When livestock sellers start putting their sheep on show on the streets from Karachi to Cairo, people know that the Eid al-Adha festival is upon them once again.
Eid al-Adha, or the Greater Feast, is a four-day event associated with the sacrifice rituals and the hajj pilgrimage. It also means new clothes, new movies in the theatres, and more family meetings.
But it is the lambs that remain the centre of attention - at least until their slaughter early on the first day of the feast, after the Eid prayers.
The sacrifice aims at reminding Muslims of the Prophet Ibrahim's (Abraham) willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail to Allah as an act of obedience and submission.
When Ibrahim dreamt he was sacrificing his son, he decided to do as ordered, in the knowledge that God inspires the dreams of prophets.
So when both father and son showed their obedience to God, He saved Ismail and replaced him with a ram. Ever since, those Muslims who can afford to do so are asked to slaughter an animal such as a sheep, camel or goat.
Buying the lamb is a good opportunity for children to know their religion. We regret our children cannot enjoy being around the sheep like we used to, but our only relief is that we get God's blessing for our sacrifice and the kids get to see the cow before it is slaughtered in the morning.
A third of the meat should go to one's immediate family, a third to the poor and the last third to members of the larger family.
Eid al-Adha, which falls annually on the 10th of Zul Hijja, the last month of the lunar Islamic calendar, starts this year on December 9th in Pakistan.
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