Bakrid: A festival to value sacrifice

Eid-al-Adha, also known as Feast of the Sacrifice, is celebrated to honour Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his promised son Ismail. Eid-al-Adha is commonly known as Bakrid in Urdu and Hindi. The name stems from the word Bakr meaning goat, which is offered as sacrifice.

History

Ismail was the first son of Abraham, whose mother was Hagar. There are many versions of Ismail’s birth, some of which include a prophecy about his birth. One such example is from Ibn Kathir whose account states that an angel tells the pregnant Hagar to name her child Ismail and prophecies that, "His hand would be over everyone, and the hand of everyone would be against him. His brethren would rule over all the lands." Ibn Kathir comments that this foretells of Muhammad's leadership.

One day, Ibrahim dreamt of being commanded by God to sacrifice the person dearest to him to check his obedience. Ibrahim decided to sacrifice his only son Ismail who was just 13 years old at that time. When Ibrahim revealed to him about God's command, he was surprised to see the boy not defying the fact of being sacrificed. When Ibrahim was about to sacrifice the boy, Allah voiced stating that he need not carry out His order, as he had passed the test of devotion. He was further instructed to sacrifice a lamb instead of his only son. Ibrahim, by the Grace of Allah, was blessed with another son, Is-haaq (Isaac). The history of Haj pilgrimage revolves around the surrender of Ibrahim and his family to Allah. Bakrid is a celebration of ardent faith of the believers in Allah and His word Quran.

Festivities

Joyous festivities and sombre rituals mark this event. From succulent lamb kebabs roasted over hot charcoals, platefuls of biryani, mutton kandahari, shahi mutton qorma, an assortment of mouth-watering indulgences dominate the three-day long festivities.

Thousands of people, dressed-up in white kurta pajama, converge at different mosques and idgahs to offer namaz. After the namaz, adults and children hug and greet each other. The rituals continue at households where people meet each other. Women cook delicious meals for the family and friends.

"The sacrifice can be offered on the first day of the festival at any time later or before the afternoon of the third day. Bakrid continues for three days," said Alam, a resident of Darushifa.

Price rise

This festive season meat traders have become tech-savvy and are selling goats and sheep online via shopping portals like Olx and Quikr for anything between Rs 10,000 and Rs 3 lakh.

In the city, expensive goats and sheep are sold in Chanchalguda, Karwan, Mehdipatnam, Toli Chowki, Darushifa, Mir Alam Mandi, Malakpet etc. The prices range from Rs 30,000 to Rs 3 lakh. Traders said prices had gone up by Rs 2,000.