MOSCOW, October 4 (RIA Novosti) - The Feast of the Sacrifice – Kurban Bayram in Turkish or Eid al-Adha in Arabic – is the most important holiday in the Muslim world. It is celebrated on the tenth day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the final month of the lunar Islamic calendar. In 2014, Russian Muslims will celebrate Kurban Bayram on October 4-6, at the end of the hajj – the annual pilgrimage of Muslims from all over the world to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
The word "kurban" is based on the Arabic root QRB which means "approach." Leading scholars believe that the holiday is less about offering a sacrifice than "approaching Allah" by performing this sacred ritual.
The history of Kurban Bayram is rooted in the biblical story of Abraham's sacrifice (or the Prophet Ibrahim in the Quran).
In the Quran version, Allah comes to Ibrahim in a dream and commands him to sacrifice his son. But Allah was only testing Ibrahim, and when Ibrahim raised the knife to his son's throat, he heard a voice say, "Oh, Ibrahim, you have already done what you were asked to." Allah then replaced Ibrahim's son with a lamb. The event is said to have occurred not far from Mecca. Ever since, Muslims slaughter sacrificial animals in commemoration of the Prophet Ibrahim's deed of supreme righteousness and love for Allah.
As not all Muslims can perform hajj, attend the main festivities or offer a sacrifice on the sacred land, Islamic law commands Muslims to perform the ritual wherever they are.
The most devout Muslims observe the voluntary ten-day fast before the Feast of the Sacrifice.
For three weeks preceding the holiday, Muslims are prohibited from celebrating, wearing new clothes or cutting their hair. Preparations for Kurban Bayram begin seven days in advance, with families stocking up on food. The night before Kurban Bayram, or at least part of it, should be spent in prayer.
During the festival, a special prayer glorifying and praising Allah (Takbir) is said following regular prayers on each of the three days. The Takbir is read out in mosques, at homes and in the streets.
Muslims, whether in Mecca or elsewhere, start celebrating Kurban Bayram at dawn. They are advised to rise early and get ready for prayers by cutting their hair and nails, washing and anointing their bodies and dressing in their best clothes. No breakfast is allowed before the namaz. At dawn, Muslims go to mosques for morning prayers and then return home or gather in streets or courtyards to sing the Takbir in chorus. Then they return to the mosque or a special area (namazgah) where a mullah or imam khatib delivers a sermon (khutbah). After praising Allah and His Prophet, the khatib explains the origin of the hajj and the meaning of the ritual sacrifice. Then Muslims normally visit the cemetery to offer prayers for the dead. After that, the ritual sacrifice begins: every believer slaughters a sacrificial animal that has been bought or fattened especially for the holiday. Poor people often pool their money to buy an animal. Large families may slaughter one animal every year for a different member of the family on a rotating basis. Many Muslims make a donation to their mosque equal to the cost of a sacrificial animal instead of slaughtering one.
The time to perform the sacrifice begins immediately after prayers and lasts until sunset on the third day.
A Muslim man who can perform the ritual himself should do so. If not, he should ask someone else to slaughter the animal in his presence.
Muslims believe that animals slaughtered in the name of Allah and the poor will allow them to reach heaven on Judgment Day along a narrow bridge, the Sirat, above the infernal abyss. Muslims can only cross the bridge on the backs of sacrificed animals, which is why each owner marks his animal so that he can find it on the day when the Mahdi, or Messiah, comes to resurrect the dead. Those who fail to offer a sacrifice to God will be unable to gain entrance to heaven.
Only camels, cows (oxen), buffalos, sheep and goats are suitable for sacrifice. A camel or a cow is a sacrifice large enough for up to seven persons, while a sheep or a goat is only enough for one person. Animals may be sacrificed on behalf of the living or the dead.
Sacrificial animals should meet the following age requirements: a sheep or a goat should be at least a year old; a buffalo or a cow (ox) – two years old; a camel – five years old. The animals should be healthy and have no serious defects. Several teeth or a small bit of an ear (no more than one-third) may be missing, but the tail, eyes and other organs should be intact. Fattened animals are preferable.
The cleric of the local mosque – the mullah or muezzin – delivers a special prayer over the animal before the slaughter, recalling Ibrahim's sacrifice. Every Muslim can add his own short prayer: "Bismillah, Allah Akbar" ("In the name of Allah. Allah is Great!"). Then the animal is placed on its left side with its head turned towards Mecca. Often a candy (nabod) is placed in the animal's mouth and removed to bless it. According to Sharia law, the meat of a slaughtered animal is to be divided into three pieces: one for the poor, one for the holiday feast prepared for family, neighbors and friends, and one to be kept by the individual. Food prepared from the meat of sacrificial animals can be offered to non-Muslims, but the animal's meat and skin cannot be traded or sold.
After the animal is slaughtered, the ritual feast begins. As many people as possible should be invited, above all the poor and the hungry. Dishes prepared from the meat of sacrificed animals vary from country to country. The table setting is always ornate, and desserts are plentiful. Alcohol is prohibited by Islam, and to consume it during Kurban Bayram is considered particularly sacrilegious and a great offense to Islam.
It's customary to visit relatives and friends and exchange gifts during and after the Feast of the Sacrifice.
In 2010, in the face of public protests, Moscow authorities banned the slaughter of sacrificial animals in the streets of the capital during Kurban Bayram. Starting in 2011, Muslims in Moscow could choose between ordering the meat of a sacrificed animal, which is properly packaged and delivered for the feast, or attending the sacrifice ritual in a slaughter house located in the Moscow Region.
In 2014, ritual sacrifices will be performed at 14 designated farms and slaughter houses in the Moscow Region, including in the towns of Odintsovo, Kolomna, Noginsk, Podolsk, Solnechnogorsk, Shchyolkovo, Pushkino, Sergiev Posad, Ramenskoye, Balashikha and Domodedovo.
