In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful, all praise and thanks belong to our Most Giving and Merciful Lord. He is the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth and everything in between. He sends the winds of mercy on the days of heat and despair. He sent down the winds of change and the rains of growth and sustenance upon His creation. There is no God but He. May peace and blessings upon the last to be sent and the first to be created our Leader, Prophet and Messenger, Muhammad ibn Abdullah, may Allah bless him and his family and his companions and all who follow him to the end of time, with plentiful peace.
The Winnowing Winds (51:1-6)
51:1
وَٱلذَّٰرِيَـٰتِ ذَرْوًۭا ١
By the winds scattering ˹dust˺,
51:2
فَٱلْحَـٰمِلَـٰتِ وِقْرًۭا ٢
and ˹the clouds˺ loaded with rain,
51:3
فَٱلْجَـٰرِيَـٰتِ يُسْرًۭا ٣
and ˹the ships˺ gliding with ease,
51:4
فَٱلْمُقَسِّمَـٰتِ أَمْرًا ٤
and ˹the angels˺ administering affairs by ˹Allah’s˺ command!
51:5
إِنَّمَا تُوعَدُونَ لَصَادِقٌۭ ٥
Indeed, what you are promised is true.
51:6
وَإِنَّ ٱلدِّينَ لَوَٰقِعٌۭ ٦
And the Judgment will certainly come to pass.
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran
Our faith is not valid without belief in Muhammad being the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Likewise, our faith is not valid without belief in the Messengers and Prophets that came before him. In understanding the above, I testify that that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah, alone without any partner and that I bear witness that Muhammad ﷺ is His Slave and Messenger.
To proceed:
We continue to see the convergence of holidays from various religions occurring during the same time. In the previous article we discussed the convergence of the conclusion of the season of Lent and the beginning of the Easter Season with the liturgical season of Passover for the Jewish community. Both holidays were preceded by the Islamic holiday of Eid al Fitr two weeks prior. As this article is being written, the Islamic Holiday of Eid Al Adha was preceded by the holidays of Shavuot for the Jewish community and Pentecost for the Christian Catholic community. Shavuot is a two-day holiday that commemorates the revelation of the Torah on Mount Sinai. The Catholic holiday of Pentecost is known as the day of the birth of the Catholic Church. It commemorates the Christian and Catholic accounting of an occasion where they believe that God sent the Holy Spirit upon Jesus’ (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) disciples after his Resurrection. Both holidays occurred during the first ten days of the Sacred month of Dhul Hijjah. In the Islamic Hijri calendar there are four sacred months, Rajab, Dhul Qa’dah, Dhul Hijjah and Muharram. The first ten days of Dhul Hijjah, in Islam, are considered the best days and nights of the entire year. It is recommended to fast the first nine of these ten days, especially the ninth. The ninth day of Dhul Hijjah is known as the Day of Arafah. It holds a great significance in Islam. It was on this day that Allah revealed the verse,
The Table Spread (5:3)
حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْمَيْتَةُ وَٱلدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ ٱلْخِنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ بِهِۦ وَٱلْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَٱلْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَٱلْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَٱلنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَآ أَكَلَ ٱلسَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى ٱلنُّصُبِ وَأَن تَسْتَقْسِمُوا۟ بِٱلْأَزْلَـٰمِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ ۗ ٱلْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِن دِينِكُمْ فَلَا تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَٱخْشَوْنِ ۚ ٱلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلْإِسْلَـٰمَ دِينًۭا ۚ فَمَنِ ٱضْطُرَّ فِى مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍۢ لِّإِثْمٍۢ ۙ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ ٣
Forbidden to you are carrion, blood, and swine; what is slaughtered in the name of any other than Allah; what is killed by strangling, beating, a fall, or by being gored to death; what is partly eaten by a predator unless you slaughter it; and what is sacrificed on altars. You are also forbidden to draw lots for decisions.[1] This is all evil. Today the disbelievers have given up all hope of ˹undermining˺ your faith. So do not fear them; fear Me! Today I have perfected your faith for you, completed My favor upon you, and chosen Islam as your way. But whoever is compelled by extreme hunger—not intending to sin—then surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran
The below hadith provides historical understanding of when this verse was revealed,
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنْ قَيْسٍ، عَنْ طَارِقِ بْنِ شِهَابٍ، قَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ لِعُمَرَ إِنَّكُمْ تَقْرَءُونَ آيَةً لَوْ نَزَلَتْ فِينَا لاَتَّخَذْنَاهَا عِيدًا. فَقَالَ عُمَرُ إِنِّي لأَعْلَمُ حَيْثُ أُنْزِلَتْ، وَأَيْنَ أُنْزِلَتْ، وَأَيْنَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم حِينَ أُنْزِلَتْ يَوْمَ عَرَفَةَ، وَإِنَّا وَاللَّهِ بِعَرَفَةَ ـ قَالَ سُفْيَانُ وَأَشُكُّ كَانَ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ أَمْ لاَ – {الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ}
Narrated Tariq bin Shihab: The Jews said to `Umar, “You (i.e. Muslims) recite a Verse, and had it been revealed to us, we would have taken the day of its revelation as a day of celebration.” `Umar said, “I know very well when and where it was revealed, and where Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) was when it was revealed. (It was revealed on) the day of `Arafat (Hajj Day), and by Allah, I was at `Arafat” Sufyan, a sub-narrator said: I am in doubt whether the Verse: — “This day I have perfected your religion for you.” was revealed on a Friday or not.
Sahih al-Bukhari 4606
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4606
It was also reported,
وعن أبي قتادة رضي الله عنه قال: سئل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: عن صوم يوم عرفة؟ قال: “يكفر السنة الماضية والباقية” ((رواه مسلم)).
Abu Qatadah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was asked about the observance of Saum (fasting) on the day of ‘Arafah. He said, “It is an expiation for the sins of the preceding year and the current year.” [Muslim].
Riyad as-Salihin 1250
https://sunnah.com/riyadussalihin:1250
As the Jewish and Christian communities are celebrating and rejoicing the origins of their law, rites, rituals and faith, in the revelation of the Torah and Pentecost, the Muslim community are expressing gratitude with fasting on the day in which it was revealed that Allah the Exalted has completed and perfected His favor upon us and chosen Islam as a religion for us. Additionally, the fifth pillar of Islam, the Hajj commenced on the 7th of Dhul Hijjah. More than 1.5 million Muslims traveled to Makkah to complete this once in a lifetime act of worship and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is reported to have said regarding Hajj, that Arafah is Hajj. So, the day that is the essence of the Hajj is also the day in which Allah declared Islam as the religion for us and a completion of His favor upon us. This is a season of gratitude and rejoicing. The tenth day of Hajj, is Eid al Kabir (Eid al Adha), the Eid of Sacrifice in which we continue the rites and rituals established by Ibrahim, may Allah bless him and grant him peace and His family. On Eid al Adha, the community gathers for a special congregational prayer that all are invited to observe. After the prayer, the Muslims are recommended to sacrifice an animal for the pleasure of Allah just as Ibrahim, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, substituted an animal in the place of his son, following the command of Allah.
Let us rejoice in these days of Allah. Let us be grateful and declare our gratitude loudly. Let us use this time to re-establish our resolve and commitment to the submission to Allah. The reminder benefits the believer. Alhamdulillah, there are reminders of Allah’s blessings even in other faiths. Let us be inspired to put our hearts, minds and bodies in alignment with the submission to Allah.
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