a civilization over another. Masjid and the system which it propagates is based on piety, peace, justice and true freedom of man. It rejects oppression in all its form. If a society is formed on these principles, it will be a virtue for whole mankind. As said above, shirk and its products are well accepted values of our society, therefore, building a ‘centre of shirk’ is not a matter of shock. On this occasion, we should pledge not only to build a Masjid, but a whole society based on its principle.
