Eid al Adha khutbah: Condemning violence

Eid al Adha khutbah

of Grand Mufti of Bosnia

raisu-l-ulama Dr. Mustafa Cerić

(Sunday, November, 6^th  2011) 

Sarajevo, The Mosque of Gazi Husrev-bey 

Dear brothers and sisters! 

The Hajj (Pilgrimage to Makkah) is the greatest universal manifestation of Islam. These days at one place in Makkah, millions from all corners of the world, all races, nations, ages and educations are united in one intention which is  is to come closer to Creator and hear the Heavenly message.

The Custodians of two Holy Shrines, in Makkah and Madina, deserve our compliments for making the manifestation of the Hajj easier from year to year and for sending to the world messages of peace and coexistence from the Mount of Arafat. In that regard the Hajj is not only important for Muslims! It is important for all peoples, nations and faiths that care about peace and security in the world. I pray for pilgrims that their pilgrimage be accepted and to return safely to their homes, clean from sins as they were on the day they were born. 

During the time of Hajj, i.e., the first day of Eid al Adha, Muslims around the world who stayed at their homes are sacrificing Qurban (offering) as a symbol of remembrance on common model of Abrahamic tradition that says a story of Abraham's covenant with God that He was willing to scarify his only son Ishmael to prove his honesty and obedience to God. Of course, God does not need nothing and nobody, not even a human sacrifice! Abraham's very intention was enough to show obedience to the Creator to make him free. That is the message of Qurban - to show that we are ready to sacrifice in order to set ourselves free from arrogance, selfishness and rowdiness.

By prescribing to scarify Qurban in form of animal, God sent His message that He does not want from us to approach to Him by shedding human blood. The Qurban is a call for us to be ready to scarify in order for human to be closer to other human, for neighbour to be closer to neighbour, in order for all to live in happiness of their home and homeland, in order for all peoples to be satisfied in society and state in which rules of justice and law need to reign, in order for all people to be safe and secure form the language of hatred and from the hand of violence. For - The true Muslim is one from whose tongue and hands other people are safe and secure - says the message narrated from our Prophet. 

Brothers and Sisters! 

In these honourable days from this honourable place I remind you on our two other obligations: the obligation of truthful speech and obligation of unity: 

- O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allah and fear Him, and speak (always) the truth.  He will direct you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger he has indeed achieved a great achievement  (33:70-71). 

It is narrated that Abdullah Ibn Masu'ud, r.a., was always beginning his speech with words - Truly, the most truthful speech is Allah's Book, the best advice is the advice of Muhammad, and every deceit is innovation, and every innovation is delusion, and the worst thing is deceit.  

Therefore, those who practice takfir , i.e., pronouncing others as disbelievers, they do the worst thing, because they deceit and ascribe to Allah and His Messenger what is not true. They devise a novelty or negative innovation, as delusion that leads them straight to Hell and not to Heaven, as they claim for themselves and for their wrongly oriented group. Instead of being preachers they tend to pose as judges. Instead of leaving the final judgement about our differences to God - as Qur'an teaches us on dozen of occasions - they behave like denying the Judgment Day and want to settle all disputes and bills here and now according to their own mind-sets.

The Almighty Allah asks from us to be careful and to take into account the consequences of our words and deeds: "And insult not those whom they (disbelievers) worship besides Allah, lest they insult Allah wrongfully without knowledge. Thus We have made fair-seeming to each people its own doings; then to their Lord is their return and He shall then inform them of all that they used to do. (6:108).

They speak and work contrary to most truthful Allah's speech and contrary to the best advice of Allah's Prophet, which say imperatively, and that is - "And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah (i.e. this Qur'an), and be not divided among yourselves, and remember Allah's Favour on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren (in Islamic Faith), and you were on the brink of a pit of Fire..."( 3:102-103). 

Is therefore any better advice for people who are reasoning soundly than this advice of our Prophet, p.b.u.h.: Allah's strength and help is in community and collectiveness, for one who revolt from community, the Satan is surely gaining control over him!  

The truthfulness of this Prophet's saying was so obvious for all of us, when we were watching its clear demonstration in front of the eyes of whole world, watching that renegade whom the Satan took over to lead him in the middle of the day, in the centre of Sarajevo, turning him from one side to another with "Kalashnikov" in his hands, spreading mischief and fear in the city who survived all fears of this world, endangering whole nation that survived all hardships of this world! There is no other explanation for this renegade from the community except that he allowed the Satan to catch him in his deadly chains in which man does not have any choice but to act upon the will of Satan!

For that reason, those who attack our community and work on disintegration of the unity of Muslims in their faith, creating separate mosques for themselves, abuse the institutions of prayer, of mosque and of community! For these groups Qur'an is explicit and has only words of condemnation because these places are for the purpose of planting divisions (ar. al masjid ad-dirar): "As for those who put up a mosque by way of harming and disbelief, and to disunite the believers, and as an outpost for those who warred against Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad) aforetime, they will indeed swear that their intention is nothing but good. Allah bears witness that they are certainly liars. Never stand you therein. Verily, the mosque whose foundation was laid from the first day on piety is more worthy that you stand therein (to pray). In it are men who love to clean and to purify themselves. And Allah loves those who make themselves clean and pure (i.e. who clean their private parts with dust [i.e. to be considered as soap) and water from urine and stools, after answering the call of nature]. Is it then he, who laid the foundation of his building on piety to Allah and His Good Pleasure, better, or he who laid the foundation of his building on an undetermined brink of a precipice ready to crumble down, so that it crumbled to pieces with him into the Fire of Hell. And Allah guides not the people who are the Zalimun (cruel, violent, proud, polytheist and wrong-doer). The building, which they built, will never cease to be a cause of hypocrisy and doubt in their hearts, unless their hearts are cut to pieces. (i.e. till they die). And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. (9:107-110).  

