Eid Mubarak

while driving home last night, i saw a middle-aged couple with a huge dog in the backseat of their old tattered Maruti 800. my friend and i laughed out aloud wishing for that couple to buy a car big enough for their dog at least. a closer look revealed the dog's real ID... it was a goat or a 'Bakra' to be precise.
at he same traffic signal i could then spot 3 similar cars with similar dog like Bakras in their backseats. i was then sure of the Eid that was around the break of dawn.

the first though that ran my mind was of pity to the innocent soul.
then came to run my phone book to find all possible khans and ahmeds i know.
i remembered with immense please, a personality of immense charm Mr. Shahid Khwaja father of a friend who boarded his school bus from the same stop as i did. their's is a lovely Muslim Family that reminds me of each time the Muslim community is ridiculed as Jehadis.
i wish each one to visit the Khwaja's to see how every muslim might NOT look like a terrorist or be one.

my doorbell rang a few minutes back. i saw at the door, azim khan waiting anxiously with a black polybag in his left hand. this khan is a carpenter by profession and played an integral role in the renovation of my house that is currently on. "Eid Mubarak Miya" he said to me handing over the Qurbaani (the sacrificed Bakra).
khan had come last to settle his financial account with my dad on the pretext that he needed money for Eid tomorrow. Enthusiastically Dad asked him to bring in the Qurbaani.

Even after being a hard-cored non-vegetarian, i had pity over the sweet looking Bakra that gets slaughtered on similar occasions. i then did some homework.

Bakr-Id The feast of Bakr-Id is an occasion to give and to sacrifice. It is a day to thank the Almighty for one's good fortune and to share it with the less fortunate brethren.

Id-ul-Zuha, or Id-ul-Azha, as it is called in Arabic, translates as 'the feast of sacrifice'. Popularly, Bakr-Id is marked by the slaughter of animals as sacrificial offerings, after which the meat is distributed among the needy and deprived.

However, the concept of sacrifice is better understood through a legend from the Old Testament.

Legend:

Legend has it that Allah commanded Hazrat Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail on Mount Mina near Mecca. Ibrahim, unable to see himself kill his son, blindfolded himself and carried out the pronouncement of God. When he took off the blindfold, a lamb lay slaughtered on the altar and his son stood there unharmed.

Ibrahim understood then that this willingness on Ibrahim's part to give up his only son was what God sought, and not the sacrifice of human flesh and blood.

The legend ascertains that all God requires of man is a surrender of his will and self. Like Ibrahim, who willingly surrenders his beloved son to God, a true follower of Islam is expected to sacrifice something that is dear to him.

The animal sacrifices made during Bakr-Id are mainly to provide food to the poor and to commemorate the noble act of Ibrahim. This spirit of sacrifice is what truly underlines the spirit of Bakr-Id. Incidentally, the day also coincides with the day when the holy Quran was declared complete.

Rituals

Bakr-Id is celebrated from the tenth to the twelfth day in the Islamic month of Dhul Hijjah. Every year, while pilgrims to the Mount of Mina make animal sacrifices as part of the pilgrimage rituals, Muslims the world over celebrate Bakr-Id in a similar fashion.

Every true Muslim who possesses wealth equal to or more than 400 grams of gold or is capable of affording two square meals a day, is expected to sacrifice an animal. A goat (also called bakri, hence Bakr-Id), sheep, camel or any other four-legged animal is slaughtered during one of the three days of the festival, and the meat is distributed. The sacrificial offering is divided in three parts - one for the self, another for friends, and the third, most importantly, for the needy. The sacrifice can be offered at any time before the afternoon of the third day.

Festivities mark the first day, when people wear new clothes, offer prayers at the mosque, and greet friends and relatives. Special prayers are offered on all three days. It is said that the celebrations are carried on over three days to ensure that the entire Muslim community partakes in the noble of act of giving and sharing.