I had started writing this post last
Sunday, to time it with Eid on Monday. But exigencies of work made me keep it
aside without completing it as the relevant time had passed.
A chance remark by a colleague a couple of
days after Eid about not liking this 'festival of slaughter' prompts me to
complete it.
Let me narrate a story.
Many years ago, when Prophets walked on
this earth, there lived a man called Ibraheem. He was in his 80s when he and
his wife Hajara became parents for the first time.
The baby was still nursing when the Lord
commanded Ibraheem to leave his wife and child – Ismail- among the barren
plains of a desert and move on alone to spread His word. Placing his entire
trust in the Lord, Ibraheem did as asked. He left them in an uncultivated
valley which did not have even water for a vast distance. His wife, who was
herself a staunch believer in the Lord, accepted her husband’s decision, since
she believed that the Lord would take care of her and her child.
Within a couple of days, the food and water
that she had was finished, and both mother and child started feeling hungry and
thirsty. Hajara left her child in the valley and started walking briskly between
two nearby mountains trying to look for someone from whom she could get some
food or water. After she had moved between the two mountains seven times, she saw
water coming near her child’s feet, where he had kept hitting the ground with
his heel. (Another tradition also has it that an angel dug the earth near her child,
and water came out).
Hajara had her fill of water and fed her
child, but the water kept coming out, and vegetation grew around it. Soon,
sensing water, birds started circling the area, caravans noticed them and came
to the oasis, creating a settlement in the process.
A few years passed, and Ismail was old
enough to walk and play. Then, Ibraheem had a dream, in which he was told to
sacrifice that which is closest to his heart. He sacrificed forty camels each over
two days, but the dream persisted. Ibraheem realised that the closest to his
heart was his only child, Ismail!
He went to Ismail and told the little boy about
his dream. The child replied, “O father, do as you are commanded, you will find
me patient”.
Ibraheem took his wife and son and moved
towards a nearby place where he planned to sacrifice his son. As he neared the
place, the devil appeared to Ismail and whispered in his ear that his father
was taking him to be killed. Ismail responded by throwing some stones at the
devil.
A few steps later, the devil appeared to
Hajara and tried to appeal to her maternal instincts. Hajara responded the same
way that her son had.
Not one to give up, the devil then tried to
talk Ibraheem out of sacrificing his son, but Ibraheem also hit the devil with
a few stones.
Upon reaching the spot where Ibraheem had
decided to offer his son as sacrifice, he made Ismail lay down and moved his
knife on his son’s neck. However, even after trying to cut his son’s neck
thrice, he could not succeed. Ibraheem threw away the knife in frustration at
not being able to offer the ultimate sacrifice to his Lord. At this moment, he
heard a divine voice saying, “Ibraheem, your Lord has accepted your sacrifice”,
and a sheep was sent down from the heavens to be sacrificed in Ismail’s place.
Eid-ul-Adha - or Eid-ul-Zuha - (Adha -
meaning sacrifice) is a commemoration and remembrance of this willingness to
sacrifice by Prophet Ibraheem (AS) – also referred to as Abraham - and his
family; possibly the greatest sacrifice made by man submitting to the will of
his Lord.
The Lord loved the devotion of his
servants, Ibraheem, Hajara and Ismail so much, that he decreed walking between the
mountains of Safa and Marwa as well as stoning three pillars (Jamaraat) at Mina
at the places where the devil had appeared to Ibraheem and his family an
integral part of the Hajj, or pilgrimage, that is incumbent upon every Muslim who
has the means to perform it. And Muslims across the world are ordered to sacrifice
(not slaughter) an animal to remember the ultimate sacrifice made by their
Prophet, and as an indicator that they would be ready to make whatever
sacrifice required for the pleasure of their Lord.
Hey Mubin,
ReplyDeleteAs always, lucid and thoughtful!
Cheers,
paritosh
@Paritosh - Thanks! Your comment matters a lot to me!
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