Eid Mubarak to all my fellow Muslims! Eid ul Adha or Bakra-ki-Eid is one of two Eids in the Muslim calendar. This year millions of Muslims in Pakistan and all over the world will be celebrating Eid-ul-Adha. In Pakistan alone millions of Muslims will be performing qurbani i.e. sacrificing animals for God Almighty. The meat of the sacrificed animals is divided into three portions. One portion is distributed among the poor, one portion is given to one’s friends, neighbors and relatives and one portion is kept for one’s own consumption. A lot of people in Pakistan are so poor that Eid-ul-Adha is the only time of the year that they get to eat meat.

The lesson of Eid-ul-Azha is that Muslims should be willing to sacrifice anything for Allah. God tested Hazrat Ibraheem alaihi salaam by asking him to sacrifice what was most precious to him – his son. Hazrat Ibraheem alaihi salaam submitted to Allah’s will and prepared to sacrifice his son. But Allah was only testing Hazrat Ibraheem’s devotion so just as Hazrat Ibraheem alaihi salaam was about to perform the sacrifice Allah placed a sheep in place of his son and Hazrat Ibraheem alaihi sallaam sacrificed that sheep.

Eid-ul-Azha is also being celebrated by a lot of Hajis performing Hajj in Saudi Arabia. This year over 2.3 million Muslims are performing Haj. The images coming out of Saudi Arabia strengthen one’s imaan or faith. Indeed each and every Muslim wishes that he too could be present in Saudi Arabia to perform Haj this year. This year is also Hajj-e-Akbar because it included a Friday.

It is amazing how Allah has given the Arabs and Muslims the resources and skill to organize the biggest gathering of humans ever. Managing the flow of more than 2.3 million people is no mean feat. Inshallah will accept all the hajis haj.