Can one sacrifice in Prophet name?
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's
Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
My question is that there is tradition in our
home country going on from so many years,because of lack of knowledge.I want to
know Is giving sacrifice in the name of Prophet Muhammed (saws) allowed.Please
put some light on this.As this is very important to know what we are doing is
right or wrong.I hope you will not disappoint me.Zajak Allah Kheir.
(There
may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum
does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from
our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Can one sacrifice in Prophet name?
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is no one (no idol, no person, no
grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Dear and Beloved Sister, the principle in Islam is that
whoever starts the process of good will have a share of the reward of what he
started, regardless of who follows his example and does the good; and whoever
starts an evil will have a share of the punishment of what he started,
regardless of who follows his example of doing the evil.
Every good deed in Islam was initiated, taught, and
encouraged by Prophet Mohamed (saws); thus whatever good deed a believer does
in Islam in accordance with the guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws),
Allah Subhanah will assign a full reward of the deed in the account of the
Prophet (saws) without reducing the reward of the person who actually performed
the good deed.
When a believer offers a sacrifice to earn the Pleasure
and Good Will of Allah Subhanah, he in fact is following the example of the
Prophet (saws); thus the Prophet of Allah (saws) will be accorded an equal and
full share in this good deed of the believer, without any reduction in the
reward of the believer.
There is absolutely nothing in the authentic Sunnah of the
Messenger of Allah (saws) whereby he exhorted or encouraged the believers to
offer a sacrifice for him; neither is there any precedent in the History of
Islam that his noble companions or even his noble family ever sacrificed for
him after his death. Thus, in light of
the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah, it would be best for the believers to
abstain from doing any act of worship which is not endorsed by the Messenger of
Allah (saws). If one today offers a
sacrifice in the name of the Prophet (saws), it would indeed be a manifest form
of ‘bidah’ or innovation in the deen of
Islam.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah
Ahzab verse 21: There is indeed the best example for you to follow, in the Messenger of Allah, for every such
person looks forward to Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.
We are commanded by Allah Subhanah to obey and follow the
Prophet (saws), and the absolute best thing one, who sincerely loves the
Prophet of Allah (saws), can and must do is recite the ‘durood’ on him as often
as he can, and strive his utmost in the doing of good deeds.
Abdullah bin Amr bin Al-'As reported that he
heard the Prophet (saws) saying, "If anyone invokes blessings upon me
once, Allah will bestow blessings upon him ten times over."
Related by Muslim.
Ibn Mas'ud reported that the Prophet (saws)
said, "The people nearest to me on the Day of Judgment will be the ones
most conscientious in invoking blessings upon me." Related by Tirmidhi.
Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (saws)
said, "Do not turn my grave into a site of festivities, but send greetings
to me for your greetings are raised to me wherever you might be."
Related by Abu Daw'ud.
Aus reported that the Prophet (saws) said,
"The best of your days is Friday, so send more and more greetings to me on
it, for your greetings are presented to me."
Related by Abu Daw'ud and Nasa'i.
Abu Dharr reported that the Prophet, (saws)
said, 'The most miserly among people is the one who fails to invoke blessings
upon me when my name is mentioned in his or her presence'."
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
Burhan