Selamat Hari Raya Haji

Two of the most important Islamic holidays of the year are Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha. Brunei as the rest of the world is celebrating Hari Raya Haji or Hari Raya Korban or Eid ul Adha. Do you know the history behind it?

We know Hari Raya Eid ul Fitr or Hari Raya Aidil Fitri as we say in Brunei marks the end of the long fasting month of Ramadan, Eid-ul-Adha marks the end of Hajj, the sacred pilgrimage to the holy city Mecca. Also popularly known as the Festival of Sacrifice, this Muslim holiday Eid-ul-Adha commemorates Nabi Ibrahim’s unselfish act of sacrificing his own son Nabi Ismail to Allah.

The history behind Eid-ul-Adha follows the story of the faithful Nabi Ibrahim, who was instructed by Allah in a dream to raise the foundations of Kaabah, a black stone, the most sacred Muslim shrine in Mecca. Immediately responding to Allah's command, Nabi Ibrahim set off for Mecca along with his wife and son, Nabi Ismail. At that time, Mecca was a desolate and barren desert and Nabi Ibrahim had to face a lot of hardships. However, he supplicated Allah’s commands uncomplaining.

In a divine dream, he also saw himself sacrificing his son Nabi Ismail for Allah’s sake. When he told this to Nabi Ismail, the latter immediately asked his father to carry out Lord’s commands without faltering and assured that he was completely ready to give up his life for God. But miraculously enough, when Nabi Ibrahim was about to sacrifice Nabi Ismail, Allah spared the boy’s life and replaced him with a lamb. And this is what Nabi Ibrahim ultimately sacrificed.

To commemorate this outstanding act of sacrifice (qurbani) by Nabi Ibrahim, people sacrifice a lamb, goat, ram or any other animal on Eid-ul-Adha and give the meat to friends, neighbors, relatives and the needy. People who are away from the holy pilgrimage, Hajj, also carry out this traditional sacrifice. Hence Eid-ul-Adha is also known as the Feast of Sacrifice or the Day of Sacrifice.

Eid-ul-Adha begins from the 10th day of the 12th Islamic month Dhul-Hijjah. But the date of Eid-ul-Adha depends on the visibility of the moon each year. Eid-ul-Adha is known by different names in different parts of the world.

For instance, Eid-ul-Adha is known by the name Hari Raya Aidil Adha in south-east Asia. In Brunei and Singapore, the local name for Eid-ul-Adha is Hari Raya Haji and in Malaysia, people refer to this festival as Id al-Adha and have made it a national holiday there. Indians know Eid-ul-Adha as Id al-Adha or Idu’z Zuha. And in Bangladesh, Eid-ul-Adha is known as Eid-ul-Azha or sometimes even Id al-Adha. But whatever the name, the celebratory spirit of Eid-ul-Adha runs high among Muslims all over the world, the geographical variations notwithstanding.

Selamat Hari Raya Haji to the visitors of bruneiresources.blogspot.com today!