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Haj messages

President's Hajj message

Hajj in Sri Lanka this year is being observed just three weeks after the worst natural disaster in our living memory. The world's Muslims now gathered in Holy Mecca are praying fervently for our country.

I am confident their prayers will be answered and help us rebuild the lives of our people who were affected, states President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in a Hajj message.

"My warm wishes and greetings go out today to all our followers of Islam. Eidul Aldha Hajj is one of the most important events in the Islamic calendar. It is the time of the year when millions of the World's Muslims congregate at Holy Mecca to pray in unison.

Successive Sri Lankan Governments have been facilitating the Hajj pilgrimages of our Muslim brethren.

The continuous State patronage afforded over the years is a clear indication of our peaceful coexistence and the religious freedoms we enjoy in this country.

A vast number of those who lost their lives in the recent tragedy were Muslims. According to Islamic tradition widowed ladies observe the Iddha and they remain indoors during this customary period of mourning.

The Government has directed the District Secretaries to assign lady officers to visit all widowed Muslim women folk in all affected areas and facilitate the interim relief payments and inquire after their needs at this time of grief.

Let me again extend my warm and sincere greetings to all the followers of Islam in Sri Lanka on this special day."

Eid Mubarak!

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Prime Minister's Hajj message

The Hajj festival is a religious prayer which commemorates generosity and co-operation. Hajj festival this year is being celebrated at a time when generosity and co-operation are most needed by this country states, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse in a Hajj message.

The message added: "Today thousands of people affected by tsunami tidal waves are looking forward with hope and great expectation for our help and generosity.

The last few days we witnessed the manner in which Muslim devotees helped the traumatised and needy people in keeping with the teachings of Prophet Mohamed. Their assistance was a great consolat for the affected masses. The fact that this generosity should be sustained in future needs no special emphasis.

We can transform our motherland into a heaven on earth if we join hands and rise up in unity with a clear sense of generosity forgetting all petty differences.

Then our brethren need not shed their tears once again in future. This then should be our firm resolve. On this holy day I invite all of you to join hands with us to rebuild the country with that firm resolution.

"I wish you all the mental happiness you desire by celebrating the Hajj festival today" the Prime Minister's message said in conclusion.

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Minister of Environment and Natural Resources A. H. M. Fowzie

On this sacred day of the Haj festival, I wish to express my sincere salutations to all those who strived hard to wipe out the tears of a very large number of our brothers and sisters who were the unfortunate victims of the tsunami waves.

This year, the festive occasion has come at a time when hopes and despair swing to the extreme like a pendulum.

However, in despair the people of Sri Lanka also see a ray of light as the country puts up a united front, against the mighty tsunami devastation, shunning all differences of race, religion and language. In fact this is the real message of Haj.

Haj teaches that all men are equal before Allah, disregard of their race, nationality and language. People of all nationalities, all colours, kings and ordinary men mingle together without any difference. All those who gather at Haj declare that all their belongings inclusive of their lives belong to the Lord and are sacrificial.

The Haj also teaches us to be collective together and steadfast in our fight against our enemy as taught in the Haj ritual of pelting stones aimed at the 'Saitan' at Mina.

The spring of humanitarianism and love flows from one spring, that is the human heart as though the water springs from a single Zem Zem well and shared and drunk by all the pilgrims.

It is enough now that we have cried, screamed in pain and grief.

We must get set now to look forward. Let us begin on a process of transforming our situation of adversity into one of new life for our people.

Train ourselves to accept the judgement of Allah. Lord of the Universe has his own reasons for everything and we are never qualified enough to question his wisdom. Every event in this world occurs with the will and consent of Allah.

However, that doesn't mean that we can put the blame on Him. It is the repercussion of the undesirable human activities on earth that results in the form of calamities. We must be kind and caring the nature.

Allah, of course, is merciful. We must be thankful to him that we are let to survive the devastation. It is up to us to learn our faults and sins and to correct ourselves to win his pleasure. It is possible by engaging ourselves in activities that would make Him happy.

We are all spared with a purpose. That is to help the suffering poor to be happy. Today, so many people have lost their earnings of their lifetime hard work.

Everything that people liked as precious were snatched away or washed away in matter of few minutes. Others were helplessly watching them, in the TV, being washed away. There is harsh lesson for us to learn.

In Sri Lanka, the nature has been kind to us. It has to be understood that somewhere and at least at some point we had erred in our life.

We have sinned in our life. Let us therefore collectively supplicate before our Lord and ask his forgiveness.

Let us resolve to rise again as one whole nation and pray together for his merciful protection from all forms of natural calamities to our country and to make us a peaceful and prosperous nation and to rise from our fallen position. Wishing all the Muslim fraternity a happy Eid.

