Eid Mubarak – Bakra Eid History, Significance And Facts

Bakra Eid or Id-ul-Zuha or Eid -al-adha (‘Festival of Sacrifice’), is a festival of Muslims. It is celebrated with great rejoice, special prayers and exchange of greetings and gifts all around the world. The festival remembers the prophet Ibrahim’s dedication and devotion to Allah when he even agreed to sacrifice his son when God ordered him. 

It signifies the sacrifice of what one loves the most for God. 

 It is called Id-ul-Adha in Arabic and Bakr-Id in the Indian subcontinent, because of the tradition of sacrificing a goat or ‘bakr’ in Urdu. The word ‘id’ derived from the Arabic ‘iwd’ means ‘festival’ and zuha comes from ‘uzhaiyya’ which translates to ‘sacrifice’.

When is Bakra Eid celebrated?

Bakra Eid is one of the most important festivals in the Muslim calendar. It is the latter of two Eid celebrations, the first being Eid al-Fitr, which comes after Ramadan.

Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the twelfth and final month in the Islamic calendar. 

In India, Eid ul-Adha will begin on the evening of Tuesday 20 July and end on the evening of Wednesday,21 July. Whereas in UAE the festival will begin on the evening of Monday, 19 July and last till the evening of Thursday, 22 July. 

As the exact day is based on lunar sightings, the date may vary between countries.

Bakra Eid History

According to the Quran, one day, Allah asked Ibrahim to sacrifice his favourite son, Ismail. Ibrahim agreed unhesitatingly, as did his wife and son. The Devil (Shaitaan) came and tried to dissuade all three. Ibrahim tried to shun him away by pelting Shaitan with stones. Hajj pilgrims still throw stones three times at the Devil pillar in memory of this incident.

Ibrahim blindfolded himself before putting Ismail on the altar at the mount of Mina near Mecca. Then he brought a sharp knife to cut his son’s neck. When he removed his bandage after performing the act, he saw his son standing in front of him, alive. 

Allah saw Ibrahim’s unquestioning faith and absolute devotion and stopped the sacrifice. He sent Jibreel, bearing a sheep for slaughter in place of Ibrahim’s son. 

In commemoration of the sheep sent by Allah through Jibreel, Muslims across the globe sacrifice a goat or sheep in the spirit of sacrifice. 

Bakra Eid Facts

• Id-ul-Zuha is a festival that muslims celebrate with great fervour and enthusiasm in India and the world. 

• Many Muslims wear new clothes and attend an open-air prayer meeting during Id-ul-Zuha.

• Every Muslim owning property worth 400 grams of gold or more is expected to sacrifice a goat, sheep or any other four-legged animal during one of the three days of the festival. This symbolises devotion to Allah and his desires.

• The meal prepared from the sacrifice is distributed in three equal parts. Where one portion feeds the family, the second feeds the relatives and the third goes to the poor and needy. The idea is that no impoverished person is left without meat on the table during Eid al-Adha. 

• The sacrificed animal is referred to as Udiyyah (meaning “the sacrificed” in Arabic). It has to meet a certain set of rules, which include being of a certain age and of the highest quality available.

• People prepare special dishes on Bakrid including Mutton Biryani, Bhuni Kaleji, Mutton Korma, Mutton Keema, Chapli Kebab, Ghosht Haleem and Kheer.

• The festival also marks the completion of Haj (pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia).

•  Millions of Muslims travel to Mecca every year for Hajj, retracing the steps of Ibrahim. 

• The first day of Bakra Eid begins with  the special prayer called Salat ul-Eid

• The giving of charity in the form of money, food or clothes to the homeless or poor is a key tradition of Eid al Adha.

Significance

More than the act of sacrifice, bakra eid is the celebration of Ibrahim and Ismael’s love for Allah. The sacrifice is a gesture that shows that one is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for Allah.  

People saythat even though neither the meat nor the blood reaches Allah, the devotion of his people reaches him.