"Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, la ilaha illa Allah. Allahu Akbar wa li Allah Al hamd."
Muslims all around the globe recited this "takbirat al tashriq", on Tuesday while attending the Eid Al Adha prayers. Eid Al Adha is considered the second greatest holiday among Muslims.
Several people who attended the Eid prayers early morning yesterday told Gulf News what Eid signifies for them.
Akbar Onakkal, a Bengali worker at the Dubai Dry Docks at Mina Rashid, explained: "Each year I look forward to the Eid prayer because it strengthens my faith in God. Eid Al Adha brings me peace of mind and makes me forget all my problems. It reminds me that a person should always sacrifice his love for materialistic things and go back to God.
"In Eid Al Adha people learn to give and sacrifice for benefit of the poor. After the prayer, Muslims should carry out animal sacrifice till before the Aser prayer of the third day of the Eid. The same way Prophet Ibrahim sacrificed his Prophet Ismail to the Creator."
Mohammed Ali, an Indian worker at the Dry Docks, expressed his pride and thanked God for being born a Muslim. He said: "I am proud of my religion because it teaches us discipline, faith and good manners. Thus I consider that Al Adha is a significance of sacrifice. It also reminds me of the Prophet Ibrahim when he dreamt that God ordered him to slaughter his son. So the Prophet Ibrahim was ready to sacrifice his own son to God almighty."
Ali believes that Muslims should do the same and sacrifice their love of life and material things and come closer to God in their faith, beliefs and rituals.
Ahsraf Okkuthal, Indian national who works at the Guest House on Jumeirah Beach Road, said: "Muslims need to sacrifice many things in their lives nowadays. I believe that the whole region is in a great danger nowadays because the people are not close to God. God almighty is punishing us because we went far away from our religion.
"I'd like to convey a clear message to all my brother Muslims around the world to come back to God. We have got to stop being self-centralised and material- oriented. We should have room in our souls for God more than we have for our pleasures."
Khalid Jamal Eddine, a Palestinian bank employee said: "I consider that in Eid Al Adha sharing one's food, clothing, wealth, property and comforts with fellow human beings is worshipping God almighty. A Muslim should not be selfish in Adha, therefore he should give more and more to God so that he gets more in return."
Tarek Ibrahim Ahmad, a 23-year-old Egyptian salesman, explained: "Since I was seven years old my father used to take me to the mosque for the Eid prayers. Thus I learned the meaning of Adha as a child, and I owe that to my father who taught me what sacrifice means. Thank God I turned out to be a good Muslim. I intend to invest those teachings in my children as well."
Gulf News 2003
