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More sacrifice than feast
Are we making enough sacrifices in life? This is the question to keep in mind as Muslims in Indonesia celebrate Idul Adha, or the Day of Sacrifice, on Friday
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re we making enough sacrifices in life? This is the question to keep in mind as Muslims in Indonesia celebrate Idul Adha, or the Day of Sacrifice, on Friday.
Those fortunate enough to travel to Mecca will experience firsthand the spiritual journey in Islam’s holy land. Muslims in Indonesia should still have the spiritual experience by observing the rituals, from the mass prayers in the morning to the slaughtering of the livestock, distributing the meat to the poor, and the feasting and celebrating with their loved ones and neighbors.
Idul Adha carries many messages, one of the most important being that in life, we have to constantly make sacrifices in God’s way for the greater good of mankind.
The lesson from the story of Ibrahim and his son Ismail is that we must be ready to part with our most precious possession, say an offspring, if so ordained. It is highly unlikely anyone will ever come to this situation, but the message is clear: Making sacrifices should be part of our daily lives.
As we observe the rituals today, we have to ask ourselves: Have we made enough sacrifices for the good of our family, our community, our nation, or for mankind? This is a question each individual can answer, but one must be truthful to oneself in order to truly experience the spirit of Idul Adha.
The mass poverty we find amid the plenty, the hard struggle that many go through in life while others seem to have it easy, and the greed that we find almost everywhere, suggests that we as a nation have not made enough sacrifices.
For most people, slaughtering a head of cattle is probably all the sacrifice they will make in a year.
Indonesians are good at observing religious rites, but not in living up to the teachings and the values these rites impart.
No one is asked to make the ultimate sacrifice, but taking moral responsibility and being held accountable for one’s actions are some ways of making personal sacrifices for the greater good.
We can think of many instances when our leaders should resign when they have failed in their jobs.
Instead, most fight off any challenge and do anything to keep their positions. They have obviously not grasped the spirit of self-sacrifice. Japanese leaders understand much better the concept of sacrifice as they immediately step down as a matter of honor whenever they fail in their job.
If we in Indonesia can go beyond the symbolic in the rituals today, this country would probably not be in the mess it finds itself in today. Happy Idul Adha.
