Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid Al Adha or the Feast of Sacrifice, for the second year under precautionary measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, this year Haj is limited to 60,000 pilgrims of Saudi citizens and residents in the country. Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani exchanged Eid greetings with the leaders of the Arab and Islamic World. H H the Amir will perform the blessed Eid prayers with citizens at the Al Wajba prayer ground this morning.
After the Eid prayers in the early morning, people will greet each other and exchange gifts as a mark of forgiveness, friendship, brotherly relations and to reiterate the concept of equality.
The two main aspects of Eid Al Adha is the Haj, which is one of the five pillars of Islam, and the ritual of animal sacrifice, which signifies obedience to Allah and concern for the fellow beings, especially the less-privileged and the marginalised people.
Yesterday, on the 9th day of Dhul-Hijja, the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar, pilgrims from across the world assembled on the Mount Arafat and the whole day praying to Allah for the forgiveness of their sins. In the evening, they left for Muzdalifa for the Magrib and Isha prayers.
During Haj, all the pilgrims wear Irham, a white dress, making everyone appear the same and to signify that in front of Allah there is no prince or pauper. All of them are brothers and sisters joined together to worship Allah the Almighty.
Eid Al Adha marks the culmination of Haj and is celebrated to commemorate Prophet Ibrahim’s devotion and his readiness to sacrifice his son Ismael. After Eid prayers, which is performed in community, people sacrifice animals, the meat of which is divided among the family offering the sacrifice, friends and relatives and the needy. All theses rituals are also a manifestation of compassion and equality preached by Islam.
Islam gives a lot of importance to equality and well being of everyone, wherever they are, as in front of Allah there are no divisions like rich and poor, able and disabled and privileged or otherwise. Islam places a lot of emphasis on practising what is being preached, so it is a practical religion which strives for the welfare of everyone irrespective of nationality or ethnicity.
It is also a religion of tolerance which is evident from its concern for others as is mandated by Allah. So, as we celebrate, let us dig deep into the meaning of Eid Al Adha and try to live that spirit. As the pandemic is still not over, following health measures will keep everybody safe.
