Sunday, August 5, 2012

Is it permissible to offer a sacrifice in gratitude to Allaah for a specific blessing?

Is it permissible for a person who has bought a car or a house to offer a sacrifice in gratitude to Allaah?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
The blessings that Allaah bestows upon people are many, and His bounty andgenerosity towards them are vast. A blessing can only be responded to by giving thanks and appreciating it. Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, has enjoined giving thanks to Him, for He is Appreciative and loves those who give thanks.
Allaah says (interpretationof the meaning):
“So eat of the lawful and good food which Allaah has provided for you. And be grateful for the Graces of Allaah, if it is He Whom you worship”
[al-Nahl 16:144]
“seek your provision fromAllaah (Alone), and worship Him (Alone), and be grateful to Him. To Him(Alone) you will be brought back”
[al-‘Ankaboot 29:17]
Part of being grateful to Allaah is seeking to draw closer to Him by means ofdifferent kinds of acts of worship and to endear oneself to Him by means of good deeds such as prayer, zakaah, fasting and so on.
Another part of being grateful to Allaah is givingthanks to Him by means of sacrifice rituals, which means offering a sacrifice for the sake of Allaah.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his commentary on the verse “Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him only)” [al-Kawthar 108:2]:
What is meant is that prayer and sacrifice are the best of the things by means of which one may draw closer to Allaah, and the usage of the word fa (translated here as “therefore”) points to the reason, i.e., doing that – prayer and sacrifice – in gratitude for that which Allaah has given him of al-Kawthar (a river in Paradise) and much goodness. So he should give thanks to the One Who has blessed him and worship Him, and the twogreatest types of worship are these two acts of worship; indeed, prayer is the ultimate act of worship. It is as if He is saying to him: We have given you al-Kawthar and a great deal of goodness, and We have blessed you with that because you have been doing these two acts of worship in gratitude for Our blessing to you; these are the reasons why We have bestowed these blessings upon you, so do these two things for Us, for prayer and sacrifice are surrounded by blessings that come before them and after them. The best financial act of worship is sacrifice and the best physical act of worship is prayer, and the benefits that a slave of Allaah may gain from prayer cannot be compared to any othertype of worship, as is known by those whose hearts are alive and those of high aspirations. Adding to it the benefits of offering sacrifice, whichis a sign of devotion to Allaah and thinking positively of Him, and having strong certainty and faith about that which is in the hand of Allaah is something wonderful, if that is accompanied by faith and sincerity. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) obeyed the command of his Lord and prayed and sacrificed a great deal to Him; he even sacrificed sixty-three camels with his own hand during the Farewell Pilgrimage, and he used to offer sacrifices on the Eids and at other times. End quote.
Majmoo’ al-Fataawa 916/532).
If Allaah bestows a great blessing upon a person – and all His blessing are great – then it is mustahabb for him to give thanks to Allaah for itby showing kindness to people, so he should offer a sacrifice and make food and invite his brothers and friends, and give charity to those who are in need.
It says in al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah (26/180-181):
It is mustahabb to give thanks anew when new blessings come, by speaking words of praise. Gratitude for that may also be expressed by doing acts of worship, which includes offering a sacrifice or inviting peopleto a meal. The fuqaha’ have mentioned the kindsof meals that may be offered when blessing arerenewed, such as the wakeerah which is made for a new home, or naqee’ah which is made on the return of an absentloved one, and hidhaaq which is done when a child completes a reading of the Qur’aan./ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en

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