Hello Readers!
It seems everyone knows that Muslims have An Eid – the one right after the month of Ramadan is infamous.
But when last Tuesday rolled around and I yelled out “Eid Mubarak!” on my Facebook, I realized there were quite a few people in my own circle who did not realize that Muslims have two Eids. Which made me think, there are probably a lot more people out their who don’t have a single Muslm in their circle, let alone know what Eid is at all.
But when last Tuesday rolled around and I yelled out “Eid Mubarak!” on my Facebook, I realized there were quite a few people in my own circle who did not realize that Muslims have two Eids. Which made me think, there are probably a lot more people out their who don’t have a single Muslm in their circle, let alone know what Eid is at all.
So here I am blogging!
To take it from the top, I’m going to assume most of everyone is at least familiar with Ramadan but just in case, here is a quick description:
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. During these 30 days, Muslims all over the world fast – abstain from eating, drinking, and sexual activity from sunrise to sunset everyday.
That’s a basic.
Ramadan encompasses so much more though. The spirituality, the unity, it all deserves its own blog post.
Which I wrote just recently! Here’s a link to my Ramadan post if you’re interested in reading more from a personal perspective: http://sobiasiddiqui.blogspot.com/2013/07/didnt-ramadan-just-arrive.html
And here is a link to little site that explains it from a general Muslim/Islamic perspective: http://www.whatisramadan.com/
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. During these 30 days, Muslims all over the world fast – abstain from eating, drinking, and sexual activity from sunrise to sunset everyday.
That’s a basic.
Ramadan encompasses so much more though. The spirituality, the unity, it all deserves its own blog post.
Which I wrote just recently! Here’s a link to my Ramadan post if you’re interested in reading more from a personal perspective: http://sobiasiddiqui.blogspot.com/2013/07/didnt-ramadan-just-arrive.html
And here is a link to little site that explains it from a general Muslim/Islamic perspective: http://www.whatisramadan.com/
After Ramadan, Muslims celebrate Eid-al-Fitr – a celebration to conclude the month of Ramadan. This month includes Eid prayer, meeting with family and friends, breaking out new and clean clothes, eating all day (not in a gluttonous manner of course), and being happy and joyous and celebrating life and the blessings of the month of Ramadan.
Now it seems everyone is aware of this Eid. So when Eid-al-Adha rolls around 2 Islamic months later, I hear this question often “Didn’t Eid just happen?”
Yes, Eid-al-Fitr. But Eid-al-Adha just arrived!
Yes, Eid-al-Fitr. But Eid-al-Adha just arrived!
Eid-al-Adha falls on the tenth day of the month of Dhul-Hijjah. During the first ten days of this month Muslims from all over the world that have traveled to Saudi Arabia are in the process of completing the holy pilgrimage (which we might discuss in a future post, I haven’t decided yet..let me know if you would like to know more and I’ll blog it).
While those who were able to make it to Mecca, Saudi Arabia are completing their pilgrimage – otherwise known as Hajj, the Muslims who remained home
celebrate Eid-al-Adha.
While those who were able to make it to Mecca, Saudi Arabia are completing their pilgrimage – otherwise known as Hajj, the Muslims who remained home
celebrate Eid-al-Adha.
So the point here was: it’s part of a holy month, it’s a holy day, and everything Muslims do in celebration and worship is synonymous with every other Muslim all around the world. In fact one of the biggest, essential, aspects of being a Muslim is the unity that it involves.
But I digress.
So we have the back story, and we know what the first Eid celebrates, so what about this one? What does Eid-al-Adha celebrate?
Eid-al-Adha is a celebration in commemoration to Prophet Ibrahim (known as Abraham biblical-ly). I’m sure most of us, whether we follow an Abrahamic-religion or not, are somewhat familiar with this story but just in case I’ll again give the basics:
Prophet Ibrahim had a disturbing dream of himself, walking his son up a mountain and killing him by running a knife across his neck. At first he chalked it up to a random, albeit disturbing, nightmare. However, as he continued to have this dream again, and again, he realized it was a call to action from God – a call to action as a testimony of his fate. He has this grating mental anguish and tells his son. His son being as devout as his father, agrees that this is a message from God, and agrees that what must be done – must be done.
So they travel up the mountain, Prophet Ibrahim lays his son down, closes his eyes, says a prayer, and runs the knife across his neck.
When he begins to open his eyes with fear and grief, he is instantly relived to see that his dreams really had been a message from God to testify to his devotion, and he and his son passed the test with flying colors. In place of Prophet Ibrahim’s son, the knife had struck cattle (what kind of cattle is debatable. Some say goat, others say it was a lamb).
