Eid-al-Adha
“Eid Mubarak!”
This is the second time this year that you’d be hearing this greeting.
The first one was right after the 1 month Ramzan fasts. Remember? Well, that was Eid-ul-Fitr, or the Fast-Breaking Festival. And this is Eid-ul-Adha or the Festival of Sacrifice.
What does this mean anyway? Who was sacrificing what? I’ll tell you.
According to the Quran,
God asked Ibrahim(a.s) to sacrifice his son Ismail(a.s) as an act of his faithfulness towards Him. Ibrahim(a.s) went to his son and asked him what he thought of this. His son replied, “Whatever needs to be done to prove your obedience Father, please, go ahead and do that.”
When the time comes for Ibrahim(a.s) to cut his son’s throat, God sends them a lamb. So, even though Ibrahim(a.s) ran the knife over Ismail(a.s)’s throat, Ismail remained unharmed and the lamb got sacrificed instead.
So, as a reminder of Ibrahim(a.s)’s noble act of sacrificing his dearest possession that was his son, and his son for agreeing to sacrifice himself for Allah’s test, Muslims all over the world sacrifice an animal on this day and divide that into three shares. One share is given to the poor and the needy, one share is kept for their homes and one more share is given to the relatives.
While the story is from the Quran, I believe that there is a message in here for all of us, from all religions.
When we get ready to sacrifice anything in the name of God, even our dearest possessions, without any reservation or expectation, then God makes sure that we get what we need. And maybe, even what we want!
Whether or not you’re willing to sacrifice something, think about this today.
Eid Mubarak to everybody!
————– *(a.s) – Allaihi Salaam – A respectful salutation that translates to “peace be upon him”.