the anecdote of the much lesser eid. level of reading: high.
Hari Raya Haji celebrations are really, really getting on a lower scale these days. aside from the usual takbir, prayers and the korban rituals, there's nothing much to anticipate for. but in some countries, even states such as Kelantan, Raya Haji, or Eid ul-Adha is pretty much, in a context, bigger than the earlier-celebrated Eid we understand when the word 'Raya' is mentioned - Eid ul-Fitr. probably the reason to celebrate is kind of much important - commemorating the haj, sacrificing particular animals, the period of reciting the takbir is longer (4 days) and celebrating the story of the man who lived about 4000 years ago, Ibrahim, peace be upon him.
Simply, Ibrahim was one of the most favourite prophet of Allah, or what we know in agama textbooks as Ulul-Azmi. He was even given the honorary nickname, the Khalilullah, meaning the 'friend of God'. Surely and definitely, Ibrahim is the father of the three most giga religions in the world - Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Jews and Christians know him as Abraham. his sons; Ismail, was the father of the Arabs; and Ishak, or Isaac was the father of the Jews. so basically - he's really, really an important guy.
His first wife was Sarah. much to the couple's disappointment, Sarah can't bear children. but of course, Ibrahim didn't whine and complain. realising this, God commanded Ibrahim to go to Egypt, where he met the Pharaoh and freed a slave known as Hajar. Ibrahim married Hajar, after Sarah's consent, and later Hajar conceived a child, known as Ismail.
things went ok for awhile. but then Sarah got fed-up and jealous of Hajar, to the fact that she is barren and Hajar is not. the jealousy and family crisis got up to Ibrahim, much to his worry. to make the long story shorter, God commanded Ibrahim to send Hajar and Ismail to a land far away from where they are staying - Canaan, present-day Palestine and Israel.
so as you all might have knew it, their journey ended at a nowhere land. Ibrahim, unwillingly, left Hajar and Ismail, that time an infant, with limited water and food supplies. Ibrahim then set off back home, leaving his wife and little son hesitatingly. as expected, the supplies went out. Hajar can't give Ismail any milk. Ismail cried. Hajar panicked. things got worse. water none, food none. doomed. well, nearly. desperate, Hajar ran from this particular hill to another to search for water sources or passing caravans - 7 times - but was of no use. Ismail didn't stop crying. Suddenly the archangel Jibril, or Gabriel, came down to them, and using its wings, scraped the ground down. miraculously a gush of water spurts out of the ground, and it never stopped flowing out until today.
the water source was known as Zamzam, as Hajar came to the water and said 'zam, zam' or 'flow, flow' as she gave the water to the crying baby Ismail. it is now confined under the marbles encircling the Kaaba within the Great Mosque compound, but the water can be collected from many pipes and taps within the city of Makkah.
the act of Hajar running back and forth the hills of Safa and Marwa is reenacted as the rite of sa'ie, and is one of the important rituals of the haj.
so Ibrahim went to the land later known as Makkah to pay Hajar and Ismail a little visit. much to Ibrahim's suprise, the land flourished and caravans settled down to fetch water from the Zamzam well. God then commanded Ibrahim and Ismail, now grown-up, to build a sanctuary for Him, a cube-shaped building made of stone to be made His House on the earth, later known as the Baitullah, or the Kaaba.
Allah knew Ibrahim loved his son, Ismail so much. so He decided to give Ibrahim a little test. He then commanded Ibrahim to actually sacrifice Ismail to prove Ibrahim's loyalty and devoutness. Sure, it was shocking (and sounded crazy). But God's command is really, really a big deal. knowing this fact, both Ibrahim and Ismail agreed. Satan was overwhelmed by their uberpiousness and obedience towards God. Allergic to the very faithful, Satan decided to allure Ibrahim from conducting God's command. that is, trying to prevent Ibrahim to sacrifice his son.
Satan waited on the route Ibrahim was going to take to sacrifice his son. Ibrahim didn't tolerate or even considered Satan's offer. Both him and Ismail started to pick up small stones and pebbles and then throw it at Satan with the fullest scale of hatred. Satan ran away.
but he did took a second try. surely Satan holds the whole 'no pain no gain' principle thingy. not far from the earlier encounter, Satan waited for them. still, Ibrahim didn't buy Satan's arguments. the same thing then happened. the stones must've been really hard and spiky, as Satan ran away for the second time.
but Satan decided not to give up and tried again for the third time. as those guys were very hard to be convinced for their level of iman was very high, Satan was prepared to deceive them with the very best assertion. But Ibrahim and Ismail's strong adherence to God killed Satan's words. they then stoned Satan - for the third and the last time. Satan ran away, and this time, for good.
so Ibrahim and Ismail arrived at the chosen site. Sad, he was, but Ibrahim believed he has no choice. Ismail, as a good son, just obeyed. As the knife was going to reach Ismail's neck, Jibril came down to them from the heavens with a kibas, similar to a sheep, and asked Ibrahim to immediately stopped whatever he was doing. Jibril then requested Ibrahim to replace his son with the kibas, and of course, eventually sacrifice it; for God was very much pleased with Ibrahim and Ismail's amount of faith and allegiance.
Relieved and blissful, Ibrahim sacrificed the kibas, and thanked God for the reward. this act of sacrifice happened on the 10th day in the month of Zulhijja in the valley of Mina. To especially remembering this act, Eid ul-Adha is celebrated, and animals are sacrificed as a sign of thankfulness towards God which are then divided among the poor and needy.
The act of stoning the Satan is conducted as a ritual during the haj, and is done at the three jamarat walls in Mina, namely the Ula, Wusta and Aqaba.
there you have it. at the very least, Eid ul-Adha is not that meaningless. so be perky, be upbeat and just hit tomorrow with joy and glee! seriously, every celebration is worth enjoying.
so,
Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha! Eid Mubarak :D
we'll end this year in, plus minus, three hours time. 2006 has taught me a lot of lessons - i'm pretty sure you had yours too. the year was a challenging one, but it holds some of the very best memories i ever had. and some of the worst. changes are of course abundant. we learnt a lot about the lessons of life and pretty much just enjoyed the very last moments of carefree life of schooldays and relatively speaking, childhood. but the good and the bad just balanced things up, so how gloomy or gleaming 2006 was for you, close the year with all the best feelings, put away your calendar with full contentment and have faith. so be ready for next year as we count everything down. and hey, have a very happy 2007. see you next year!
