Thursday, September 24, 2015 | 4:55:00 PM
Bakr-Eid or Eid al-Adha Mubarakh!!
Bakr-Eid is the second of two religious Eid holidays celebrated by Muslims worldwide each year. Bakr-Eid is an Urdu word and is also known by Eid al-Adha in Arabic, 'īd-e qorbān in Persian, Kurban Bayrami in Turkish and Raya Korban in Malaya! Bakr-Eid comes after the other Eid called Eid al-Fitr. Like Eid al-Fitr, Bakr-Eid begins with a Sunnah prayer of two rakats followed by a sermon called khutbah!
According to Islamic calendar which, is lunar-based, Bakr-Eid falls on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah and continues for four days. In the year 2015, the Islamic Calendar Year is numbered at 1436 and Bakr-Eid is dated to arrive on 25th September 2015 in the Indian sub-continent and on 24th September 2015, in the Arab nations! Bakr-Eid permanently falls on the same day of the Islamic calendar while it’s date on the Gregorian calendar varies over year to year as it is a solar calendar! The lunar calendar is roughly eleven days shorter when compared with the solar one and every year, Bakr-Eid is celebrated on one of nearly 2 to 4 different Gregorian calendar dates among various parts of the planet.
Bakr-Eid signifies to celebrate and honour Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim) on his unbounded disposition to let his son be sacrificed on God's command, and thereafter, on observing his sincerity till the last moment of the sacrifice – the God’s intervention, to stop this process from happening by affirming Abraham that his loss has already been recognised and covered by a ram’s sacrifice.
During the festival men, women and children congregate in large numbers in their respective custom newly made and bought dresses in open fields called ‘Eidgah’ or mosques and offer their Eid prayers to Allah, the Almighty God. Muslims all over the world especially, the wealthy ones, who own domestic animals, let their best fed halal livestock like goats, sheep or camels for sacrifice, symbolising the significance of the majestic decision made by Abraham to offer his only son for the sacrifice before the God!! The meat of the goat which, got sacrificed, is preferably and carefully sectioned into three parts. One part is given to the poor and needy, another part to their friends, neighbours and the relatives and the third section is kept by the family for themselves. Distributing meat amongst the people, chanting of the Takbir out loud before the Eid prayers on the first day and after prayers throughout the four days of Eid, are key features that is annually noticed to make this festival unique. Just before evening people visit important places, buy stuffs in their much-loved bazaars, invite guests and relatives for feast or supper with foods made out exceptional dishes of the sacrificed halal goat and have sweet Savai milk side-dish too in their homes and at restaurants, making the festival still more distinctive!
The story of Bakr-Eid goes like this: When Abraham was 99 years of age, God made his mind to assess his faith towards him before the general people. The main examination of Abraham's faithfulness was to face the command of God to desert the life his most beloved thing, his only son; whom God had himself rewarded to Abraham after his many years of devotional prayers. Abraham decided to fulfil this God's command with a spotless mind but, he could only proceed on his son’s positive accord; which, his son did without any disinclination! It signified that his son had developed high maturity in faith and commitment for Allah and discipline to obey his father without any personal egos. Henceforth, once Abraham made his move to cut his son’s throat, to his own surprise, he found that his son stayed unharmed; and, in his place, Abraham found a goat slaughtered. Abraham had then, passed the test by his willpower to carry out his God's command. Since then, this event is most admirably celebrated as Bakr-Eid by the Muslims all over the World!
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