Hari Raya Haji and Origin

Hari Raya Haji History and Origin Two of the most anticipating day in Islamic calendar is Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha. While the former marks the end of fasting month of Ramadhan Al-Mubarak, Eid-ul-Adha marks the end of Hajj, the sacred pilgrimage to the holy city Mecca. It is compulsory for every able Muslim (as prescribed in the Five Pillars of Islam) to go on a Hajj at least once during his lifetime. Also popularly known as the Festival of Sacrifice, this Muslim holiday Eid-ul-Adha commemorates Prophet Abraham’s unselfish act of sacrificing his own son Ishmael to ‘Rabbul Alamin’, Allah S.W.T. So as Hari Raya Haji is around the corner, it is very nice for us Muslims to recap the history behind it. There were two histories of Hari Raya Haji that Muslims ought to remember. The first one is the history of Prophet Abraham and his son, Prophet Ishmael and the second one is about the history of Prophet Muhammad S.A.W performed Hajj for the first time. Hajj is made compulsory for Muslim in 6 Hijriah, according to the famous Riwayah. In Ayatul 97 of Surah-Al-Imran; On the same year Prophet Muhammad S.A.W with 1500 Muslims set off to Makkah to perform Hajj but they were stopped by Quraisyians and this lead to the Hudaibiah Agreement. For the next year (7 Hijriah), Prophet Muhammad S.A.W with 2000 Muslims were able to perform Umrah. But only on the 9 Hijriah Muslims were able to perform Hajj where Saidina Abu Bakr As-Siddiq lead 300 Muslims to Makkah. The older history behind Eid-ul-Adha follows the story of the faithful Prophet Abraham, who was instructed by Allah in a dream to raise the foundations of Kaaba, a black stone, the most sacred Muslim shrine in Makkah, which the Muslims face during their prayers (salat). Immediately responding to the Lord’s call, Abraham set off for Makkah along with his wife and son, Ishmael. At that time, Makkah was a desolate and barren desert and Abraham had to face a lot of hardships. In a divine dream, he also saw himself sacrificing his son Ismail for Allah’s sake. When he told this to Ismail, the latter immediately asked his father to carry out Lord’s commands without faltering and assured that he was completely ready to give up his life for God. But miraculously enough, when Abraham was about to sacrifice Ismail, Allah spared the boy’s life and replaced him with a lamb. And this is what Abraham ultimately sacrificed.

To commemorate this outstanding act of sacrifice (qurbani) by Prophet Abraham, people sacrifice a lamb, goat, ram on Eid-ul-Adha and give the meat to friends, neighbors, relatives and the needy. http://www.tabunghaji.gov.my/bmv2/urusanhaji.asp?lthmenu=2 http://aishahsjourney.blogspot.com/2005/12/eid-ul-adha-history-and-origin.html