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by Suleiman Bulbulia
For Muslims across the globe it is the season of pilgrimage (hajj) and the season of sacrifice. Our second festival on the Islamic calendar, Eid-ul-Adha (Festival of the Sacrifice), is observed at this time and millions from all parts of the world would have been present in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the annual pilgrimage. Unfortunately, this year as like last year, the pilgrimage is significantly restricted due to the COVID pandemic. The Hajj authorities in Saudi Arabia have curtailed the number of persons allowed to perform the rituals and restricted only to persons living in the Kingdom.
The COVID pandemic has certainly affected millions and those who may have saved a lifetime just to perform the obligations of the fifth pillar of Islam will be very disappointed once again this year not being able to do so.
Additionally, several majority Muslim countries have a quota system for the numbers of pilgrims they can send each year and an intended pilgrim in those countries has to register his or her name years in advance to be in the quota for a particular year.
The hajj rituals and obligatory actions as well as the sacrifices that Muslims, who can afford to do, are all a return to and in commemoration of Prophet Abraham, his wife Hajar and their son Ishmael (peace and blessings be upon them all).
The great prophet Abraham is common to the world’s three major religious groups, commonly referred to as the Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. We all share a link to that great personality, his family and their progeny.
Indeed, the followers of the Abrahamic faiths perhaps constitute the largest faith group in the world today. While Judaism and Christianity trace the line to Abraham through Isaac, Abraham’s second son, Islam traces its lineage through Ishmael, his first son.
Muslims accept that Ishmael was the first born of Abraham and came from the union in marriage to an African named Hajar. Several historians have described Hajar as being an enslaved woman in Egypt.
The scriptures and in particular a verse in Genesis said that God told Abraham He will make Ishmael “a great nation”.
Abraham in following God’s instructions left Hajar and their baby son in the barren desert region of the Arabian Peninsula in the place now known as Mecca and the holiest site for Muslims. It was here that several miracles were experienced as
Hajar and her baby son tried to survive the harsh surroundings. It was from the courage and steadfastness of this woman, an extraordinary example of female leadership and endurance, having to survive and raise a child against all odds that came forth a resilient nation of people ultimately becoming that great nation as promised by God, the Almighty.
It is those initial trials and the resulting actions of this former enslaved African woman that millions of Muslims recreate every year for the last 1400 years following the example and instructions of the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace), a direct descendant of Ishmael, during the hajj.
And similarly it is the intended sacrifice of Abraham’s son Ishmael and his ransom by God with a ram that Muslims the world over engage in annually with the sacrifice of bulls, rams or camels and the sharing of the meat therefrom to the poor and needy. The word ‘Eid’ in Arabic has been translated in the context of the two annual events as ‘Festival’, however Arabic words like the sematic languages tend to have much deeper meanings and can also be translated as “returning to”.
So ‘Eid-ul-Adha’ which is the title given to our current festival can also mean a return to sacrifice. Every year Muslims return to this extraordinary feat of obedience to the Creator and refresh themselves in understanding that everything ultimately belongs to God and we all will return to him one day.
Scriptural lessons, stories and accounts were once an important part of the daily routine of many of the faith practitioners in past generations. Indeed, Sunday school and similar types of activities were important aspects of weekly schedules.
Young people reconnected with the history that helped shaped this world and in a sense reinforced morals and ethics in our consciousness. Much of that unfortunately has been loss in our march to modernity and materialism. And sadly, not replaced with lessons or histories that help us to become better human beings.
The cry also was that much of what was taught even in scripture was through the lens of the colonisers and the narrative of the powers that be. So when one viewed movies or read books that reflected scriptural stories the main characters were often of a particular ethnic persuasion while the villains were portrayed in another colour or race. Such misrepresentations of the historical realities helped in creating the mistrust of such stories as more and more persons became conscious of who they are as human beings, all created equal
by the Creator.
The modern struggle is removing that Euro-centric tainted view of scriptural history and bringing about the honest and correct narrative that truly reflects who these powerful men
and women were and the legacies they left for us and for our future generations.
Geo-politics also helped in creating a sense of division and disunity even amongst the descendants of Abraham. So the pervasive narrative is that the children of Isaac and the children of Ishmael, cousins, were ever bound to be at odds with each other. In some places it is Arabs vs Jews while in others it is Muslims vs Jews and Christians. This push to recreate a feeling of animosity among followers of the Abrahamic faiths is fueled largely by an agenda based on the old colonial mentality of divide and conquer.
It is in Palestine and its occupation that this narrative plays out every day with deadly consequences for the victims. “God’s chosen people having a right of a God-given land” against a people who came from a cast-out brother. Re-interpretation of scripture for personal gain but with grave results.
Descendants of Abraham, whether through Ishmael or Isaac, have an important role to play in bringing about a world of peace, love and renewal through recommitment to the Creator that Abraham steadfastly dedicated himself to.
The Holy Quran tells us: “Surely Abraham was most tender-hearted, God-fearing, forbearing” It is in following the footsteps of Abraham that humanity will find the path to peace.
Suleiman Bulbulia is a Justice of the Peace; Secretary of the Barbados Muslim Association; Muslim Chaplain at the U.W.I, Cave Hill Campus and Chair, Barbados Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition. Email: suleimanbulbulia@hotmail.com
