Sacrifice and Sincerity
This is the Idul Adha that will create and discover real human beings who are truly willing to make sacrifices and possesses sincerity towards God.
Religion always presents the two sides of the story of humanity: virtue, sincerity, and sacrifice on the one hand, and wrath, greed, hatred and pride on the other.
The two sides of humanity’s story in religions are known as religious ethics, referring to morals, virtues and vices.
The great Muslim scholar Imam Al-Ghazali called these dimensions of humanity as the ethics of humanity and animalism. Human ethics is identified with noble actions like the angels, who always obey the commands of the Creator, without any lust or even desire. Meanwhile, animal ethics is often identified with greed, cruelty, egoism, unwillingness to share, and disobedience.
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However, ethics such as those of angels as described above cannot exist in humans and they do not even need to be followed, because they will make a static world where there are no progress, no change and of course, no dynamism.
Therefore, Al-Ghazali then gave advice to mankind about the ethics of humanity, as standing between the ethics of angels and the ethics of animals. Human beings are creatures that possess lust like animals, but at the same time, have the qualities of an angel. Thus, the world will be dynamic, advanced, and there will be changes and challenges.
Prime ethics
In this regard, Idul Adha (Day of Sacrifice), which falls on Tuesday (20 July), is a moment for human ethics that will truly test religious people, especially those who want to make a sacrificial offering of an animal to people in need. The ritual sacrifice will be conducted in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, which does not seem accommodating to the people of Indonesia (in particular), because cases of transmission are still increasing. So many people have died of the deadly virus over the last year and a half.
Therefore, several calls have been made from may quarters to reinterpret the ritual sacrifice of animals to be held during Idul Adha, among them the central leadership of Muhammadiyah, so that the money for the ritual sacrifice or the sacrificial animals can be used instead to help those affected by Covid-19 who truly need assistance in the forms of food, medical expenses and healthcare services. The financial costs and social burdens that those who have contracted Covid-19 must bear are very great.
If the sacrificial animal is slaughtered and then distributed to the community as usual, the benefits will not be of much value, according to Muhammadiyah, especially if those infected with Covid-19 each receive only 1-2 kilograms of fresh meat. Therefore, Muhammadiyah has called on the people who want to make a sacrificial offering to give money instead of an animal. The money will then be given to those who have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic so as to bring more benefits for mankind.
A picture shows pilgrim tents in Mina, which sits in a narrow valley surrounded by rocky mountains near the Saudi holy city of Mecca, and is transformed each year into a vast encampment for Hajj pilgrims, on July 18, 2021. - Pilgrims streamed out of the holy city of Mecca, launching the rituals of the great pilgrimage which Saudi Arabia is holding in a scaled-down form for a second year to ward off coronavirus.
Muhammadiyah’s idea seems to be in accordance with the rule: saving one human soul is the same as saving a large number of people, that is, ensuring the continuance of life by preventing death. This is also in accordance with the rules of fiqyyah: prioritizing almaslahah al-um, ila madlarat fil annas (benefiting the many, rather than benefiting the few). This is what we call maslahah fil nas (benefiting mankind).
People with good ethics, said Buya Hamka, the great Indonesian Muslim scholar and author of “Tafsir Al-Azhar”, are human beings who are not dominated by animal desires and are not trapped by angelic traits. They are able to live in balance between the desires of animals and angels, so they have the ethics for change and dynamism, and sometimes they question what is considered the standard for the good.
People with good ethics are human beings who are not afflicted by blind faith that neglects knowledge and social realities. They are free souls who have individual piety as well as social piety.
People love wealth
Those who do not have social sensitivity to the suffering of others are selfish and arrogant with respect to what they have. Those who want to please only their families, relatives or their communities are people whom Buya Hamka calls "lovers of wealth". They are people who love wealth and believe that what they have is the result of their own efforts, without the help of other parties.
For those people who love wealth, it will be difficult for them to change their perspectives and actions outside the realms of tradition. It will be difficult for them to accept the idea of “converting” a sacrificial animal into money that can be given to those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Muhammadiyah\'s call to give money instead of an animal to fulfill the obligation to offer sacrifice will be opposed to the idea, arguing that slaughtering sacrificial animals is a law that cannot be changed.
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Sacrifice is a form of worship that follows the Abrahamic-Ishmael tradition, not one that follows current developments. This kind of jumud (old-fashioned textual belief) will certainly continue to exist, especially in souls who hide their love for wealth behind spiritual and religious piety.
These days, that these people who love wealth exist is plain to see: Are they willing to follow the call to worship at home during Idul Adha or to use the funds for purchasing sacrificial animals to help those affected by the pandemic, and are they capable of refraining from making hateful comments against the government and religious organizations that believe there is a need to reinterpret “sacrifice”; or do they act otherwise?
FILE - In this July 31, 2020, file photo, pilgrims walk around the Kabba at the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia said Saturday, July 12, 2021, that this year\'s hajj pilgrimage will be limited to no more than 60,000 people, all of them from within the kingdom, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Sincerity of the soul
At this time, sincerity is needed in offering sacrifice. Sacrifice requires absolute sincerity and can truly create peace for mankind from various kinds of suffering, including suffering from the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, a sincere soul is able to psychologically bring a calm to the sociopolitical condition and avoid hate comments as well as political, greedy, and selfish desires.
This year’s Idul Adha is truly an Idul Adha that must create a condition that can lend this nation more social calm and cope with the harsh economic impacts of the pandemic, and not a holiday that bombards citizens with various misleading information or hoaxes as a result of hatred against the government or political opponents.
Today, the people need safety and protection against Covid-19. Many Indonesians are in great need of ventilators, oxygen and hospital beds and do not need the noise of political maneuvers from certain parties that only want to benefit themselves, their groups, and those closest to them.
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Citizens no longer expect much from politicians, political observers, or former officials who like to make false promises and spread fake news to gain political sympathy and support.
Therefore, it is time for us to stop being human beings that love wealth in the name of piety, virtue and religious symbols. This Idul Adha is truly a special day that must be celebrated in a different way without reducing the solemnity and sincerity in worshiping God.
Zuly Qodir
This is the Idul Adha that will create and discover real human beings who are truly willing to make sacrifices and possesses sincerity towards God. Let us celebrate Idul Kurban (Feast of Sacrifice) filled with peace!
Zuly Qodir, Sociologist, Director of Doctoral Program of Islamic Politics, University of Muhammadiyah of Yogyakarta
This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.
