The dignified manner in which Prophet Ibrahim and his son Prophet Isma’il (peace be upon them) negotiated the divine sacrificial command symbolised in the animal sacrifice that forms an integral part of our Eid al-Adha celebrations is an exemplary model for intergenerational dialogue.
by IMAM DR ABDUL RASHIED OMAR
WE begin by praising and thanking Allah, the Lord of Wisdom, for guiding us to once again celebrate Eid al-Adha today (June 16, 2024) in unison and in solidarity with the pilgrims (hujjaj) in and around the holy sites in Makkah al-Mukarramah.
Yesterday these blessed hujjaj paused and raised their petitions of forgiveness at the sacred plains of Arafat in fulfillment of the most important rite of the hajj, known as wuquf al-Arafah.
For the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s everlasting peace and blessings be upon him) has proclaimed in an authentic prophetic tradition (hadith): ‘The Pilgrimage is Arafah’. (Reported by the companion Abdu Rahman ibn Ya’mar (ra) and found in Sunan al-Nasa’i and the Musnad of Imam Ahmad)
We have gathered here to celebrate Eid al-Adha TODAY because we believe that in contemporary times when it is possible to view the entire hajj via satellite television it is incumbent upon Muslims all over the world to synchronise their Eid al-Adha celebrations with the hujjaj in Makkah.
The Claremont Main Road Masjid, together with more than a dozen other masajid in the Western Cape, has been celebrating Eid al-Adha in unison and solidarity with the hujjaj in Makkah since 1989.
During the past 35 years our view has become a global trend, and we can safely proclaim that it has become the jamhur and majority praxis within the ummah internationally.
I strongly encourage especially our younger congregants, who may not have been born when this issue was first raised almost 40 years ago, to familiarise yourselves with the Eid after Wuquf al-Arafah debate.
We are mindful that this year 2024 our Eid al-Adha celebrations take place on June 16, which is commemorated as National Youth Day.
This day represents a watershed moment in the history of the struggle against the racist and unjust system of apartheid and left an indelible impact on the lives of young people who led and experienced it.
In my Eid al-Adha khutbah, delivered today on National Youth Day, I would like to challenge the often-repeated lament of elders (and by this I include my generation!), which holds that most of our contemporary youth, who were reared in post-apartheid South Africa, lack the spirit of activism that animated and energised their parents and are therefore not as committed to social justice struggles as their parents were during the anti-apartheid struggle.
We are currently witnessing immense growth and leadership from youth all over the world in organising and mobilising around the unfolding genocide perpetrated by the Apartheid State of Israel.
Specifically, here in Cape Town, groups like the Cape Youth Collective and Youth for Al-Quds along with other young artists and activists have been truly inspirational in their creative organising through emphasising a more intersectional solidarity.
These groups have actively linked the issues of water disparity, land dispossession, poverty, discrimination and exploitation that some people still experience here in South Africa with that experienced by the Palestinian people.
My contention is that there are many talented, innovative and committed young social justice activists emerging in our country and elsewhere in the world who provide us with great hope for a more humane, just and compassionate future.
As elders we should greatly acknowledge their efforts and offer our support because although there is a lot that our younger activists can learn from us, there is also a lot that we can learn from them.
I have in some of my previous khutbahs and writing proposed that one way in which we can liberate and heal ourselves from condescending and patronising attitudes towards our young people is to create opportunities and spaces for intergenerational dialogue.
As elders, we need to listen more compassionately and deeply to our youth so that we may be able to appreciate and learn new and creative ways of advancing our common struggle for social justice and human dignity.
As a student leader in 1976 I recall how painful it was to be maligned by elders that I loved and respected because they thought our anti-apartheid activism was disrupting the status quo and the negative peace of our society.
During the remainder of this Eid al-Adha khutbah, I would like to offer the dignified manner in which Prophet Ibrahim and his son Prophet Isma’il (peace be upon them) negotiated the divine sacrificial command symbolised in the animal sacrifice (udhiyya or qurban) that forms an integral part of our Eid al-Adha celebrations as an exemplary model for this intergenerational dialogue I am calling for.
