BAKRID
Eid-ul-Zuha ("Zuha" means sacrifice), Bakrid as it is popularly
known is the day of sacrifice celebrated by Muslims. It falls on the next day of Haj
falling on the 9th of Zilhaj, the last of the Hijri months as
per the lunar calendar.
The Legend :
The origin of Eid-ul-Zuha is traced to the fable around the patriarch
Ibrahim. It so happened that he was directed by Allah, the divine power in his
dream to sacrifice his most precious thing to God. Unable to interpret his dream
correctly, Ibrahim sacrificed his camels to God. But, the unusual dreams recurred asking
for his dearest belonging until a day when Ibrahim decided to sacrifice his dearest son
Ismail. It is on this day that he took his son to the Mount of Mina near Mecca for the
sacrifice. As he blindfolded himself and tried to swish down the blade to sacrifice his
son, Ismail was mysteriously replaced with a he-goat by the divine power and the goat was
sacrificed instead. It is so believed that Ibrahim’s allegiance to the word of Allah
and Ismail’s faith on his father were put to test through this incident.
It is in honour of this test of
faith that Muslims around the world sacrifice an animal on the occasion of
Id-ul-Zuha marking this spirit of sacrifice to show their faith, allegiance and sincerity
towards Allah. In India, goat being the animal widely used for the sacrifice, the occasion
is spoken of in Urdu as Bakhr or Bakri-Id.
The day coincides with the anniversary of
the day when the Holy Quran was declared complete and marks the holy pilgrimage to Haj
at Mecca.
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