Sacrifice your ego on Eid-al-Adha

I have a lurking sense of trepidation while writing about Hindu-Muslim unity in these times when jingoism has overwhelmed the country and anyone visiting Pakistan is seen as a traitor. Since I have visited the neighbouring country a number of times as a research student, I have made many Muslim and Hindu friends there.

A few years ago, I was in Lahore on Eid-al-Azha (also called Eid-al-Adha or Bakrid). Since Eid-ul-Fitr is meethi Eid when sheer-khurma and lots of sweet items are relished and eidee is received from elders, Bakrid is seen as a ‘gory’ festival from the perspective of non-Muslims as animals are (believed to be) sacrificed.

Contrary to the notion that all Muslims are hardcore meat-eaters, I have come across many of them all over the world who refrain from eating not just meat but also eggs. Many Pakistani Muslim friends of mine are strict vegetarians, but ironically, most of the Hindus there are non-vegetarians!

Despite being a student of Islamic theology and an interpreter of the Quran and Hadees (teachings of Prophet Muhammad), I was under the impression that even a ‘vegetarian’ Muslim would sacrifice an animal as part of a religious tradition. How mistaken I was! A couple of days before Bakrid, some of my Muslim friends invited me. They included vegetarians and non-vegetarians. When I visited the place to wish them all, I was treated to a sumptuous vegetarian fare. I thanked my stars that no non-veg item was served.

One of my friends, Aafaaq Hussain, told me that they not only avoided meat on Bakrid but also refrained from sacrificing on this occasion. His words have stayed with me, “Jab main kisi jaanwar ka gosht khaata hi nahin hoon toh kisi muqaddas mauqe pe uss ki jaan lene ka mujhe kya haq hai?” (When I don’t eat meat, why should I kill an animal on a pious occasion?).

Today, a section of Hindus in India are demanding that animal sacrifice be banned on Bakrid, but I’ve seen that many Muslims across the world are against this practice. My Arabic professor, Dr Zaifa Ashraf, who was a staunch vegetarian, would often say that the spirit of a holy occasion cannot be tainted with blood and violence. She taught at Al-Azhar, Cairo, which is the seat of Sunni Islam. Even there, many Muslim professors of Islamic theology never sacrificed animals.

A professor of Islamic mysticism would quote Jalaluddin Rumi’s couplet: “Choon azt min shudam khoon-e-zidam/ Mee az naadim khatir-e-deen, dost munbilam” (All creatures are my friends and brethren / So, how can I kill my brother on a pious occasion?).

Many Muslims don’t sacrifice animals on Eid-al-Azha because they believe that it is one’s ego that must be sacrificed. The fundamental idea is to sacrifice or abnegate what’s closest to you. Since many of us have a pronounced ego, it must be sacrificed to the almighty so that we become spiritually enlightened humans.

This is the core message of Bakrid that many Muslims have imbibed and adopted. So, sacrifice your ego. Let’s face it: We don’t know much about other communities. Hatred and bad blood persist because of our prejudices and rank ignorance about ‘others’.