The Islamic festival Eid-ul-Adha, which commemorates the willingness of the Prophet Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, is celebrated this year on Friday 6 June. It is the second of two major festivals in Islam – the other is Eid al-Fitr, celebrated at the end of Ramadan. Maira Butt sets out the story:
The story of the Prophet Abraham
A man stands with his son on Mount Arafat, in what is now Saudi Arabia. In his hands are a knife, and a rope, and beside him is his son. He has been commanded to offer him as a sacrifice by God.
The instruction came to him in a dream, and at first he wondered if it was the Devil trying to mislead him. But the dream came again, and he was convinced of its authority. He discussed the order with his son, who immediately obliged, asking only that his hands and feet be tied with rope so he would not struggle and that his father wear a blindfold so he would not suffer.
The man is the Prophet Abraham — Ibrahim in Arabic — and the child is his son Ismail, born to his handmaiden Hagar after his elderly wife Sarah struggled to conceive.
The story is told in the Jewish Torah and the Quran, which says Ibrahim prepares to carry out the sacrifice, but when he removes his blindfold he beholds a miracle. Where his son lay, there is the body of a ram.
“We called out to him, ‘O Abraham! You have already fulfilled the vision.’ Indeed, this is how We reward the good-doers. That was truly a revealing test. And We ransomed his son with a great sacrifice.” (Quran 37:104-107)
The festival of sacrifice
Eid-ul-Adha is the celebration of this near-sacrifice. Translating as the Festival of Sacrifice, the day comes at the end of Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca and one of the five pillars of Islam.
It is the second of the two annual celebratory events for Muslims, and is sometimes colloquially termed the “Greater Eid” by some communities. It falls on the 10th of the month of Dhul Hijjah (the month of Hajj), which is also the final month of the Islamic calendar.
Like Eid-ul-Fitr, at the end of the month of Ramadan, the day is celebrated with special prayers in the morning. The event and its observances are carried out for three days, termed the Tashreeq days, although this is increasingly less common in western societies,
After morning prayers, a Qurbani (sacrifice) is carried out, to commemorate the test of Ibrahim. Udhiyah, the ritual sacrifice, usually of a sheep, but goats, cows and camels can also be used, is carried out by those who can afford it. For those in Britain, the Qurbani can be ordered abroad for diasporic communities, with health and safety regulations making it difficult to carry out locally. Meat is then distributed among neighbours and the poor.
There is a difference in opinion about whether this ritual is mandatory (wajb) or an established custom (sunnah mukadda).
Beyond the surface meaning of the sacrifice, for many Muslims, the celebration symbolises the ultimate surrender to the will of Allah. It prompts reflection on the worldly things to which we are attached, whether that be materialistic items or the bonds of family and friendship.
Like the “smaller Eid”, Muslims are expected to wear their finest clothing (they do not have to be new), with several narrations of the Prophet Muhammad’s life setting that example. The day is spent with family, and huge feasts are prepared across cultures. Gifts and Eid money (Eidi) are often exchanged. “Eid Mubarak” is the greeting used to meet each other, which can be translated from Arabic to mean “Have a blessed Eid”.
