Editorial
Imbibing the essence of sacrifice
The spirit should go beyond the day
The significance of Eid-ul-Azha, second largest festive occasion in Islamic calendar, is as much spiritual as it is worldly. It is profound in its symbolic manifestation and demonstrative of the ultimate sacrifice Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) was set to perform as an unparalleled example of allegiance to Almighty Allah.
Eid-ul-Azha in a transcendental sense is celebration of life both in our world and in the hereafter not through pleasure-seeking but by a reassertion of values. Limiting observance of the occasion to the mere act of sacrifice is ritualistic whose soul resides in the spirit of giving in service to others.
The core value the occasion emphasises is fellow-feeling reflected through helping the needy in our families, neighbourhood and beyond across the society at large. As a matter of fact, in a country of immense poverty it is a societal duty for the well-to-do to look after the have-nots. Of course, it is a responsibility enjoined by religion on us but no less important would be a self-driven motivation to come in aid of the less unfortunate. The spiritual blends with the mundane there.
In an extended sense, sacrifice should signify a whole lot of ethos such as mutual accommodation, tolerance of dissent and spirit of healthy coexistence. Exchange of Eid wishes between our leaders should be followed through living by the positive spirit that the occasion generates all around.
It is a call to sharing and cementing ties within fraternity and beyond. We would like the rifts in the Islamic world to be healed with peace and unity replacing divisiveness and pulling away in different directions. We know ceasefires in flashpoints take place for a few days of the festival; one only wishes this to lead to permanent peace in Palestine.
At an important mundane level, we should be alive to the need for keeping our homes, streets, villages and cities clean even as we devote ourselves to the acts of sacrifice. Energetic municipal services would have to be blended with the citizens' active cooperation to effectively allay all sorts of health and hygiene concerns.
Wish you Eid Mubarak.
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