Friday July 31, 2020
Kabul (BNA) Eid-ul-Adha or feast of the sacrifice or greater Eid, is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to honor the willingness of prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismael as an act of obedience to Allah, before Allah intervened to provide him with a sheep to sacrifice instead.
The Muslims celebrate the holiday of Eid-ul-Adha, the festival of sacrifice at the end of the Hajj. Eid-ul-Adha in Afghanistan is celebrated on the 10th day of the month of Zul Hijjah of the lunar Islamic calendar.
The two Eids of Fitre and Adha, are considered as the days of blessings for all the Muslims around the world and they make sure that they celebrate these two Eids with grandeur and maximum pleasure. Eid-ul-Adha is celebrated to remind the Muslims and the world of the great sacrifice that Hazrat Ibrahim was willing to present to Allah Almighty.
He expressed his readiness to sacrifice his beloved son Hazrat Ismael in order to make pleased Allah the Almighty. To remember the same, the Muslims in Eid-ul-Adha sacrifice different animals, which are ‘halal’ for them.
Apart from the religious aspect of Eid, there are many social aspects to it, as well. It reminds the people of their important duty towards their fellow being. It is basically an invitation for social interaction and gathering.
Muslims begin their Eid by going to Eid prayer in the Masjids, where they get together, and bow in front of Allah the Almighty without any distinction of social class and differences.
In fact, Eid is not just an occasion to wear new attire; rather it is a message of religious integrity and social responsiveness. It demands that Muslims must feel that the more they become wealthy and influential the more they have to be responsible; not only for the fulfillment of their duties towards Allah, but also towards the people.
They must, in no case forget that they stand equal in front of Allah; the only dominance is of the ones who perform virtuous deeds – the deeds that give the people pleasure, not pain.
But in Afghanistan, behind the cheerful facades, our people live with sadness and tragedy in their hearts. To our unmitigated chagrin, our compatriots are victim of terrorism.
It is, indeed, a matter of great concern that crime is committed against innocent civilians, including women and children, not only in Afghanistan but in many Islamic countries such as Iraq, Syria, Palestine and etc.
Terrorists have turned into an international menace terrorizing all the people on the earth. Moreover, it is a matter of great surprise that the Taliban or ISIS who claim to be religious and follower of Islamic laws, murder some other mullahs and also break the holiness of Masjids by shedding the blood of worshipers. Indeed they are labeling their terrorist acts as Jihad and as an Islamic obligation; the veneer of virtue can never conceal their sinister face and anti-Islamic actions.
Islam neither allows the killing of children and women nor other innocent civilians; it upholds the holiness of sacred places. Moreover, slaughtering human beings or killing non-Muslims who live peacefully in Islamic countries is strongly condemned by Islamic sharia.
The real and meaningful Eid for Afghan people and other Muslims across the globe is the day when everyone can breathe a sigh of relief in a democratic and secure environment. Likewise, happiness will be meaningful for the people when the breadwinners are not worried about a morsel of food and when people are no more fearful of having their earnings snatched by armed and powerful gangs.
The real Eid is the day when the rift between the poor and the rich is removed and people of all races, religions and sects live peacefully beside each other in the country.
Lailuma Noori
