The Festival of Sacrifice
This three-day Muslim festival is celebrated in the month of Dhul Hijjah to pay tribute to Prophet Ibrahim`s willingness to sacrifice his son at god`s instruction.
Id-ul-Zuha is one of the most important festivals of the Muslims. It is called Id-ul-Adha in Arabic and Bakr-Id in the Indian subcontinent, because of the tradition of sacrificing a goat, or bakr in Urdu. It is celebrated from the 10th to the 12th day in the month of Dhul Hijjah. The word id derived from the Arabic iwd means `festival` and zuha comes from uzhaiyya which translates to `sacrifice`.
Id-ul-Zuha commemorates Prophet Ibrahim`s willingness to sacrifice his son on god`s orders. According to Islamic belief, to test Ibrahim, Allah commanded him to sacrifice his son Ismail. He agreed to do it but found his paternal feelings hard to suppress. So he blind-folded himself before putting Ismail on the altar at the mount of Mina near Mecca. When he removed his bandage after performing the act, he saw his son standing in front of him, alive. On the altar lay a slaughtered lamb.
Joyous festivities and somber rituals mark this event. The main celebrations are on the first day of the three-day festival. According to the rules laid down for Id by Prophet Muhammad, every Muslim is expected to take a bath, wear new clothes, apply itr or perfume, walk to the mosque before eating anything, and recite the Takbir aloud. After the prayers which are held in an open space in deference to the directive of the Quran, he is to return home.
Celebrations on the first day include Do Rakat Namaz, which can be performed any time from sunrise to just after noon. The prayers during this festival are considered more rewarding than other daily or weekly offerings.Every Muslim owning property worth 400 grams of gold or more is expected to sacrifice a goat, sheep or any other four-legged animal during one of the three days of the festival.This symbolises devotion to Allah and his desires. The sacrifical meat is then distributed and partaken of after the Id prayers. Prophet Muhammad had decreed that Id be celebrated for three days to facilitate participation by the entire community.
Prayer meetings and Id milans are part of the festivities. People visit friends and relatives wearing new clothes and jewellery. Children are given idi or gifts and money. In the Indian subcontinent sweets are exchanged. Vermicelli or seviyan, a traditional sweet, is prepared specially for this festival.
Id also coincides with the anniversary of the day when the Quran was declared complete. It is the time when many Muslims undertake Haj to Mecca.
During Haj, pilgrims symbolically go through several events in the life of Prophet Ibrahim and his son, Ismail, while building the Kabah. On reaching Mecca, devotees walk around the Kabah seven times and run seven times between the Safa and Marwa hills. After a night halt at Mina, they go to the Arafat plain, where Muhammad preached his last sermon. They pray together till dusk, spend the night there, then return to Mina to enact the`s toning of the devils` ritual, in which seven stones are thrown at three stone pillars commemorating Ibrahim`s rejection of Satan. After sacrificing ananimal, they have their hair shorn off and go around the Kabah seven times, to complete the rites of the pilgrimage.
During Haj, men and women are expected to adhere to a very strictcode of conduct. Male pilgrims wear only two white sheets of cotton, so that all of them, whether rich or poor, look alike. Women have no special dress. They must be covered from head to toe, except that their face is unveiled.The use of cosmetics and soap is prohibited, as is cutting hair and nails. Physical relations are also not permitted. Every Muslim is expected to go for Haj at least once in his life time.The poor and the sick are however, pardoned. Those who cannot undertake the pilgramage are expected to celebrate Id-ul-Zuha.
The government of India makes provisions for Muslim pilgrims to travel to Mecca. Large numbers can be seen at international airports, waiting for their flights.