Bakrid --- A festival???

With the awareness of the rate of inflow of criticism, I prepare myself to assert again against some cruel custom.

Seventy days after the end of Ramadan (pronounce:Ramazan), i.e. on the tenth day of the month "Dhul Hijja", Eid al-Adha is celebrated. It is claimed to be a festival of sacrifice. A festival to commemorate the sacrifice by Ibrahim (grandfather of wellknown Prophet Mohammed).

Let's check the history.

Ibrahim was living in Palestine with his wife Hajar and son Ismael. It is said that Allah instructed Ibrahim to bring his wife and son to Arabia(The place where Mecca is situated today), leave them in Arabia and go back to Palestine. On learning that Allah sent them to Arabia, Hajar let her husband head back to Palestine with a faith that Allah will take care of them.

A large quantity of food and water exhausted over a period of time and Hajar and Ismael started starving. On Hajar's prayer, Allah obliged them by creating a spring of water near Ismael's foot. It soon turned into a well and Hajar and Ismael could survive by trading the extra water for food and other commodities with the nomads.

Ibrahim came back to Arabia to see his family and surprisingly found them happy.

Allah instructed Ibrahim to devote his most affectionate possession, i.e. his son, Ismael. Ibrahim was about to cut the throat of Ismael and he saw a sheep dead there. Thus his willingness of sacrifice was given due importance and Ismael was gifted with life.

This is where the roots of Bakrid are.

Ibrahim did not cut the throat of sheep. He saw a dead sheep there, but probably the message conceived out of the whole story is, cut the animal, kill it and celebrate.

I am aghast.

How can the very idea be conceived that amputation of innocent poor animal will please any form of god? All religious people would agree to the so called fact that the universe itself is god's creation. Then how can termination of God's creation bring happiness to God? I don't get the whole point.

I was talking to a friend three days back (on the day of Bakrid). He was describing the goats and sheep being slaughtered in his neighbourhood. Some innocent animal is crying and pleading for a breathe of life, how can one even dare to think of celebration???

I may be hurting almost a billion people's sentiments, but I would not refrain from saying that THIS IS INHUMAN, THIS IS CRUEL.

Stop this madness.

This is not even the last way to celebrate.

This calls for mourning and introspection, not celebration.

Think over it.

My vocabulary is too tiny to express the lump in my throat.

I hope, even you feel the same.