|
By: Dr. Ahmad Shafaat
(1987)
 `Eid
Al-Adha falls on the 10th day of the 12th month (Dhul Hijjah) of
the Islamic calendar. This is the day when the pilgrims gather in
Makkah by the millions come, after having completed many of the
essential rites of Hajj, out of ihram and out of the restrictions
that go with ihram (e.g. the restriction against putting on
perfume, cutting nails or cutting beard or other hair).
Ihram
(which consists of two unstitched pieces of white cloth for men and
any modest dress for women) symbolizes kafan, the white sheet in
which the dead are wrapped in preparation of burial. The
restrictions associated with ihram further reinforce this
symbolism. When a pilgrim wears ihram on or before the 8th of Dhul
Hijjah he or she symbolically passes to the OTHER SIDE (of the
grave) and when on the 10th of Dhul Hijjah he or she comes out of
ihram it is like a return to THIS SIDE. At this point the rest of
the Ummah which had stayed behind on THIS SIDE joins the pilgrims
through the festivities of `Eid Al-Adha.
Thus
id al-adha is linked with Hajj, the "fifth pillar" of
Islam just as id al-fitr is linked with fasting, the "fourth
pillar". But unlike id al-fitr which marks the end of fasting,
`Eid Al-Adha does not mark the end of Hajj, which continues until
the 12th or 13th of Dhul Hijjah, two or three days after the start
of `Eid Al-Adha. `Eid Al-Adha is a kind of joining in Hajj by those
who could not make it to Makkah.
This
"joining in" is done in two ways. First, through 'id
prayers. Just as the pilgrims have gathered in Makkah for
remembering Allah in various ways, so also the rest of the Muslims
gather in large numbers in their own cities and remember Allah
through special prayers. Second, through sacrificing an animal.
Just as many pilgrims (i.e. those that perform Hajj at-Tamattu`,
one of three types of Hajj) sacrifice an animal on 10th, 11th or
12th of Dhul Hijjah, so also the Muslims the world over perform
sacrifices on one or the other of the same three days. All other
rites of Hajj are bound with specific places, e.g. Tawaf with the
Ka`bah and Sa`y with the hills of Safa and Marwah. But getting
together and remembering Allah through prayers and Takbirs (calling
'God is greater than anything else) and making sacrificial
offerings is not so bound to any place. So the Muslims all over the
world "join in" Hajj through these two types of actions.
If
id Al-Adha is linked with Hajj in this close way, then its primary
significance must lie in the meaning of Hajj, especially the two
Hajj rites that pilgrims perform during the three days of `Eid
Al-Adha: sacrifice of an animal (Nahr) and stoning of the devils
(rami al-jamarat).
Nahr,
as we all know, commemorates the exemplary manifestation of
obedience and love shown to God by the prophet Ibrahim when he
bowed to God's command and prepared himself to sacrifice the
dearest thing he had in his life, his son Isma`il. Such surrender
to the will of God and love for Him is expected not just of
prophets but of all believers, since all believers are expected to
be "Muslims", meaning those who surrender their wills to
God and all believers are expected to "love God most of
all" (2:165). Nahr is meant to remind us this stage of Islam
and iman (inner conviction), if not to make us strive to reach it.
Nahr
also commemorates the mercy and love that God showed to Ibrahim
when He stopped him before he actually sacrificed his most beloved
son. This mercy and love of God for prophet Ibrahim is a
manifestation of the mercy and love that He has for man generally
and Nahr celebrates it.
The
second Hajj rite during the days of `Eid Al-Adha is stoning of
three pillars that symbolize three devils or three manifestations
of the Devil: batil (falsehood), kufr (rejection of God and His
signs) and Zulm (oppression). This stoning clearly is meant to
remind us of the need of jihad in its various forms against all
kinds of forces of evil, jihad that occupied the lives of all the
prophets and must occupy the lives of all true believers. This
stoning is done again and again on three different days. This is
meant to make the point the battle between good and evil is not a
one time affair but a perpetual one and the believers need to
engage in it throughout their lives with constancy.
It
is interesting to note that although stoning of the devils is done
on three different days, many of us spent our `Eid Al-Adha without
talking or thinking about it even once. Is this a manifestation of
the fact that over the centuries we have somehow managed to remove
from our consciousness the dynamic part of Islam?
`Eid
Al-Adha, like `Eid Al-Fitr is also a time for enjoyment and
entertainment. This is not in contradiction to the extremely
serious lessons taught to us by Nahr and throwing the pebbles. For,
it is quite possible for a person to maintain a very serious
outlook on life and engage in very serious struggle and at the same
time indulge in a little light-hearted entertainment on the side.
Excerpted
with slight modifications from
http://www.islamicperspectives.com
|
