The Spirit of Sacrifice Needs To Be Revived

By: Sadaf Chaudhry

Great souls are heavenly. They possess all spiritual ingredients in equal proportions. They are well built characters with great moral strength; a symbol of valorous temperament, honour, integrity and fortitude. These souls are passionate about moral courage to the extent that they portray readiness to face danger and to make brave attempt for their noble ambition. For them life without their noble aspiration is useless. This courage and passion makes them sacrifice all they have. How well has the poet said complementing my words:

Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone,
Kindness in another’s trouble,
Courage in your own!

Courage and passion work together to engender this approach of sacrifice. Countless sacrifices were made in Islamic history by great enduring souls.

Allah has blessed us with countless bounties. He has guided us to the true meaning and purpose of our lives which is to live for Him, to strive and seek His pleasure, and even to die in His way. Being Muslims we have a life that needs to be lived in a meaningful manner. The way is open for us to turn this world’s possessions into everlasting benefits, sometimes by enjoying them, and sometimes by giving them up. This passion leads you to the sacrifice (Qurbani). Quran says:

“Did you suppose you would enter paradise without undergoing any trial, and without Allah testing your patience, steadfastness, courage and the spirit of sacrifice?” (Al-E-Imran:142)

The core reason for the collapse of today’s Muslim world is the deviation from the path of sacrifice. Just think about it. How many times have we taken a principled stand, hold our leaders to account, or even risk our lives for a just cause?

Answering these questions can make us realize why we are in great distress. The passion of sacrifice demands its resurgence and revitalization, not merely in words but in deeds.

The month of Muharram reminds us of the greatest sacrifice of Imam Hussein at Karbala. That was undoubtedly an epic struggle between forces of good and evil.

Another great display of sacrifice was portrayed in 1947 which brought freedom to the Muslims of Sub-continent in the form of a separate homeland - Pakistan.

The daunting challenges faced by humanity all over the world today demand a harking back to the spirit of sacrifice. As it is our belief that whatever we sacrifice in the way of Allah is not measurable against the benefits that we shall personally derive, or the Muslim ummah will collectively gain and that mankind as a whole will reap.

All moral qualities such as patience, endurance, fortitude and determination are based on the passion of sacrifice. These moral qualities are required to be developed to cop up the challenges of today’s world. As it’s rightly said:

The things that will destroy us are: politics without principle; pleasure without conscience; wealth without work; knowledge without character; business without morality; science without humanity; and worship without sacrifice.