Islamic Festival of Sacrifice
The festival of sacrifice , also Eid ul-Adha ( Arabic عيد الأضحى, DMG ʿĪdu l-Aḍḥā ), is the highest Islamic festival. It is celebrated at the height of Hajj , the pilgrimage to Mecca , begins annually on the tenth of the Islamic month of Dhu l-Hijah and lasts for four days. Due to the Islamic lunar calendar , the festival of sacrifice can take place at any time of the year; it shifts backwards in the solar calendar by usually eleven days per year.
Together with the ʿĪd al-fiṭr , the festival of breaking the fast at the beginning of the month of Schauwāl , the month following the fasting month of Ramadan , it is one of the most important festivities in the Islamic annual cycle .
meaning
The festival of sacrifice commemorates the prophet Ibrahim ( Abraham ) who, according to Muslim tradition, had passed the divine test and was ready to sacrifice his son Ishmael (cf. Isaac ) to Allah . When Allah saw his willingness and his trust in God, he stopped him. Ibrahim and Ismail thereupon sacrificed a ram full of gratitude among friends and those in need . The story is told in the Koran in sura 37 , 99-113, but the name Ishmael is not used, only the term "son". There is also no mention of the “circle of friends and needy people”.
The Bible tells of the sacrifice of Isaac ( Genesis 22: 1–19 EU ).
procedure
Animal sacrifice
It is customary for devout Muslims to sacrifice an animal to celebrate the festival if they can afford it financially. The meat of the animal is eaten in the family circle, which usually includes relatives and close friends (neighbors); part of the meat is traditionally distributed among the poor and hungry. However, there is a disagreement among Muslim scholars about the duty of this sacrifice ( ḍaḥīya ) . While some scholars, such as al-Kāsānī, categorized sacrifice as compulsory ( wāǧib ) , others see it only as an "established practice" ( sunna muʾakkada ). It is customary to give best wishes to all friends and relatives at the Festival of Sacrifice and to give them some of the meat too. Sometimes people simply sacrifice to thank God.
Depending on regional availability, sheep , but also other domesticated animals such as goats , cattle , camels, are slaughtered in arid regions or water buffalo as in Indonesia. In general, only artifacts - apart from pigs , which are considered unclean - are ritually slaughtered .
Solemn prayer
On the first morning of the Feast of Sacrifice as well as on the first morning of the Feast of the Breaking of the Lent , the mosque or - if available - a specially designated open space ( musallā or eidgah ) is visited to perform the common and special prayer ( salat ) of this feast day, which consists of two rak'at and has the peculiarity that the address ( chutba ) - usually by the imam - takes place after the prayer and not, as with Friday prayer , before the prayer. Participation in prayer is compulsory for the Sunnis; Exceptions apply to believers who are on the pilgrimage to Mecca .
Visiting relatives
A visit to the mosque is usually followed by a visit to the cemetery in order to commemorate his deceased relatives and acquaintances and to read Koran verses and prayers for them, which does not correspond to the Sunnah of the Prophet, but is a tradition in the course of the Celebration has established in different countries. The rest of the day is used to visit relatives and acquaintances. Various dishes and drinks are usually offered in large groups. You give gifts to each other and often to those in need. Both men and women put on particularly nice or new clothes. The house is also completely tidied up and tidied up.
children
It has become common practice that gifts are given to children during the festival of sacrifice; In larger cities there are also fair-like children's amusements with carousels and cotton candy, etc.
Legal status in Germany
Because the festival of sacrifice and the festival of breaking the fast are undisputed among all Muslims and are binding in all Islamic law schools as the most important festivals of Islam, students of the Islamic faith can be exempted from classes on this day in most federal states . This is done through a written notification from the parents, if they are of legal age through their own notification.
For Lower Saxony, for example, according to the decree, schoolchildren who do not belong to a Protestant or Catholic church but to another religious community must be given the opportunity to participate in a religious event of their religious community on public holidays at the request of their legal guardians or adult students . In case of doubt, proof of the holiday in question can be requested from the religious community. Applicants are to be informed by the school that they will have to bear the disadvantages that may be associated with the missed lessons.
The teachers in Rhineland-Palatinate are instructed not to schedule any class or course work or other evidence of performance on both Islamic festivals . A deviation of one day by the respective municipality is tolerated. However, only the main day published in the official gazette is binding.
Similar to Christian holidays, e.g. B. On the day of penance and prayer , which is no longer a public holiday in most federal states, employees can take rest leave for the festival of the sacrifice or apply for unpaid leave.
It should also be noted that the intended slaughter of a sacrificial animal must be reported to the competent official veterinarian for ante-mortem and meat inspection . Slaughtering without stunning ( shafts ) is fundamentally prohibited under German law , but special permission can be granted for religious reasons.
Muslim and Turkish associations such as the Turkish Community in Germany (TGD) have long wanted the introduction of a statutory Muslim holiday in Germany. The festival of sacrifices is often cited as an example: That would be an important signal to the Muslim population, according to press reports the TGD federal chairman Kenan Kolat told the dpa news agency in January 2014 . A future conference on Islam should discuss this proposal .
Festival of sacrifice dates
The first day of the Feast of Sacrifice is / was celebrated on the following dates:
- 2012: October 25th
- 2013: October 14th
- 2014: October 4th
- 2015: September 24th
- 2016: September 12th
- 2017: September 1st
- 2018: August 21
- 2019: August 11th
- 2020: July 31
Note: Islamic holidays begin on the evening before the specified day. Since the Islamic calendar is based on actual new moon sightings, the date may differ by one day depending on the region.
Since the Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, also takes place on the 10th day of a month in a lunar calendar, the situation occurs every 33 years that both holidays are celebrated on the same calendar day. This was last the case in 2014 and 2015. This coincidence of a day of fasting and a celebration of joy is a problem in Israeli mixed cities and requires special preparation so that there are no conflicts between followers of the two religions.
literature
- Gerald Hawting : The Juristic Dispute about the Legal Status of the Animal Offerings on the Feast of Sacrifices . In: Andreas Christmann, Robert Gleave (Ed.): Studies in Islamic Law. A Festschrift for Colin Imber (= Journal of Semitic studies. Supplement 23). Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2007, ISBN 9780199534913 , pp. 123-142.
- Mohammed Rashed: The Festival of Sacrifice (ʿīd-al-aḍḥā) in today's Egypt . Klaus Schwarz Verlag, Berlin, 1998. ISBN 3-87997-267-2 digitized
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ See Hawting: The Juristic Dispute , pp. 123f.
- ↑ Announcement of the Ministry of Education, Science, Youth and Culture of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate from May 26, 2008 Islamic Holidays 2008/2009 (9211 - 51253730) in the Official Journal of the Ministry of Education, Science, Youth and Culture, No. 6/2008 , Page 207
- ↑ See Turkish community wants Muslim holiday . Die Welt , January 25, 2014, accessed May 18, 2016.
- ^ Judy Maltz: Forget about Thanksgivukkah. It's almost Id Kippur . Haaretz , October 3, 2014
