Obedience ... inherited from the father...!!

Where did Ismā'īl (a.s.) learn obedience from?
From his father, Ibrāhīm (a.s.)!

Whenever Allah (s.w.t.) commanded Ibrāhīm (a.s.) to do anything, he obeyed. He succeeded in all his tests. When he was granted a child in his old age and Allah (s.w.t.) commanded him to leave his wife and son in the desert, he obeyed immediately. He did not say that I got him after so many years, or that he is a support for my old age or I want to play with him and talk to him, even how my wife will take care of him all by herself, or anything of this sort. Let’s think: what do we do? Do we obey Allah?

When the husband of Hājar (a.s.) left her and their little baby in the desert and told her that this is a command from Allah, she immediately said ‘Allah will not waste us’, she put her trust in Allah and obeyed his command. She was patient and relied upon Allah without any complaints, taunts or blames towards her husband. What do we do? Do we obey Allah and our husbands?

And then who raised and nurtured Ismā'īl (as)?, his mother alone. Where? In the desert! How much food did she have? An obedient woman and a dutiful wife who trained her son, Ismā'īl (a.s.), in the desert all by herself. With her own actions, she taught her son to obey Allah and be content with the decree of Allah. In the absence of the father, she did not speak ill of him to her son. And this was the reason, when the father returned and told Ismā'īl (a.s.) about his dream, he accepted right away without any objection. 

What a good saying! “If you want your children to obey you, you should obey Allah and His Messenger (s.a.w.) your children will consequently obey you by themselves.”

Do we obey Allah and His Messenger (s.a.w.)? Are we doing more dhikr (remembrance) of Allah during these blessed ten days of Dhul Hijjah? Are we seeking forgiveness for our sins? Maybe we are praying, but are we controlling our desires? Are we avoiding cutting hair and nails or are we planning to go to a beauty salon on the 9^th of Dhul Hijjah? Are we leaving behind our ego to amend our relationships? Or is it a matter of ‘why should I bend down’?

Sacrifice is a means of closeness to Allah, which a person attains by sacrificing not just a cow or a goat, but also his emotions and desires. We pray to Allah that He makes all of us obedient to Him and facilitates for us acting on our deen. Ameen