Eid Mubarak ! On Occa­sion of Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice)

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On occa­sion of Eid al-Adha, we would like to wish all our read­ers Eid Mubarak ! Cer­tain­ly the occa­sion which com­mem­o­rates the sac­ri­fice of Abra­ham (P) and his son Ish­mael (P) is a more benign and noble tra­di­tion as com­pared to the blood sac­ri­fice” [the pagan imagery] of a half-naked man-god who died humil­i­at­ing­ly swing­ing from a Roman cross. May Allah give vic­to­ry to our Deen and wipe out that Trini­tar­i­an reli­gion in the fore­see­able future, insha’allah.

What is Eid al-Adha ?

At the end of the Hajj (annu­al pil­grim­age to Mec­ca), Mus­lims through­out the world cel­e­brate the hol­i­day of Eid al-Adha (Fes­ti­val of Sac­ri­fice). In 2006, Eid al-Adha will begin on approx­i­mate­ly Decem­ber 31st, and will last for three days.

What does Eid al-Adha commemorate ?

Dur­ing the Hajj, Mus­lims remem­ber and com­mem­o­rate the tri­als and tri­umphs of the Prophet Abra­ham. The Qur’an describes Abra­ham as follows :

Sure­ly Abra­ham was an exam­ple, obe­di­ent to Allah, by nature upright, and he was not of the poly­the­ists. He was grate­ful for Our boun­ties. We chose him and guid­ed him unto a right path. We gave him good in this world, and in the next he will most sure­ly be among the right­eous.” (Qur’an 16:120 – 121)

One of Abra­ham’s main tri­als was to face the com­mand of Allah to kill his only son. Upon hear­ing this com­mand, he pre­pared to sub­mit to Allah’s will. When he was all pre­pared to do it, Allah revealed to him that his sac­ri­fice” had already been ful­filled. He had shown that his love for his Lord super­seded all oth­ers, that he would lay down his own life or the lives of those dear to him in order to sub­mit to God.

Why do Mus­lims sac­ri­fice an ani­mal on this day ?

Dur­ing the cel­e­bra­tion of Eid al-Adha, Mus­lims com­mem­o­rate and remem­ber Abra­ham’s tri­als, by them­selves slaugh­ter­ing an ani­mal such as a sheep, camel, or goat. This action is very often mis­un­der­stood by those out­side the faith.

Allah has giv­en us pow­er over ani­mals and allowed us to eat meat, but only if we pro­nounce His name at the solemn act of tak­ing life. Mus­lims slaugh­ter ani­mals in the same way through­out the year. By say­ing the name of Allah at the time of slaugh­ter, we are remind­ed that life is sacred.

The meat from the sac­ri­fice of Eid al-Adha is most­ly giv­en away to oth­ers. One-third is eat­en by imme­di­ate fam­i­ly and rel­a­tives, one-third is giv­en away to friends, and one-third is donat­ed to the poor. The act sym­bol­izes our will­ing­ness to give up things that are of ben­e­fit to us or close to our hearts, in order to fol­low Allah’s com­mands. It also sym­bol­izes our will­ing­ness to give up some of our own boun­ties, in order to strength­en ties of friend­ship and help those who are in need. We rec­og­nize that all bless­ings come from Allah, and we should open our hearts and share with others.

It is very impor­tant to under­stand that the sac­ri­fice itself, as prac­ticed by Mus­lims, has noth­ing to do with aton­ing for our sins or using the blood to wash our­selves from sin. This is a mis­un­der­stand­ing by those of pre­vi­ous generations :

It is not their meat nor their blood that reach­es Allah ; it is your piety that reach­es Him.” (Qur’an 22:37)

The sym­bol­ism is in the atti­tude — a will­ing­ness to make sac­ri­fices in our lives in order to stay on the Straight Path. Each of us makes small sac­ri­fices, giv­ing up things that are fun or impor­tant to us. A true Mus­lim, one who sub­mits his or her­self com­plete­ly to the Lord, is will­ing to fol­low Allah’s com­mands com­plete­ly and obe­di­ent­ly. It is this strength of heart, puri­ty in faith, and will­ing obe­di­ence that our Lord desires from us.

What else do Mus­lims do to cel­e­brate the holiday ?

On the first morn­ing of Eid al-Adha, Mus­lims around the world attend morn­ing prayers at their local mosques. Prayers are fol­lowed by vis­its with fam­i­ly and friends, and the exchange of greet­ings and gifts. At some point, mem­bers of the fam­i­ly will vis­it a local farm or oth­er­wise will make arrange­ments for the slaugh­ter of an ani­mal. The meat is dis­trib­uted dur­ing the days of the hol­i­day or short­ly thereafter. Eid Mubarak! On Occasion of Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) 1Endmark


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4 responses to “Eid Mubarak ! On Occa­sion of Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice)”

  1. Suhel Avatar
    Suhel

    Eid Mubarak to all.

  2. islamispeace Avatar
    islamispeace

    Eid mubarak to the ummah !

  3. shadowofears Avatar
    shadowofears

    Eid mubarik to teem mem­bers of Bis­mi­ka Allahuma.

  4. Farouk Avatar
    Farouk

    Eid Mubarak !

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