Festival of Sacrifice

I meant to have this post up sooner but the internet at my house has decided since everyone else is on break it needs to be too. So why are we on break this week? Well if you don’t live in a Muslim country, I wouldn’t expect you to know why.This past week was the celebration of Eid al-Adha. If you have never heard of this holiday don't feel bad. Until I came here neither did I, much to the surprise of my English students who could not believe that Eid is not celebrated in the US. I'm sure it is celebrated but I have never lived in a community where it was either celebrated or even talked about.

The word Eid means “solemn festival” and there is an Eid to celebrate the end of two of the Five Pillars. At the end of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitar is a week long celebration of the end of the fasting season that is full of family visits and parties. Eid al-Adha marks the end of the Hajj. Hajj is the Pilgrimage to Mecca which all Muslims must complete at some point in their lives. Some people who do not go on Hajj will fast to show solidarity and support of their fellow Muslims who are. This particular Eid is the “festival of sacrifice” and it lives up to its name. All the traditions involved in the Hajj are done in remembrance and celebration of the prophet Ibrahim. The Eid is a continuation of this: it is a time when Muslims remember how Ibrahim was commanded by Allah to sacrifice his son. Because of his immense faith, Ibrahim submitted to the will of Allah but instead of having Ibrahim sacrifice his son, Allah mercifully provided a sheep as a substitutionary sacrifice. This story is recorded in the Quran, Sura 37 As-Saffat (Those Who Set the Ranks).

The celebration of this holiday includes the sacrificing of an animal which symbolizes the ram that Ibrahim sacrificed in place of his son. Some families celebrate together by purchasing a sheep or another acceptable animal and slaughtering it early in the morning on the first day of Eid. After the first call to prayer Tuesday morning, for an hour a chant went out over the speakers of the mosques during which time the animals were slaughtered and the sacrifices were offered. Unlike normal calls to prayer, this hour-long call was made by a congregation that included children instead of an individual. The sacrificial animals may be sheep, cows, goats, buffalo or camels. In some societies it is acceptable to offer chickens. Each animal is killed with the intention of being eaten. Families will make appointments with a local butcher for him to come to their house and kill the animal for them. The animal is then divided up into three parts: one part for the close family, one part for the extended family or family members who come to visit for the holiday, and one part for the poor. Some families choose to purchase prepared animals from the butcher instead. The holiday itself is only two days long but most people take the whole week off for traveling and parties. I'm sorry if this post seems dry but I can only give you a third party's perspective since I did not participate in this holiday nor was I invited to the house of someone who did.

Two more posts are in the works and inshallah they will be up this week. Happy weekend!