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Sacrifice and Pilgrimage
There is no shortage of festivals, religious or secular, tn this country as elsewhere in the world. But few can claim to possess the kind of deep significance or demand the kind of commitment from its followers as the festival of Eid-ul-Azha For hundreds of millions of Muslims across the globe, the day means a great deal more than slaughtering animals and having a feast. The act of slaughtering animals itself is nothing more than a reenactment of the supreme sacrifice that the prophet Abraham was ready to make at Allah’s command Abraham was ready to sacrifice his own son Ismail because Allah had commanded him to give up the thing he cherished most On seeing the genuineness of Abraham’s faith in Him. the Ever Merciful replaced the prostrate body of Ismail with that of a lamb It was a supreme test of faith
The modern believer, of course, does not have to put himself through the same kind of test on Eia-ul-Azha He can. and does, show his devotion by sacrificing an anima! in the name of departed dear ones so that their souls may rest in peace The significance of the act of sacrifice lies in its inherent message, and not in the ritual of slaugh ter itself
The question that is often asked, especially in the context of a primarily agricultural and re source-poor country like Bangladesh, is whether there might not be another way of observing Eid ul-Azha. That is. if the essential expression of devotion and sacrifice could not be achieved in a way which did not involve slaughtering of so many animals
There is a school of thought which suggests that it may not be obligatory of every Muslim to sacrifice an animal to observe Eid-ul-Azha. How ever, it is upto Islamic scholars of this country to ponder the point, drawing on their vast knowl edge of the subject and the history of how animal slaughter evolved to form the principal ritual through which devotion is expressed. The most prominent of the country’s tneocratlc scholars can form a board, and debate the point to see If Bangladesh's socio-economic realities cannot be balanced with religious requirements. If the scholars found that the ritual of animal slaughter Is beyond and above the scope of reform, then there would be no point to debate. However, if they came to the conclusion that such slaughters did not form a hard and fast obligation, then there would be scope to Initiate a public discus sion. involving the ministry of religious affairs, leading citizens and socio-political bodies, to find the best way to carry out our religious duties without depleting our meagre livestock re sources. Eitner way. the ulemas would be doing the nation a tremendous service by addressing the issue
The occasion of Eid-ul-Azha brings us to an other issue which Is of far more importance because of the obligatory nature of its observance This Eid Is related to the pilgrimage or Hajj. In the past, particularly during the tenure in office of former president Lt Gen Hussain Muhammad Ershad. we had the unsavoury sight of officials performing hajj at state expense, meaning at the expense of the tax-payers. At the same time, thousands of wouid-be pilgrims could not make it simply because either they did not have the money or they were not lucky enough get on to the lottery. However, with a change in the system of governance from an arbitrary, personalised one to a more representative one. it would perhaps not be too optimistic to hope that "official hajj" would be curtailed. Instead, the government could set aside a fund which could be used to send retired citizens with meagre pensions and little savings to perform hajj. To enable poor citizens to carry out their religious obligations through tax-payers money would be money well-spent.