Eid Mubarak!

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Minister of Rehabilitation and Dsistrict Development (Vanni) Rishad Bathiudeen

We, the Muslims of Sri Lanka join the rest of the Muslims world over to celebrate Eid ul Azha (Hajj Festival), the festival of Sacrifice.

This year, we celebrate this festival in the midst of unprecedented tragedy caused by the totally unexpected oceanic tidal waves called Tsunami which carried away lives of over 31,000, destroyed billions of rupees worth of properties, some 1,000 became orphans and over a lakh rendered homeless, without any distinction or discrimination.

I wish to remind here that festivals of different faiths never advocated divisions or hatred. Instead, it propagates and respects unity and coexistence as citizens of one nation.

Sacrifice is an integral part of Islam and therefore Muslims are used to sacrifice in keeping with the Islamic principles. As we are all aware that this year 2005 dawned at a time when we all faced the biggest catastrophe in the entire history of our country.

The fearful experience that we faced by the disaster without any consideration of differences as to the caste, creed, religion or political affiliations.

In the spirit of Sacrifice, we Muslims should sacrifice everything possible to help eliminate the sufferings of the Tsunami victims who have lost their dear ones and those rendered homeless.

Therefore I appeal to the Muslim community to be generous in extending their assistance to the victims and the celebrations are to be observed in a humble and modest way by of praying to Almighty Allah to grant them heaven (Jennathul Firdous).

Meanwhile, let us use this tragedy as a God-given opportunity to bury our petty differences in every respect and work together for religious harmony and co-existence which in turn, will enable to rebuild our battered nation and usher in peace and prosperity and adversity depend on the progress of our country.

As the Minister in charge of Rehabilitation and Vanni District Development, while expressing my deepest sorrow towards the victims.

I take this opportunity to extend my profound gratitude for all those friendly countries and international organisations for their immeasurable humanitarian assistance and aid towards the Tsunami affected victims.

Finally, I call upon all brothers and sisters to extend their continued cooperation to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge's regime in the task of rebuilding the country's economy and civil life shedding all our differences and pray for those who lost their lives by the Tsunami disaster.

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A. L. M. Athaullah, Minister of Infrastructure Development in the Eastern Province

I wish to convey my very sincere greetings and well wishes to all Muslims on this great Haj celebration that we are blessed to celebrate this year as well.

Festival of Haj pilgrimage reminds Muslims the basic necessity of performance of Haj at least once in the life time of any person with resources to do so.

We are aware of the great distress caused by the recent tsunami, the aftermath of which appears to have eclipsed the importance and meaning the Haj celebration inculcates into the religious practices of Muslims throughout the world.

To those in distress, grieving over every form of loss during tsunami, it is necessary to remind of the caution given by our Prophet Mohamed (may peace be upon his name) that even the heinous of grief must be

limited to three days and no further. Such orphetic advice we have to honour on the occasion of this Haj celebration and remind ourselves of the need to observe the principles governing Haj pilgrimage.

Haj means sacrifice of our individual interests in renewing our bonds with Almighty Allah to rededicate ourselves in the cause of the welfare and well-being of fellow humans, both near and far from us.

In Mecca, the congregation of millions of pilgrims around the Khaba will convey their sincere prayers, duas and condolences on the recent disaster to alleviate all sorrows and dismay and for a fresh outlook to the future and I am fortunate to be present in Mecca with this congregation, in sending my personal greetings and prayers to all my brothers in Sri Lanka.

Eid Mubarak.

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Sri Lanka Islamic Centre

The Eid-Ul-Adha has come to us at a time of great distress and loss to the Muslim Community not only in Sri Lanka but also in other countries. Other communities in Sri Lanka are also sharing in this loss and grief.

On this occasion, I remind all communities about their sacrifice imposed by Allah on Prophet Ibrahim and His response to this imposition.

In greeting my fellow Muslims I pray Allah to give them strengthen and courage to overcome this adversity and strengthen their belief in Allah.

To those who are not affected by the adversity, I would advise to make volunteer sacrifices beneficial to those people in adversity.

We also plead to Allah in our prayers to steer our way through the present complexities facing our Muslim Community locally and globally.

I wish all Eid-Mubarak, states Mohammed Haniffa Mohamed, M.P. Chairman, Sri Lanka Islamic Centre.

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Governor WP and Senior Advisor to the President on Muslim Affairs, S. Alavi Mowlana

"All Praise Be To Almighty Allah".

His blessings and Peace be upon Holy Apostle Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihiwa Sallam and his family and companions.

It is with much humility I am addressing this message to my Countrymen from the Holy City of Makkah Al-Mukarramah on this sacred occasion of Eid-ul-Adha.

