Eid Mubarak

I woke up on Saturday morning to a strange sound. A moaning, animal sound...
Eid-al-Adha sacrifices had begun.


Over the last few days, the streets of Dhaka have been filled with animals. Huge bulls and cows have littered my neighbourhood streets, inter-dispersed by goats, and at first it seemed entertaining that there were so many animals everywhere in the middle of the city, but then the realization started to hit that all of them would be killed in the street by Sunday for Eid.

Eid-al-Adha is a ‘festival of sacfrice’ that is celebrated by Muslims to commemorate the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God.

Four thousand years ago, the valley of Mecca was a dry and uninhabited place. According to Islamic history, the Prophet Ibrahim was instructed to bring Hajar and their child Ismael to Arabia from the land of Canaan by God's command.

As Ibrahim made ready to return to the land of Canaan, Hajar asked him, "Who ordered you to leave us here"? When Ibrahim replied: "Allah", Hajar said, "then Allah will not forget us; you can go". Although Ibrahim had left a large quantity of food and water with Hajar and Ismael, the supplies quickly ran out and within a few days the two were suffering from hunger and dehydration.

According to the story, a desperate Hajar ran up and down between two hills called Safa and Marwa seven times, trying to find water. Finally, she collapsed beside her baby Ismael and prayed to Allah for deliverance. Ismael struck his foot on the ground, causing a spring of water to gush forth from the earth. Other accounts have the angel Jibral (Gabriel) striking the earth and causing the spring to flow. With this secure water supply, they were not only able to provide for their own needs, but were also able to trade water with passing nomads for food and supplies. When the Prophet Ibrahim returned from Canaan to check on his family, he was amazed to see them running a profitable well.

The Prophet Ibrahim was told by God to build a shrine dedicated to him adjacent to Hajar's well (the Zamzam Well). Ibrahim and Ismael constructed a small stone structure–-the Kaaba--which was to be the gathering place for all who wished to strengthen their faith in Allah. As the years passed, Ismael was blessed with Prophethood and gave the nomads of the desert his message of surrender to Allah. After many centuries, Mecca became a thriving city and a major center for trade, thanks to its reliable water source, the well of Zamzam.

One of the main trials of Prophet Ibrahim's life was to face the command of Allah to devote his dearest possession, his only son. Upon hearing this command, he prepared to submit to Allah's's will. During this preparation, when Satan tempted Prophet Ibrahim and his family, Hajar and Ismael drove Satan away by throwing pebbles at him. To remember this rejection of Satan, stones are thrown during Hajj.

At the time of sacrifice, Ibrahim discovered a sheep died instead of Ismail, whom he hacked through neck. When Ibrahim was fully prepared to complete the sacrifice, Allah revealed to him that his "sacrifice" had already been fulfilled. Ibrahim had shown that his love for his Lord superseded all others: that he would lay down his own life or the lives of those dear to him in order to submit to God. Muslims commemorate this superior act of sacrifice during Eid-al-Adha.

Men, women, and children are expected to dress in their finest clothing to perform Eid prayer in a large congregation in an open area or mosque. Muslims who can afford to do so sacrifice their best domestic animals (usually sheep, but also camels, cows and goats) as a symbol of Ibrahim's sacrifice. The sacrificed animals, have to meet certain age and quality standards or else the animal is considered an unacceptable sacrifice. Generally, sacrificial animals must be at least one year of age.

The regular charitable practices of the Muslim community are demonstrated during Eid -al-Adha by the concerted effort to see that no impoverished person is left without sacrificial food during these days. Poor people were walking up and down my street all day yesterday shouting, 'Allah, Allah', and calling out for meat.

During Eid-al-Adha, distributing meat amongst the people, chanting Takbir out loud before the Eid prayer on the first day, and after prayers throughout the four days of Eid are considered essential parts of the festival.

When I looked out over the balcony yesterday morning, the street was covered with blood and animal carcasses. It was such a surreal thing to watch, as groups of men sliced open and dissected the cows and goats, young boys helping out by running back and forth into the houses, bringing in the severed meat so that the women could start cooking.

People warned me not to go out into the street, nor to watch the sacrifices, but I felt as though I needed to witness this ritual because I’ll probably never be so close to it again. It seemed to go on for hours as I periodically peered over the balcony wall, watching to see if it was still going on.

By the early evening, we had to venture out because I had been invited to my boss’ house for the Eid feast and I invited the British girl I live with to come along. The two of us wrapped ourselves up in our new Eid saris and shuffled out into the street (they are very hard to walk in!) We felt like Japanese geishas in our constricting saris and it took a few attempts to ‘hop’ up onto the rickshaw but before we knew it, we were off, and the streets of Dhaka were covered in people, all carrying Eid meat in bags on their way to give it to friends and family, in keeping with the tradition.

As we arrived at my boss’ house, we gathered in the front room and met some of this close friends and family, but the patriarchal roles ensued. Even though my boss is an incredibly liberal man, it seemed as though all of the women were in the kitchen and the men stayed in the front room, smoking and drinking whisky. Not the collective party atmosphere I was expecting but before we knew it the food was ready and we sat down to endless plates of food and desserts. Now I knew that this festival was about - food.
In a full bellied haze, we rolled home and slept until the next day, waking up to a quieter street with blood nowhere to be seen.