Dr.Mazhar Naqvi
Muslims all over the world are celebrating Eid-Ul-Adha, popularly
known as Bakrid in Indian sub-continent to commemorate Prophet Abraham’s endeavour to sacrifice his own son Ismail for the sake of Allah. The history behind
Eid-ul-Adha reveals that Prophet Ibrahim received a divine command to sacrifice
his son Ismail. Upon receiving the command, he prepared himself for the sacrifice.
Even his son Ismail readily agreed to give up his life when Prophet Ibrahim told
his son about the divine instruction. When the Prophet attempted to sacrifice
his son, Allah spared Ismail’s life miraculously and replaced him with a lamb. The
Almighty Allah also revealed to Hazrat Ibrahim that his "sacrifice"
has already been fulfilled, for he had established that his love for Allah
superseded all other things.
The Holy Qur'an describes and praises Hazrat Ibrahim: "Surely
Abraham was an example, obedient to Allah, by nature upright, and he was not of
the polytheists. He was grateful for our bounties. We chose him and guided him
unto a right path. We gave him good in this world, and in the next he will most
surely be among the righteous." (Qur'an 16:120-121).
To commemorate Hazrat Ibrahim’s outstanding act of sacrifice , believers sacrifice a lamb, goat, ram or any other
animal on Eid-ul-Adha day. During the celebrations , Muslims commemorate and
remember Prophet Ibrahim’s by themselves
slaughtering an animal. The meat of the sacrificed animal is mostly given away
to needy. The act symbolizes willingness to give up things that are close to
our hearts for the sake of Allah. It is
very important to understand that the sacrifice itself has nothing to do with
atoning for our sins or using the blood to wash ourselves from sin. Believers
should remember the words of Quran : "It is not their meat nor their blood
that reaches Allah; it is your piety that reaches Him." (Qur'an 22:37).The
holy books make it very clear that Allah desires from the believers to
willingly follow his command completely to purify their hearts, faith and cultivate a habit of helping
those in need.
Apart from social impact, Eid al-Adha also has a massive economic effect in any country with
a sizeable Muslim population..Billions of rupees are channelled and redistributed
among the people and the poor believers also get a share in the festivities. The
festival also helps the rural economy as a large number of people rear Goats
and other animals and sells them with profit to those willing to purchase
animals for carrying out the sacrifice. The festival also provides skins and
hides to the leather industry at a considerably low rate that enables the
tannery owners to remain competitive in the global market.
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