a malaysian abroad

Yesterday, Muslims all over the world celebrated the Eid-ul Adha.  In Malaysia, we call it Aidil Adha, or Hari Raya Korban, or most commonly, Hari Raya Haji.

First, some translations:  “Eid” means feast or celebration in Arabic, while “Adha” means sacrifice; hence this is the Festival of Sacrifice.  In Malay, “Hari Raya”  means day of celebration.  The addition of “Korban” makes it the Festival of Sacrifice too, while the use of “Haji” turns it into the Festival of Pilgrimage.

Why “sacrifice”?

People familiar with the Muslim or Judeo-Christian tales of prophets of the past will recall the case of Ibrahim / Abraham who had been commanded to offer his only son Ishmael / Isaac up for sacrifice, as a test of his faith and obedience to God.  Just as Ibrahim was about to strike his son, God intervened and revealed that it was a trial.  The son’s life was spared, and an animal (a ram, or lamb, depending on the tale) was sacrificed instead.

Aidil Adha thus commemorates the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God. This is done by carrying out the ritual sacrifice of animals such as lambs, goats, sheep, cows, bulls and camels. Usually carried out after the congregational prayers in the morning, it is not uncommon for the butchering to take place within the mosque grounds.

I have heard people talk about how a pit is dug with a sloping entry, such that the animal is easily led into it, and for the gushing blood to be easily contained. I’ve also been told that the miracle of the event is such that the animals go willingly to their deaths. I wouldn’t know about that …

So what do they do with the meat? It is divided into three portions: one for the poor, one for the relatives and neighbors, and the last for the person who supplied the animal. Thus, a large portion of the meat must be given towards the poor and hungry people so they can all join in the festivities. This is touted as concrete affirmation of what the Muslim community ethic means in practice.

Why Pilgrimage?

Every year millions of Muslims make the journey to Mecca in Saudi Arabia to perform the Haj: this pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th day of Zulhijah of the Muslim lunar calendar. During this time, pilgrims perform a series of rituals, which include walking counter-clockwise seven times about the Kaaba, stoning the Devil, and standing vigil on Mount Arafat. On the 10th, pilgrims perform an animal sacrifice to commemorate Ibrahim’s experience as described above: the rest of the world celebrates with them.

In recent years, the celebration of Hari Raya Haji has been dampened by news of pilgrims’ deaths due to stampedes, fires, and other issues created by the massive amount of people carrying out their religious obligations. Crowd control techniques continue to be implemented, but I certainly don’t envy the Saudi government this responsibility.

Most of Malaysia takes one day off for this event. The more “pious” states of Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Terengganu take two days off.

In general, the celebration in Malaysia is simple: devotees just go to the mosque to attend special prayers in the morning (this is in addition to the five regular prayers), which is followed by a sacrifice/haj-related sermon. They can then stay on and participate in the animal slaying, or, more commonly, they can go back and hold “Open Houses”.  This is a uniquely Malaysian concept where the people celebrating essentially open their houses to visitors throughout the day, where food, drink and camaraderie are served up aplenty.

In the US and Switzerland, this is not a nationally-observed holiday, as Muslims are not a majority demographic.  As such, Muslims usually celebrate within their communities, going to the special prayers at their mosques.  I am unsure whether the sacrifice part is carried out, considering these two countries have pretty strict health and animal protection policies in place.  If anyone can shed some light on this, my readers and I would be grateful indeed!

Cheers,
*lynne*

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