Prophet Ibrahim had a disturbing dream of himself, walking his son up a mountain and killing him by running a knife across his neck. At first he chalked it up to a random, albeit disturbing, nightmare. However, as he continued to have this dream again, and again, he realized it was a call to action from God – a call to action as a testimony of his fate. He has this grating mental anguish and tells his son. His son being as devout as his father, agrees that this is a message from God, and agrees that what must be done – must be done.
So they travel up the mountain, Prophet Ibrahim lays his son down, closes his eyes, says a prayer, and runs the knife across his neck.
When he begins to open his eyes with fear and grief, he is instantly relived to see that his dreams really had been a message from God to testify to his devotion, and he and his son passed the test with flying colors. In place of Prophet Ibrahim’s son, the knife had struck cattle (what kind of cattle is debatable. Some say goat, others say it was a lamb).
That’s a brief. There’s so much more that goes into this account – the detailed anguish, the detailed dream, the detailed everything. A lot of us read this story today and think “that’s not how dreams work…” So I request that you keep in mind, this was in the day when the monotheistic religion was first beginning to bloom. No one has to believe it, yet I do request a basic respect because this leads into a major religious holiday for Muslims, and this account is highly revered by Christians and Jews alike.
Thank you for your consideration.
Thank you for your consideration.
To continue, it is this account that Muslims celebrate and commemorate on Eid-al-Adha.
Not necessarily the son part, but the devotion and faith that both Prophet Ibrahim and his son had. To be able to put their complete faith in God, especially for such a trying test as this one.
That is what is revered.
Not necessarily the son part, but the devotion and faith that both Prophet Ibrahim and his son had. To be able to put their complete faith in God, especially for such a trying test as this one.
That is what is revered.
So on the day of Eid-al-Adha, Muslims all over the world say a prayer and cut cattle (there are a few technicalities that I won’t go into detail here – such as how to tame the animal, how to cut, etc etc. Again, I can post about it if you request it).
Of the meat then 1/3 is passed out to family and friends (usually, to family and friends who were unable to afford a ‘sacrifice’ – though I like the Arabic word for this better – Qurbani. It’s just a matter of positive and negative connotation).
1/3 is given to the poor, and 1/3 is kept at home.
This day is looked forward to by the masses in Muslim countries because with this day, even the poverty ridden do not go hungry for a few nights.
Of the meat then 1/3 is passed out to family and friends (usually, to family and friends who were unable to afford a ‘sacrifice’ – though I like the Arabic word for this better – Qurbani. It’s just a matter of positive and negative connotation).
1/3 is given to the poor, and 1/3 is kept at home.
This day is looked forward to by the masses in Muslim countries because with this day, even the poverty ridden do not go hungry for a few nights.
Before, my father would cut a goat and a cow here. But because our lifestyle here is so different, we changed it up. My father now does a Qurbani of a goat here, and has his brother do a Qurbani of a cow in Pakistan. That way that entire portion is allotted to the poor there.
The celebration tends to last 3-4 days. The first day is usually the most exhausting. After the Qurbani, and this is an account from my house, my father and I, or my father and brother go out and pass out the 2/3 of the meat here.
My mother cooks half of our house’s portion, and we have people drifting in and out all day.
Again, aside from the meat aspect, it’s about praying together, meeting with family and friends, breaking out new clothes, and giving gifts.
The celebration tends to last 3-4 days. The first day is usually the most exhausting. After the Qurbani, and this is an account from my house, my father and I, or my father and brother go out and pass out the 2/3 of the meat here.
My mother cooks half of our house’s portion, and we have people drifting in and out all day.
Again, aside from the meat aspect, it’s about praying together, meeting with family and friends, breaking out new clothes, and giving gifts.
And taking nonsensical pictures like this one of course.
And that my friends, is Eid-al-Adha in a nutshell.
There is a lot that I have not included because then I do drift into tangents and technicalities. As usual though, feel free to ask questions or request a post.
I hope however, that I have included enough to help you understand what Eid-al-Adha is all about in the Muslim world: why we have two Eids in the first place, and the importance that this one holds, even if it is not mentioned as often.
There is a lot that I have not included because then I do drift into tangents and technicalities. As usual though, feel free to ask questions or request a post.
I hope however, that I have included enough to help you understand what Eid-al-Adha is all about in the Muslim world: why we have two Eids in the first place, and the importance that this one holds, even if it is not mentioned as often.
Again, if you have questions or would like to request a post, please feel free to do so!
Sobia