The key Qur’anic text I will use for my reflections comes from the famous dialogue between Prophet Ibrahim and his son Prophet Isma’il (peace be upon them) found in surah al-Saffat, chapter 37, verses 100 – 102, in which Allah the Sublime, proclaims the following:
رَبِّ هَبْ لِي مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ
(Ibrahim prayed) O My Lord grant me a righteous child.
فَبَشَّرْنَاهُ بِغُلَامٍ حَلِيمٍ
So, We gave him the good news of a son who would be forbearing.
فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ مَعَهُ السَّعْيَ
قَالَ يَا بُنَيَّ إِنِّي أَرَى فِي الْمَنَامِ أَنِّي أَذْبَحُكَ
فَانْظُرْ مَاذَا تَرَى
Then when (his son) was old enough to work with him,
(Ibrahim) said: O My Son, I have seen in my dream that I should offer you in sacrifice: So, think about this and give me your opinion.
قَالَ يَا أَبَتِ افْعَلْ مَا تُؤْمَرُ سَتَجِدُنِي إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الصَّابِرِينَ
(Isma’il) answered: O My Father, do as you are commanded;
If it is God’s will, you will find me steadfast in adversity.
[Q37: 100-102]
Two of the central lessons that emerge from the above Quranic verses is the mutual respect and consultative practice Prophet Ibrahim and his son, Prophet Isma’il, exemplified.
The tenderness with which Prophets Ibrahim and Isma’il address each other in the above Qur’anic verses conveys the mutual respect and love that existed between them. Prophet Ibrahim addresses his son as ‘Ya Bunayya’, meaning, ‘O My Dear Son’ and Prophet Isma’il, in turn, addresses his father as ‘Ya Abati’, meaning, ‘O My Dear Father’.
This kind of tenderness should characterise all relationships between parents and children.
The instructive lesson for us here is that it is not only the child who displays reverence towards the parent, but it is also the parent who expresses deference towards the child.
We often emphasise the ethical behaviour of the child towards the parent but focus less on the deferential behaviour of the parent towards the child, especially the young adult or mature child.
Prophet Ibrahim sets an example for how parents too should show mutual respect towards their adult children, to acknowledge their maturity as responsible individuals.
Very often it is a lack of this mutual respect that leads to a breakdown in the relationships between parents and their children.
The second lesson that emerges from the above verses of the Quran, which is related to the first one of mutual respect, is that of consulting and communicating with our youth.
When Prophet Ibrahim was confronted with his disturbing dream he felt moved not only to inform but also to seek the counsel of his beloved son.
Prophet Ibrahim approached his son with great affection and sensitivity. He was keen to hear Isma’il’s response to his disturbing dream. Prophet Ibrahim could have contemplated his own dream and acted on it without consulting his son in the belief that it was a Divine command.
But he chose instead to actively seek the advice and opinion of his son for something that weighed so heavily on his mind and soul.
And what can we say about Prophet Isma’il’s response? Isma’il did not ridicule or dismiss his father’s concerns but responded in a way that reassured his father that he was confident in the love of his father and understood the gravity of what the dream could mean for himself.
Paramount for Prophet Isma’il was that if it were a command from Allah, then his father should obey such a command.
The exchange between Prophets Ibrahim and Isma’il exemplifies the importance of communication between parent and child, and by extension between our elders and youth.
If Prophet Ibrahim had not told his son about the dream, Prophet Isma’il may never have known about the trauma his father was going through after having such a disturbing dream.
And in turn, Prophet Ibrahim would not have received the reassurance from his son to obey such a Divine command.
Today, when we reflect on our relationships with our children and/ or our parents, we may recognise the many times when lack of communication led to misunderstandings or a breakdown in relationships.
The example of Ibrahim and Isma’il not only underscores the importance of communication between elders and youth, but also illustrates the capacity of mature children to serve as wise counsel to their parents.
Parents should be encouraged to consult their children and seek their support and views on matters that affect not only the children themselves, but also the family as a whole as well as the parents’ personal well-being.
