On the 10th of Thul Hijjah, corresponding 16th of October 2013 an important global celebration involving a quarter of mankind will occur. The event, Eid ul-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, ranks as one of the most important on the Islamic calendar. It is a living historical celebration of a momentous act thousands of years ago by the patriarch of the three great monotheistic religions of the world viz. Islam, Christianity and Judaism, Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) peace be upon him.

His supreme trial was to obey the command of Almighty Allah to sacrifice his beloved thirteen year old son who was born when the Prophet Ibrahim peace be upon him was eighty six years of age. On receiving this command, he prepared to submit to Allah's will. When he was fully prepared to implement the command, Almighty Allah revealed to him that his ‘sacrifice' had already been fulfilled. He had shown that his love for Allah Ta’ala superseded all others and that he would lay down his own life or the lives of those precious to him in order to submit to Allah.

In keeping with the above Prophetic Tradition, Muslims commemorate this event each year with the sacrifice of an animal. It is incumbent on those that have the means. Udhiyyah (the act of sacrifice) is a sacred and highly meritorious act and should be done only for the pleasure of Almighty Allah. The meat from the sacrifice is shared with family, friends and the poor. This symbolises willingness to give up things that are of benefit in order to follow Allah's commands and to give up some bounties to strengthen ties of kinship and help those in need.

Eid ul Adha is an annual re-affirmation of our pledge to Almighty Allah, as to how obedience to our Lord is the answer to everything. This means surrendering your life, your whole being, all that you are, all that you have and all that you identify with; to and only for Allah Ta’ala. The Noble Quran mentions, “And who could be of better faith than he who surrenders his whole being unto Allah and is a doer of good and follows the creed of Ibrahim who turned away from all that is false – And Allah chose Ibrahim as His friend.” (Surah 4: Verse 125)