To Sacrifice a dearest thing of one's self in order to achieve greater heights is an Integral part of one's life and "Eid-Uz-Zuha", signifies exactly that.
The Eid-uz Zuha commemorates the mental agony of Prophet Ibrahim. According to Islamic beliefs, Prophet Ibrahim had been put to a test by Allah when he was asked to sacrifice whatever was dearest to him and he decided to sacrifice his first born son, Ismaeil. On the altar at the mount of Mina near Mecca as he was on the point of applying the sword to his son's throat, it was revealed to him that it was only a test to determine his love for his Creator, and that it was enough. Instead he would offer Allah the sacrifice of only a ram.
It is in honour of this test of Prophet Ibrahim's determination and his faith that Muslims around the world offer the Eid prayers, and Sacrifice an Animal (He-goat, Sheep, Bullock or Camel) and distribute it among Friends, relatives and the poor. It is also one of those rare occasions where small children are found grazing sheeps.
In India, the animal used most common for sacrifice is the Sheep - which is why the occasion is spoken of in Urdu as Bakhr or Bakr-Eid. In India, the day begins with a bath, after which Namaz is offered. People visit friends and relatives wearing new clothes and jewellery. Children are given Eidi (gifts and cash money).
Eid-Uz-Zuha is celebrated on the tenth day of "Zilhajj", twelfth month of the Muslim lunar calendar. Eid also coincides with the anniversary of the day when the Holy Quran was declared complete. Haj (pilgrimage to Mecca) is also performed on this occasion, Haj one of the five pillars of Islam and performing Haj atleast once in lifetime is obligatory for muslims who are financially sound enough to afford it besides providing enough means for their family members who are not accompanying them at the time of Haj.
The Holy Messenger of Allah Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W.) has been narrated as saying: Sustaining wealth for the journey of Hajj is like sustaining in the way of God and God will reward it with 100 times more.
Though there is a wrong impression among people that Haj should be performed at an older Age, Islam however strongly recommends Haj to be performed during hey days. One important reason is that performing Haj is a tedious task and a young body supports it well. On reaching Mecca, pilgrims (Male) Shave off their Heads in order to purify their sins (however, it is not mandatory).
Muslims who have performed Haj are addressed with due respect after their return from pilgrimage and they are addressed as "Haji's" prefixed to their name, for the rest of their life. The soul of Islam rests on Kurbani (sacrifice) and the success of the believer lies in Kurbani. Believer gives up some part of his/her earnings in charity (Zakah). Bakrid is a festival about sacrifice of greed and enmity and an opportunity to purify one's sins and hence it is Important to understand this festival in its true spirit.
Ramzan is over. Bakrid, which falls into Zil Hajj, the month of sacrifice, has arrived, to commemorate the sacrifice of his dear son Ismail by Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim to Muslims) in execution of the demand made by Allah. The spirit of this sacrifice lies in that to please Allah the true Muslim would sacrifice even the life of his dear ones, nay, even himself.
But God Almighty has not asked us to sacrifice our sons to please Him. That kind of supreme sacrifice He reserved only for his Prophets, even a tithe of which we ordinary mortals can never hope to emulate.
The Lord knows we mortals are weak, and so He has only asked us to make a symbolic sacrifice, that of an animal —- a sheep, or a camel, just to remind us of that greatest of all sacrifices in history — the sacrifice of a beloved son by a father, that of Ismail by the Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim).But today, we fail to offer even this symbolic sacrifice or we fail to get into the real spirit of it. We order a sheep or two, ask our servants to tie them up till we are good and ready to offer the sacrifice.
It is essential to take some trouble to see that the animal is fit and healthy, just as Ismail was before he was sacrificed. We don't take the trouble to sacrifice the animal ourselves like the Prophet Ibrahim did.
Many Muslims hire somebody to do the job. Even the job of giving the animal a bath before sacrifice like the Prophet did with his son is given to some menials. The real spirit behind Qurbani (sacrifice) thus gets eroded. The personal touches like feeding the animal, bathing it etc. are symbolic of the care with which Prophet Ibrahim prepared his son for the sacrifice.
Sacrificing the only son, who is hale and hearty, calls for the greatest of devotion to the Almighty. That is why the same care has to be taken of the sacrificial animal. Animal sacrifice is only a symbol. The deeper and larger significance lies in carrying this spirit into our life and translating it into acts of sacrifice to help our fellowmen.
For example, when you have just acquired the necessary cash to secure admission for your son or daughter in an engineering or medical college along comes a poor fellow who must admit his dear one in a nursing home immediately to save her life.
You help the poor fellow with the cash reserved for your children, thus sacrificing your ambition. The satisfaction you get out of this act of sacrifice far outweighs the advantage of securing admission for your child. This is the real spirit of Qurbani.
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