EID-UL-ADHA is celebrated on the 10th day of the month of pilgrimage, known as Zulhijjah in Arabic. The Islamic month of Zulhijjah begins with the sighting of the new moon and on the 10th day, Eid-ul-Adha is observed by Muslims in Guyana and worldwide

“Eid-ul-Adha is the day of sacrifice in which we commemorate one of the greatest acts of sacrifice ever done by a human being, and that is the sacrifice of Ibraheem (known as Abraham in English),” said Deputy Imaam of the Queenstown Masjid, Omar Haniff.

At the time, Omar was explaining to the Guyana Chronicle the significance of the observance.

He shared that as detailed in the Islamic holy text, the Qur’an, Ibraheem was asked by God Almighty- Allah, to sacrifice his only son and he willingly submitted. Throughout his life, in fact, Ibraheem was called upon to sacrifice and in his old age when he was granted a son and this son was of age to help Ibraheem, Allah called upon Ibraheem to sacrifice his son.

But Ibraheem was faithful and obedient and was willing to sacrifice his son at the behest of his God. However, the deputy imaam related, as Ibraheem attempted to sacrifice his son, God took away the power of cutting from the blade and his son was replaced by a ram.

This was a test, where Ibraheem had to prove his unwavering faith and having passed this test, he earned the title of “friend of Allah.”

But not only must Ibraheem’s sacrifices be revered, they have also remained lessons which have transcended time and have become one of the tenets of Islam and a guiding pillar of the purpose of life. “In anything — from education, wealth, anything you want to grow in — you show me a great achievement and I will show you a long list of sacrifices,” Haniff posited.

The deputy imaam gave as examples, the students who recently wrote the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations and excelled. The students had worked long hours and sacrificed their time, just so that they could garner excellent grades.

And with this in mind, he explained: “The greatest achievement that we can make as human beings is righteousness — to attain righteousness — and Allah tells us in the Quran, we cannot attain righteousness until we are willing to part with that which we love [and] until we are ready to spend.”

With righteousness as the greatest goal of human beings, the Imaam noted that the absence of this would lead to strife and the misuse of the resources provided by the Lord.

“Islam, as [with] all the religions, aims at developing the human being — making you a better person,” Omar said and further explained that Islam is an action-oriented religion, and in so being, the greatest practical example of sacrifice is that of Ibraheem (Abraham), which all Muslims are encouraged to emulate. With Ibraheem’s sacrifice in mind, Muslims celebrate Eid-ul-Adha in much grandeur, not because it is a jolly time where there is an abundance of meat, but because it represents the time of sacrifice.

The deputy imaam noted that the meat is a representation of the sacrifices that must be given up and it also signifies Muslims’ attempts to eradicate their vices. And with this sacrifice, comes the ushering in of benevolence, kindness and other good qualities and it is for that reason, the meat is divided into three portions. One-third is given to family, friends and neighbours; one-third to the poor and needy and the final one-third is used by the family. Eid-ul-Adha is the second “Eid” festival in the Islamic year. The other, Eid-ul-Fitr, is observed at the end of Ramadan — the auspicious month of fasting.