My first holiday, yay!
I had originally meant to start with a feast day I was more familiar with, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is celebrated by many Christians worldwide on August 15. However, since I'm trying to be timely, I decided to start with Eid al Adha, an Islamic feast that is falls on August 21 this year, at least in the US.
I am not Muslim, nor have I ever celebrated Eid al Adha, but I will strive to be accurate and respectful of all the holidays and feasts I plan to write about on this blog. If anyone who does celebrate these occasions finds anything wrong with my explanations, please, feel free to correct me.
Eid al Adha
Alternate Name: Eid ul Adha, Idul Azha, Id-ul-Zuha, Hari Raya Haji, Greater Eid, Bakr-id (India), Feast of Sacrifice Date: 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah Place: Worldwide; Saudi Arabia, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Turkey, the Philippines, United States, United Kingdom, etc.
Type: Religious
Celebrants: Muslims
Eid al Adha is the most important feast day in Islam, and finishes out the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca that all financially-stable and able-bodied Muslims are required to complete as one of the Five Pillars of Islam. It usually lasts three or four days, depending on the region. It is celebrated on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the twelfth month in the Islamic calendar, which is lunar; this year this corresponds to August 21st in the United States.
Also known as the "Feast of Sacrifice", this holy day commemorates Ibrahim (Abraham)'s sacrifice of his son, as per God's command. As told in the Qu'ran, in the book Surah As-Saffaat 37:101 - 107, Allah commanded Ibrahim to sacrifice the thing most precious to him, his beloved son. Ibrahim obediently prepared to sacrifice him, but then Allah called out to him and stopped him, commending him for being willing to follow Allah's will. Ibrahim and his son -- unnamed in the Qu'ran but traditionally held to be Ibrahim's firstborn, Ishmael -- then offered another "great sacrifice", which some sources say was a ram, or a sheep.
That is why Muslims today observe the feast by sacrificing a cow, ram, or sheep to Allah. Traditionally one third of the meet goes to the poor, one third goes to friends and family, and one third gets kept for the person and their family. It is also traditional to give alms to the poor during this time.
There is a similar story in the Bible, as told in Genesis 22:1-13, where Abraham is commanded to kill his son, explicitly identified as Isaac, his son with his wife Sarah. Genesis also clearly states that Abraham found a ram in a thicket and sacrificed that instead of his son, which might be the "great sacrifice" as mentioned in the Qu'ran.
Well, that's all I have for now. I hope you've enjoyed learning about this holiday. I had certainly never heard of it before I started looking into international holidays. I would love to hear what you all think, and once again, if I have made any mistakes, please let me know.
Eid Mubarak!
References:
https://www.whats-your-sign.com/animal-symbolism-ram.html
https://www.officeholidays.com/religious/muslim/al_adha.php
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+22&version=CEB
https://tsmufortruth.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/quranic-verses-ibrahims-test-of-the-sacrifice-of-ismail-stoning-the-satan-at-jamrat/
https://apologeticsandagape.wordpress.com/2016/10/21/so-why-did-allah-substitute-an-innocent-animal-in-the-place-of-abrahams-son/
https://metro.co.uk/2018/08/20/what-does-eid-mubarak-mean-and-is-there-a-reply-to-the-greeting-on-eid-ul-adha-7860840/
Comments