Community Corner
Eid Ul Adha Commemorating Father Abraham’s Sacrifice amid Hajj
Why Muslims around the world celebrate Prophet Abraham's sacrifice during the Hajj pilgrimage and what it still teaches us today
This Ahmadi Muslim will join over a billion Muslims across the globe in celebrating the largest Islamic holiday on Sunday; Eid ul Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice. We commemorate the unrivaled sacrifices of Prophet Abraham and his family (peace be upon them) revered as paradigms and shared ancestors in three major religions; Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. We’re familiar with his readiness to surrender his ego when he was about to sacrifice his only son based on a Divinely revealed dream. However, many don’t know of his actual leaving of Hagar and his infant child Ishmael in the barren desert of Arabia in order to bring life to it (Gen. 21:14, Quran 14:38). There the Patriarch Prophets Abraham and Ishmael raised the foundations of the first House of God on Earth known as the Kaaba in Mecca, originally built by our father Adam. This would become the center of the largest pilgrimage and display of unity on earth; Hajj, a pilar in Islam. This happened through a descendent of theirs who was raised millennias after them to restablish and fulfill their religion of peace and submission. That descendent was the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who brought the religion of Islam and was sent as a mercy to all mankind. These selfless struggles remind us to ensure the rights of others over our own even if we don’t initially understand why, as taught by as the Khalifa of Islam Ahmadiyya, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad. This is why Muslims sacrifice an animal to donate a third to neighbors and another third to the poor. However, Allah reminds us in the Quran that "Their flesh reaches not Allah, nor does their blood, but it is your righteousness that reaches Him" (22:38). Our doors will be open to our neighbors on Sunday to join in on the celebration at 10:30 am in Vasa Park, South Meriden. We wish all a blessed Eid ul Adha Mubarak and look forward to sharing the love.
Chaplain Zahir Mannan
Outreach Director
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
Baitul Aman “House of Peace” Mosque
410 Main Street, Meriden, CT 06451
Cell: 860-670-6402
