THE festival of Sacrifice or Bakrid, well known as EID-UL-ADHA is celebrated in the last month of the Islamic calendar. This holiday marks the commemoration of the sacrifice of the patriarch Ibrahim (Abraham) who was called upon by Allah to sacrifice his son, as an act of obedience to the Almighty. He was later stopped by God and given a lamb to sacrifice instead.

Even though, things were a bit different this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic plaguing Guyana and the world at large, on Friday, Muslims from all across the country gathered at their respective masjids in adherence with the COVID-19 preventative measures to distribute meat to their family, friends and the less fortunate.
In an Interview with the Guyana Chronicle , Imam , Sheik Moeen Hack , from the Central Islamic oragnisation (CIOG), told this newspaper that this year they were unable to account for the number of people they were expected to distribute meat to due to the COVID-19 guidelines.

He added, that the objective of the sacrifice is not the meat, but is towards the intentions of doing good, while parting ways with whatever the Almighty lends us , in the form of the animal sacrifice for the benefit of the poor and the needy.

He urged his Muslim brothers and sisters to remember that “we all sacrifice to obtain or achieve something that is of greater good, but through this we should not sacrifice our morals for material things , because in death , these things will eventually come to an end.”

Across at the Kitty Masjid, Imaan Sajid Khan delivered the EID message to the Muslim Community, articulating, that “EID-UL ADHA, this year allows Muslims to reflect more on the blessings of the Almighty, by being submissive and thankful in all their doings.“Eid-ul-adha signifies submission and this is a lesson that we learn from the teachings of prophet Abrahim, when he was ordered by God almighty to sacrifice his son and so in place of that sacrifice, he was ordered to sacrifice a ram instead but the test there was to see whether he would submit to God in the form of sacrificing his son. I urge all my brothers and sisters to uphold the significance of this day, which is submission to God and to remember in all situations whether bad or Good, to continue being obedient to God Almighty”.