Therefore, everyone has a right to choose his own way of life, but no one has a right to endanger peace and security of people. And Almighty warns us not to inflict injustice upon ourselves, and that means that aware and responsible people must stand against this and stop those who are prone to violence, who are caught in the Satan's chains, those who do not have senses for freedom and rights of others, those who are playing with our future and the future of our children! " Allah calls to the home of peace and guides whom He wills to a Straight Path. (10:25). 

That is the Speech of Allah, which is the most truthful and most straight Allah's speech! That is Prophet's guidance, the best Prophet's guidance, and therefore those who call to the house of hatred and violence they guide to the wrong way those who wish to be on the wrong way - they are innovators, they devise a fake faith. Indeed, the worst thing for Allah and His Prophet is to ascribe lies to Allah and His Prophet and behave in the way that provoke turmoil and fear among people and to distract people from the true faith.  To every reasonable man this message of Prophet is absolutely clear: Allah does not look at your outer appearance, nor at your possessions and property, but looks at your hearts and your deeds! 

Yes, indeed, the one who hates people in his heart for not being like him and one who frightens people by his appearance and behaviour did not attain Allah's pleasure. For, it is known since the time of first man Adam, that the principle of ethics and morals is that "sincere piety is the best attire or raiment one can have, i.e., pious attitudes towards God and brotherly regard towards other man are the best attire that man can have! "... And raiment of righteousness, that is better!" (7:26). 

Therefore, the measures of our faith and morals are not those of clothing and outlook, but those of morals and sincere faith in our souls, true love in our hearts and righteousness in our deeds. However, as no one has a monopoly on love and tolerance, in the same manner none has a monopoly on hatred and violence, which some people in public media prove. Those were given the microphones and pens to strike at our hearts and souls with the words of hatred and violence. There is no difference between those who spread hatred and violence in the name of freedom of faith and those who spread hatred and violence in the name of freedom of speech. They are doing the same task! Their actions have same consequences - fear, anarchy, hopelessness and mental pain, as incurable wound, for, "physical pain from spear can be healed, but mental pain from poisonous word is never healed". It is important therefore for all to raise our voices against hatred and violence in our city, in our country, in our people, no matter from whom it came and no matter in which name that hatred and violence is being done. 

Brothers and Sisters! 

No one has a right to disturb our proved friends in our name! And no one has a right to additionally complicate our painful situation! Both our friends, those on the East and those on the West, who are sending us messages, those from East that they will renounce us if we do not vote for the full membership of Palestine in the United Nations, and alike, those from the West that they will leave us if our country vote for the Palestinian right on maturity and equality. 

It is shame that such an important and sensitive issue for the peace and security in the world, such is Palestinian issue, is left over and burdened on us, on our tired backs, deeply wounded by recent genocide. It is indeed incomprehensible and unacceptable that great powers are resolving their own unsettled bills on our own shoulders, pushing us in the state of fear and uncertainty for the future of our country.        

But, we have faith in Almighty God, who is awake and watching all what is happening in the history, in our case, and over us, as well as in the case of Palestinian issue for which we have a right and obligation to say, as our testimony before God and history, that every reasonable human, every conscious nation and responsible member country of the United Nations cannot reject rightful demand of Palestine to get the status of equal and full actor of peace and security in the world and that the positive vote on full membership of Palestine in the UN is the best guarantee for the peace and security of Israel. 

Therefore, we expect from our representatives in the UN to be aware of the historical responsibility for the peace and security in the world, and especially in the Middle East and in the Balkans, and that is to support the Palestinian request for full membership in the UN as the only morally reasonable act and historically possible way for permanent solution of Palestinian-Israeli conflict that burdens whole world for decades. The alternative to that are new conflicts, new wars, and new shedding of blood in the Holy Land that we all perceive as the place of Holy Peace instead of the place of Holy War. 

No one has a right to burden the future of us and our children with the guilt of Palestinian issue and to place Bosnia and Herzegovina on the black list of nations and states because of the belief that it is unacceptable and unforgivable for our country to vote against or to abstain in regard to Palestinian request for full membership in the UN. 

No one has a right to ask from us to be on the wrong side of history. On the contrary, our right and obligation is to be on the list of historically honourable persons like Martin Luther King who abolished racism in America or Nelson Mandela who abolished apartheid in South Africa. 

It is time for occupation of Palestine to stop and for all descendants of Abraham to live in freedom, peace and security, one with other or one alongside other - Jews, Christians and Muslims. 

(Prayer supplication!) 

Brothers and Sisters,

May this day returns our faith, hope and trust among peoples!

May all fear, animosity and jealousy disappear among us!

May our communion returns our self-confidence that all do their work with consciousness and responsibility.

May we all apprehend that the secret of success in this world is sincere faith and noble deed!

Therefore pay visit to your relatives, visit the graves of your beloved who passed away, open the doors to your neighbours and turn around yourselves to see who needs your brotherly love and your human help! 

(Eid Greetings to all Muslims and Bosniaks in Bosnia and Herzegovina and diaspora)