WAKEEL AHMAD MIR

Dark clouds of Covid-19 loom over this year’s Eid al-Adha, one of the most important festivals of Muslims. Eid is an event of happiness, so we must set aside, at least for the day, the tragedies, woes and sorrows and take part whole-heartedly in celebration. We have to refresh our mood. In a dark night if a ray of light approaches, we should not ignore it.
But the main purpose of this day is its message. Eid al-Bakr reminds us of the sacrifices which Prophet Abraham and his son Ismail performed in the way of Almighty Allah. There was a compelling force of trust and belief which made Abraham ready to cut the head of his son, Ismail, for so was the command of Allah. Eid-al-Adha, thus, conveys to us that we must bow our heads before the orders of our creator. We have to accept the supremacy of Allah. We have to act upon the orders not because our mind or intellect persuades us to do so, but because it is our duty. It seems a bit odd when we put our hopes entirely on god, but the story of Abraham and Ismail is an eye-opener. They surrendered everything before the orders of the Almighty. They had reached the zenith of faith where their mind didn’t dare to question the will of the Almighty.
Though we cannot compare ourselves with the love and faith they had, for it is like holding a candle to the sun, but being humans in general and Muslims in particular, we cannot turn away from these heroes. They are our role models.
Every year as the day of Eid approaches, Muslims all over the world begin to prepare for it with zeal. But this is only one aspect of this blessed opportunity. When we consider Islam as a din, then each and every moment of our life must follow in the principle of Eid. Like a birthday being celebrated every year does not mean that only that particular day is important about our birth.
I would like to conclude by commenting that the crux of Eid al-Adha is to prepare ourselves to sacrifice everything in the way of Allah. Sacrifice comes from love. It is the sense of putting others over oneself. We have to do good without thinking of any reward. We have to keep our hopes on Allah, the best Rewarder. Like the poet has said,

Us ki wo janey use paas-e-wafa tha ki na tha
Tum Faraz apni taraf se to nibhatey jaatey

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