Eid al-Adha : Decoding The Right Spirit of Sacrifice

Eid Ul Azha, also known as Bakra Eid is the second of two Muslim holidays celebrated by billions of Muslims worldwide each year. It honors the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son, as an act of submission to God's command. It's a remarkable story of love, faith, compassion and sacrifice of how Ibrahim obeyed the Almighty out of blind faith and how God rewarded him by replacing his son with a goat to sacrifice.

Today this beautiful story is celebrated at the end of Hajj pilgrimage and also commemorates the story of Prophet Ibrahim. Goats, cows and camels are sacrificed all over the world by Muslims and those who can't afford to purchase an animal are allowed to put as much money as they can and sacrifice an animal together with a few more people. The meat from the sacrificed animal is preferred to be divided into three parts. The family keeps one third of the share; another third is given to relatives, friends and neighbors; and the remaining third is given to the poor and needy. Hoards of needy people go from door to door to collect meat from homes and they sleep with a full stomach and a content heart for a few days.

The entire concept of Eid Ul Azha is built on sacrifice, compassion and sharing. Compassion for the less fortunate and sacrificing what you hold dear to your heart. This is the most organic festival where nothing goes to waste. The skin of the animal in Pakistan for example, are given to charitable hospitals. The staff collects & sells them further and the money is used for patients admitted in the hospitals. Each part of the sacrificed animal is used.

The essence of Eid Ul Azha though is to sacrifice not only an animal but to learn to give up the things we hold dear to our heart for God Almighty. A Muslim is supposed to buy an animal, tend to it and spend enough time to form a bond. And when that animal that you've loved for a period of time has to be sacrificed, that's the time when you realize the extent of pain Prophet Ibrahim must've felt when he was on his way to sacrifice his only son. An animal sacrifice is nowhere close to the heart break that Prophet Ibrahim went through. This festival is meant to make us realise that we are from the Almighty and all is His. But in today's world, most of the Muslims have lost the actual meaning of this compassionate occasion. Animals are bought one or two nights before Eid, no attachment or association is built. A lot of people after purchasing the animal boast about the price and how the animal looks. There is no place of showing off in this festival. It should teach you to be grounded instead. The remains of the animals are left outside on the sides of the roads or empty plots to rot. It makes the roads filthy. The people doing this forget that Islam says, cleanliness is half religion. The animals for Eid are supposed to be treated with a lot of love, care and respect. Islam doesn't allow one animal to be slaughtered infront of another but mostly all animals are lined up to wait for their turn while another is being slaughtered right infront of them. To keep their lawns and garages clean, people tie their animal outside their house where they stay under the sun and just keep wailing in distress. This is not compassion, this is not sacrifice. The only thing that can be sacrificed with this attitude is money, and that's not what Eid Ul Azha is about.

Muslims need to remind themselves of what the message of this festival is. God doesn't need our money neither the meat from the sacrificed animal reaches God. But our compassion does.

Let's be more compassionate, giving and respectful to all that the Almighty has created. Be it a human or an animal, let's love them all. Eid Ul Azha Mubarak.