Holy Eid-ul-Azha, the second
greatest religious festival of the Muslims, will be celebrated across the
country tomorrow (Wednesday) with due solemnity and religious fervor. On
Tuesday, the holy hajj was performed in Saudi Arabia in which more than two
million Muslims from across the world, including Bangladesh, took part. At home
the people have already completed all preparations for celebrating the festival
in the traditional way through offering Eid prayers, sacrificing animals,
arranging improved foods and exchanging greetings.
Eid-ul-Azha is known as the 'Festival of Sacrifice'. At the end of the Hajj,
Muslims throughout the world celebrate the festival of Eid ul-Azha for three
days. All concerned are making last minute preparations for the great occasion
to sacrifice cattle, sheep and goats commemorating Prophet Ibrahim's (A)
willingness to sacrifice his son at the command of Almighty Allah. The Muslims
celebrate the festival of Eid- ul -Azha with lot of enthusiasm, enjoying each
and every moment. On this day they dress themselves in new clothes and offer
prayers in congregations and then slaughter the sacrificial animals. The meat of
the sacrificed animal has to be distributed in three equal parts among neighbors
and friends, family members and poor people.
The main spirit of Eid-ulAzha or the 'Festival of Eid' is not only to sacrifice
animals and eat the meat with pleasure, but to sacrifice the ill-feeling, evil
desire, bad thoughts, and greed prevailing in human minds. The prime spirit of
sacrifice or 'qurbani' is to give up everything bad and follow the path of
self-purification.
One of the significant aspects of this great occasion is Eid congregations all
over to offer prayer for the mercy of Allah and also for the peace, unity and
prosperity of the people of the country as well as the Muslim ummah. This
festival symbolizes equality and fraternity of the Muslims as on this day the
Muslims -rich and poor alike- pray to Allah from the same congregation and
embrace each other with a spirit of oneness banishing the barrier of wide social
and economic gap between different sections.
The great Eid-ul-Azha festival has come this year at a time when the people of
the country are groaning under the pangs of a grave economic hardship. Many
people will find it really difficult to celebrate the Eid smoothly due to
skyrocketing prices of food items, other essentials and specially sacrificial
animals. This may cast a cloud of gloom over the festivity of the Eid.
Even then, the Holy Eid-ul-Azha is an occasion of great significance and hence
it will be celebrated universally in the traditional way. It is hoped that the
joy of Eid will reach more or less the doorsteps of all despite the financial
constraints. On this occasion, let us convey our Eid greetings to all our
readers, agents, advertisers, patrons and the people of the country in general.
Eid Mubarak.