It has fallen on me to lead the Hajj delegation from Sri Lanka this year.

I consider this more of a pious act discharged towards Almighty's pleasure than claiming popularity. Despite all odds, every possible measure was taken care of in facilitating the smooth passage for Hajjis.

I personally took control of all aspects and I am here in the Holy Cities to ensure all arrangements are intact.

Eid-ul-Adha marks an important event in the Islamic Almanac. Reward of Almighty Allah for total obedience to Him and Selflessness in the journey of discovering the Truth is immense and Eternal as exemplified in the life of Holy Prophet - Ibraheem Alaihissalaam.

His stature and position in the presence of Almighty are very pleasing.

To this day He and Son Ismail Alaikissalaam are remembered for their pious act of annihilation of their selves.

Let us spare our thoughts to thousands of fellow citizens who have become the victims of Tsunami disaster.

Within a matter of few hours, the loss of lives and destruction to property have been very huge. We shall all unite to pray to Almighty to give them solace so that they could overcome the tragedy.

We are conducting several special prayers in the Holy cities to invoke the Blessings of Almighty Allah on our Country to return to normalcy and prosperity and Her Excellency The President Madam Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga to be given Courage and Wisdom to guide our Country out of this catastrophe.

May the country and its People be Prosperous and Peaceful in the coming year.

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National Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Rauff Hakeem

This year we celebrate Eid-ul-Adha in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami tidal wave, which has claimed many thousands of lives and caused destruction of a magnitude never witnessed before.

Eid-ul-Adha and Eid-ul-Fitr are the two festivals Muslims all over the world celebrate each year. Eid-ul-Fitr signifies the importance of charity whereas Eid-ul-Adha marks the completion of the Hadj pilgrimage, commemorates the sacrifice of Ibrahim and signifies the total submission of the Muslim of the will of Allaah.

In the present context, it is necessary to evoke these noble principles to find redress, relief and redemption for the victims and the survivors of the tsunami. Many families have lost their breadwinners, their homes and their loved ones.

Their livelihoods have been destroyed, their very spirit broken. The survivors have to cope with economic losses as well as the trauma of losing kith and kin.

It is the bounden duty of the community to rise to the occasion and contribute towards the economic empowerment of the victims and survivors to ensure that they do not remain helpless, forgotten and dependent in camps or other homes in the days to come.

Our overall objective should be to strengthen the survivors in a wholesome manner so that they could soon endeavour to live independently with the dignity and self-respect they are entitled to.

This is also a time to remember the sacrifice, the commitment and the dedication with which many in the affected areas as well as those from outside, who rushed in to help retrieve and bury the dead, provide relief supplies and medicines and help in various other ways; acting selflessly and charitably.

It is particularly heartening to note that these people rose to the occasion and displayed a rare bond of brotherhood regardless of religion, caste or creed.

I am confident that if the same degree of commitment and unity can be sustained we can, not only rebuild our beloved nation within a short time, but we can also work together to find solutions to all her other problems too.

My heartfelt appreciation and gratitude go to these people who readily helped their fallen brothers and thereby restored our faith in the goodness that prevails in humanity.

This Eid-ul-adha ought to be celebrated with simplicity and austerity. It should be spent in reflection and prayer for the thousands of victims and survivors of this disaster.

May Allaah in this infinite wisdom and mercy give us the strength to overcome the challenges before us and help to rebuild their livelihoods within the shortest possible time.

Let us pray that we should be protected from such calamities in the future.

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General Secretary of All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama

Amidst the sorrow and agony of thousands, the Eidul Adh-ha once again calls on us with the vivid memories of Prophet Ibraheem (Alaihis salaatu wasalaam) - the loyal servant of Allah who took his son born in his old age to sacrifice while Haajar - the mother who gave birth to the son, was desperately fighting back the tears.

My heart weighs heavily when I tend to express my profound sympathies to all the innocent victims of the tsunami and good wishes to all who celebrate the Eidul Adh-ha.

Allah, the Almighty, will ease the burden of us if we endure his destiny with patience, as we express our gratefulness for the bounties he has bestowed on us.

This festival that brings with it the story of Prophet Ibraheem (Alaihis salaatu wassalaam) whose entire life, was tremendous struggle, would fill the wounded hearts with peace, happiness and prosperity.

Let us follow suit of Prophet Ibraheem (Alaihis salaatu wassalaam) - the one whose generosity and hospitality brought him the nick name of "Father of Guests" to dedicate ourselves to do everything that we could do, to wipe out the tears of the tidal wave-stricken people and raise our hands to pray for the ones who lost their lives to the tsunami.

Allahu akbar Walillaahil hamd.

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