Paying Tribute To The Spirit Of Sacrifice- Eid-Al-Adha

Eid-Al-Adha is the festival of remembrance of Prophet Ibrahim’s entirely submission to the will of God. Festivals come and go but we hardly notice that what is the purpose and why we really celebrating it. For many of us, Eid means vacation, food, shopping and fun.


So what is Eid Al Adha all about? To make it more meaningful, one need to get into the facts and trials and tribulations, the pain and the turmoil that Prophet Ibrahim went through to emerge triumphant by surrendering to the will of god.
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The celebration marks the willingness of him to accept the command of the god, who in order to test his sincerity and obedience asked him to sacrifice his dearest & only son, Ismail. Such was the unconditional love and devotion of Ibrahim towards the god that upon hearing the command, he gets ready to submit to god’s will. When he was about to sacrifice his son, god revealed that his sacrifice has been fulfilled already. He was surprised to see that his son was unharmed and safe and instead, he found a ram slaughtered in front of him. Ibrahim had passed the test by demonstrating his devotion to carry out the god’s command.
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This is not only about history, it is about the lessons that we can learn from this and can implement into our daily lives.
Self-Reflection
How obedient we are as Muslims when talking about present day. The meaning only of which is the one who submits to Allah. Can we sacrifice our dearest possession for the love of Allah? Are we obedient enough so that we can call ourselves Muslims?
At times during these festivals, we end up doing things completely forbidden in Islam. These include acting conceited, showing off the wealth by over indulgence in food and clothes, backbiting, etc.
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An Islamic teacher, Sadaf Ather says that Eid is celebrated 2 times in a year but we have never thought of the difference between the two Eids. We always think of it as festivals celebrated by eating good food and wearing new clothes. That is the reason both celebration looks similar.
Eid Ul Fitr is showing gratitude to Allah and Eid Al Adha means showing how much we can sacrifice for Allah. By sacrifice, it means surrendering dearest possession to Allah.
Here it means surrendering things that we most value in our lives. For e.g. If anyone is too possessive about his respect, can he forgive someone who disgraces him? Our possessions can be our relationships or habits or belongings. So are you ready to sacrifice them?
The level of devotion that Ibrahim and Ismail have, been accepted by God and it pleased him to a degree that Allah made it a tradition to be practiced till the time ends. For paying tribute to the tradition of sacrifice, Muslims across the worlds slaughter an animal which is a mix of sheep and goat and offer prayers. This Eid centers on prayers, animal sacrifice, giving charity and meeting family and friends. Muslims encourage those less fortunate in the celebration.
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The meat prepared from the sacrifice given is mostly given away to others. One third is eaten by immediate family and relatives and other one thirds is given away to friends and rest is donated to poor.
It’s a day of happiness and rejoices. One should share the happiness and distribute to as many as possible by gathering with family, meeting people, embracing them whole heartedly, visiting relatives and friends; exchanging gifts, giving charity to poor and needy and above all, remembering Allah by doing Dhikr (remembrance of Allah).
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