Sunday, July 10, 2022
Eids that are the days of mercy strengthening our bonds of love and fraternity are distinguished periods of time which the Almighty Allah (swt) gifted to believers as a source of joy and happiness. Eid al-Adha which is the blessed season of symbol of faith and devotion endows joy to our houses with its arrival, mercy and compassion to our hearts.
Qurbani is an expression of obedience to the Almighty Allah (swt), self-sacrifice on his path and submitting to Him without hesitation. It means leaving all evil all and turn towards goodness and benevolence. It means showing loyalty to Allah (swt) for all his blessings and approaching to Him spiritually. At the same time, qurbani is a sign of being able to give up worldly blessings in order to gain Allah's (swt) approval. The purpose of our qurbani is the same as all our worships: offering our servitude, homage and affection to the Almighty Allah (swt).
We must turn these Eid days into an opportunity to increase our joys and reduce our sorrows and sufferings in our world surrounded by pain, wars and tears. In these days of mercy when hearts are renewed, we should ask how our parents, grandparents and neighbours are and receive their du'as. Du'as to be received from an elderly person in need of help, from a mother who lost her child, from an orphan who longs for a father, from a victim who expects compassion, from an oppressed person who wants mercy will let us gain Allah's (swt) approval, will strengthen our bonds of love and fraternity, and will increase our strength of unity, integrity, sharing and solidarity.
Our Eid will conduce to Eid of others and our joy of Eid will conduce to joy of others. Let it be an opportunity to remember each other, to renew our covenant of fraternity, to strengthen friendships, to abandon resentments and enmities. Since, we are in need of the goodness, compassion and blessing brought to our lives by the values that the Eids remind us more than ever in the world we live in.
On this occasion, I wish that Eid al-Adha will remind us of our responsibility to Allah (swt) and every living being and will be the milestone of a life to be spent on the path of goodness and righteousness for us.
I would like to congratulate the Eid al-Adha of our dear nation and Islamic World. May the Almighty Allah (swt) let these days of mercy will bring peace to our souls, tranquillity to our hearts, blessing to our houses, and be an occasion for salvation and peace of humanity by bringing goodness to our country and Islamic world.
Prof. Dr. Ali ERBAŞ
President of Religious Affairs