Nearly one month ago, Muslims around the world celebrated the Lesser
Bairam, known traditionally as Eid of breakfast. So, what is
traditionally done during this broadly feted religious occasion? At
its inception, Lesser Bairam signifies the end of fasting Ramadan.
Thence, Muslims recognise the blessing of fulfilling this enormously
righteous deed, the spiritual act of fasting by glorifying, imploring
and sincerely pleading to the divine side, to satisfy their worship
season by accepting their good deeds. Thereof, Muslims as of men,
women and children are encouraged by the prophetic tradition to wake
up early and go to an outdoor field, to witness Eid prayer. It is
highly recommended to witness this prayer, even for menstruous
females. Even though they won’t pray, they are urged to be present to
witness the call of good and faithful gathering, as the wife of the
prophet has taught us. After prayer, the Imam would give a short talk
to people, encouraging them to keep their spiritual motive high. Then,
people leave the field of prayer. As they go, they warmly salute each
other, visit and share breakfast together. During the day, families
gather, friends meet and children play. After this, in nearly seventy
days, comes the Greater Bairam, or Sacrifice Bairam. It is celebrated
on the tenth of Dhu'l-Hijjah, literally the month of pilgrimage. This
day is idiomatically called the day of slaughter,
signifying the mass occurrence of ritual sacrifice of animals on the
morning of that day. After Eid prayer, people are encouraged to go and
sacrifice their animals. They do so in imitation of prophet Ibrahim
peace be upon him, whom has been enjoined by God to sacrifice white
sheep on that day to ransom his only son right then, prophet Ishmael,
peace be upon him. As the animal brought to be sacrificed, it has to
be laid toward Qibla, calmly, comfortably. It shouldn’t see the knife
and the cut truly ought to be, quick, sharp and determined. Children
aren’t suppose to see this until they’re old enough, so they could
understand why this is done. Some people though out of malice accuse
of us of treating animals horribly on that day. I won’t attempt to
refute this fallacious misconception. I will just say to them, well,
come and see. The purpose of sending these out is to widely educate
people across the western world about the truth of this religion and
how it’s practiced by mainstream Muslims worldwide. Note, it is not an
attempt to convert people unless someone is genuinely interested, he
or she could then contact me and discuss the matter privately. It’s
the only way for me to counter the relentless propagation of
Islamophobia activism and its circular furtherance across western
media. So I apologise for sending you all this mass unsolicited post.
Thank you for reading and, if someone has got any question, please,
don’t hesitate to contact me. I am certified in Islamic Theology.
Cordially, Mustafa
