Sacrifice Lovingly

By Umm ‘Aisha

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem

Scene 1:

Younger Sister: Baji! Do you truly love me?

Elder Sister: Of course I do! You need something again?!!

Younger Sister: Yeah, that pink dress??

Elder Sister: Noooo! Not that one. Take the other one I bought last week.

Scene 2:

Husband: You know I value you so much!

Wife: Me too- Oh I forgot to tell you, I need some money for grocery.

Husband: Not againnn…

Scene 3:

Slave: My Master! I love you so much, I can do anything for you.

Master: ((slaughter your son))

——————–

Slave: Son, I have been ordered to slaughter you.

Son: Do as you are ordered to do, Abbi!

Scene 3 is playing out in my mind as the blessed days of Zilhajj and Eid ul Adha come nearer. As for the first two scenes, aren’t they common occurrences for us? We express our love for others, and just then and there, we prove through our actions that this love is not unconditional . That is how we deal with people in our lives, significant others around us.  But how about our dealings with Allah SWT? While our eyes can’t see Him, our reply to: “Who do you love the most?” is always “Allah SWT”. On the other hand, how much do we bother if our actions are actually pleasing to Him or not? Are we ready to sacrifice what we truly love for His sake? As He has taught us that: “You can’t reach Al-Birr (piety) unless you spend what you love!” (Qur’an 3: 92)

This is not easy, because whatever we love never remains constant. If it’s wealth and money for a couple of years, then later it can be children and wife; if once its beauty and lifestyle then later it can be your profession; if today you love your mobile phone the most, tomorrow it can be your BMW-5! Whatever it is that you love the most and whenever it is in your life, do ask yourself: Am I ready to sacrifice it for Allah SWT? Can I just give it up if Allah asks me to? Can I just let it go because it is hindering my way to my Beloved? Is it dearer to me than my Rabb?

When you will ask these questions from your heart, you will truly know how much  you love your Beloved, how important He and His Deen are to you and how much sacrificing  your love is, for LOVE demands sacrifice, and it starts from giving, not taking. The pinnacle of love is when you can give up your whole self for your beloved and ask only his pleasure in return.

Allah’s love also goes the same way- it asks for sacrifices, it asks for giving up whatever you have only for: ibtighaa’a wajhihi [seeking His face].

And it is not because He needs these things- He doesn’t! He is above and beyond all needs- but yes! He does want to see: who can watch her child crying of thirst in a barren desert and still can say: I love you Rabbi! ; who can leave his new born baby and wife in that barren land and still can say: Its for you Rabbi! ; who can dare put his son on the ground to slit his throat just thinking: As you say Rabbi!

The wonderful aspect in this love for Allah is: When you give up what you have been asked for, He gives it back to you- He doesn’t actually take it away from you, He only puts you to the test to see if you can Sacrifice Lovingly!