Id-ul-Zuha: The Festival of Sacrifice
Jawhar Sircar
The festival of Id-ul-Zuha, also known as Eid-al-Adha falls on the 10th day of the month Zul-Hajj
and goes up to four days. It finds mention in the fifth chapter or Surah of
the Holy Quran and it coincides with the descent of Hajj pilgrims from
Mount Arafat, the hill east of Mecca. In Persian, it goes by the name Eyd-e-Ghorban;
in Turkish as Kurban Bayrami; in the Balkans as Kurban Bajram; in
Mandarin Chinese it is Guerbang Jie and the Malaysians and Indonesians
call it Hari Raya Korban, while in Bengali it is Korbanir Eid.
Namaz is
offered at the Eid congregations
before taking breakfast and the Sunnah prayers are followed by the Khutbah
or sermon, after
which the sacrifice takes place. Different local cultures may practice some
variations within the broad structure of Islam like Quranic recitation contests
that are held in a small place called Tabergen in Indonesia, when the Takbir,
or the proclamation of God’s greetings is tried out in every permissible
manner, right from dawn.
Bakr-id often conjures an image of slaughter of numerous
goats, camels, cattle and other animals
but it is worth studying why 150 crore Muslims, which is roughly one
fourth of the human race, engage in this sacrifice with so much passion and
devotion. Large-scale slaughter of animals is not a prerogative of any one
religion and such customs exist elsewhere as well. At the Gadaimai celebrations in Nepal, some 3 to 5 lakh buffalos are reportedly
hacked to death in an open field.
But let us leave blood aside and get to the original legend that centres on Prophet Abraham or Ibrahim, who is at the root of three major
religions of the world: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. He is universally
respected by all three and on this day, Ibrahim was ready to perform the
greatest act of devotion that a human can ever be called to. He was to
sacrifice his own son at the altar, as the Lord had commanded him. Muslims
believe that this was son Ismail, while Jews and Christians insist that he was
Isaac or Ishaq. The Quran also mentions Ismail’[s own devotion and conviction,
as he begged Ibrahim to uphold God’s order and to cover his eyes so that his hands did not tremble. But
when Abraham removed his blindfold, he saw a ram had taken the place of his son,
who was alive, thanks to divine intervention.
This total devotion is at the core of the sacrifice and
Muslims believe the animal is destined for such a religious task. It is chosen
with a lot of care, so that it is free from every defect and even in 1917, CH
Buck noted that "there is considerable sale of the sacrificial animals on
the evening before the festival". It is treated with care, almost like a
member of the family. Abdellah Hammoudi, who camped among villagers in Morocco,
recalled the love with which rural women lined the eyes of the sacrificial
animal with Kohl, as part of a folk ritual. Muslims emphasise on the importance
of sparing the victim undue anxiety and that the sacrificer keeps his knife
away until the chosen moment. The animal
faces the holy Kaba and prayers are read out in the name of the almighty. The knife is
wielded strictly in consonance with the rites of halal.
It is more meritorious for the
sacrificer to carry out the zabah himself or he should at least recite
the sacrificial prayers. This induces a strong involvement and the
strengthening of one’s mind, body and resolve as part of religion. Eid-al-Adha has often been used by rulers to reinforce
their own legitimacy and emperors from Aurangzeb to the Shah of Iran have participated
directely in the zabah in public squares. The rulers of Morocco, for instance, use it
to publicly reaffirm their claim to be the direct descendants of the Prophet
Mohammad. Millions of living
creatures are slaughtered every day at abattoirs all over the world, but those
who partake of their flesh do not sully their hands with blood or even witness
the reality of slaughter.
Surah 22, Verse 37 of the Holy Quran mentions that it
is “neither their flesh nor their blood (that) reach God, but it is piety that
reaches Him”. The substitution of a human by an animal is loaded with multiple
meanings and John Bowen, Anthropologist of Islam says that “it is clear that in
some cultures, the victim represents a person sacrificing an animal and its
flesh stands for his flesh”.
There
are several Muslims who are vegetarian and animal sacrifice is not an
imposition on every person. Islam follows a very strict form of “redistributive
justice” and that ensures compulsory charity, the zakaat. The
sacrificial meat is, therefore, not meant for personal consumption and at least
a third of it is given to the poor and needy. “The skin of the sacrificed
animal can also be donated in the name of God", comments Dr Majida Azad,
"or else it may be sold and the proceeds distributed amongst those who are
eligible for Zakat”.
A
century ago, Jaffer Sharif mentioned in his book Islam in India that
only those who had spare animals or a certain degree of affluence were
commanded to perform this sacrifice, for the greater benefit of society. Sharif
said that “only quadrupeds and only those whose meat is lawful food may be
sacrificed”, but researchers have found that in poorer parts of the east, even
ducks and chickens were sacrificed and shared. Muslims believe that only the
righteous can cross over to heaven on the Pul-sirat, the Bridge of
Death, and Eid sacrifices mattered a lot. This bridge is finer than a hair and sharper
than the edge of a sword and others would fall off it to open jaws of hell.
British
commentators in 19th century India observed that often "seven persons jointly sacrificed" an animal as
"they believed these animals would quickly travel over the Pul-sirat.” An illiterate villager of Malaysia put it so
succinctly when he said: “only one person can ride a goat or sheep (to heaven),
but seven can ride on a buffalo”.