Parents should not take unilateral decisions when they have mature, responsible children who might also have opinions and sensitivities, which parents will not be aware of if they do not consult their children.
Applying this wisdom to our contemporary reality the following picture emerges.
The need for intergenerational dialogue
Many of today’s youth perspectives are challenging more established political views, social mores and strategies for social change. This, in many cases, is causing intergenerational tension and conflict, not only in families but within activist spaces as well. However, this intergenerational conflict should be welcomed and nurtured to allow for more robust debate.
The following three guidelines may make such a much-needed intergenerational dialogue more productive:
First, we need to recognise that the context between generations is very different.
The context of struggle against the Apartheid regime is vastly different from the context of social and economic struggles of today.
Today, young people have political freedom but still face socio-economic struggles such as unemployment, poverty, spatial apartheid, institutional exclusions etc.
They are also influenced by social media in a way previous generations could not imagine, but they can also harness social media for their causes in a way that was not possible before. In other words, the current context calls for different strategies and tactics to those of previous generations.
Second, we need to create safe spaces where especially elders are willing to listen to our youth with both generosity and sincerity to actively hear ‘the other’.
The masjid could be one such space, for example, in which we could facilitate intergenerational dialogue on various issues that are at the forefront of youth struggles today.
Third, we need to embrace and be open to both the strengths and the weaknesses of our respective perspectives.
By doing so, we will have greater opportunities to find and learn from each other.
There is an urgent need for intergenerational dialogue between elders and the youth and I call upon some of us to implement what I believe is a fard kifayya, that is, a social obligation.
For if no one takes on this challenge we will all continue to suffer the consequences of what can be described as a community fault line.
Let us take up this challenge in the weeks and months to come and reflect more deeply on the lessons we can learn from the exemplary model embodied by Prophet Ibrahim and Prophet Isma’il (peace be upon both of them).
Intergenerational dialogue and debate is a powerful strategy to strengthen our community spaces that can lead to more effective collective action.
Prayer for Gaza
In conclusion, on this great day of Eid al-Adha we remember and acknowledge the great sacrifices of the courageous people of Palestine as they struggle to liberate themselves from the yoke of the brutal oppression of the Apartheid State of Israel.
At this sacred time of Eid al-Adha, we should ask ourselves: how can we sustain our modest acts of solidarity with the suffering people of Gaza.
We also pray for the war-ravaged people of Sudan, Congo, Myanmar, Ukraine and everywhere else where innocent children, women and men are suffering.
May Allah, the Lord of Compassionate Justice, liberate them from their suffering and grant them peace with justice.
We pray that Allah (SWT) grants all of those who have been blessed to have been present at Arafat an accepted Hajj, forgiveness of their sins, and that Allah allows them to return to their homelands as true ambassadors of Islam.
اَللّٰهُمَّ اجْعَلْنَا حَجًّا مَّبْرُوْرًا ،
O Allah! Grant our pilgrims an accepted hajj
وَسَعْيًا مَشْكُوْرًا ،
And let their strivings and endeavours be rewarded
وَذَنْبًا مَّغْفُوْرًا
And forgive them their sins and trespassers
وَعَمَلًا صَالِحًا مَّقْبُوْلًا ،
And accept their good deeds
وَتِجَارَةً لَّنْ تَبُوْرَ ،
And let not their assets perish
يَا نُوْرَ النُّوْرَ ،
O Light upon Light
يَا عَالِمَ مَا فِى الصُّدُوْرِ ،
O Knower of all that is in our hearts
اَخْرِجْنَا يَا اَللّٰهُ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ اِلَى النُّوْرِ ،
Lead us forth from Darkness unto Light
On behalf of the CMRM Board of Governors I wish you all Eid Sa‘id Wa Mubarak
May You Enjoy a Happy and Blessed Eid
Kullu ‘Am Wa Antum Bikhayr Ma’as-Salamah Was-Sihhah
May your entire year be filled with Goodness, Peace and Health
Baie Slamat vir Labarang
