"Where?" asked Ali�s tenyear old brother, Abdullah.
"See that big tree? Its right next to it," replied Ali.
The boys were trying to sight the new moon for the beginning of the
Islamic month of Zulhijjah. Eid would be ten days from the day they
saw the new moon.
"Oh, I see it now," said Abdullah.
"Daddy, can we go tomorrow to buy a goat?" asked Ali.
"Sure, we�ll go tomorrow after the Zuhrprayer," replied their father.
The next day, all of the boys got in to the car with their father.
They were going to the neighboring hills to buy a goat to slaughter on
the day of Eid in commemoration of whatProphet Ibrahim (Abraham),
alayhi salam, did.
"We�re going to bring the goat home this time," said their father,"so
you will have to takecare of it and feed it. You can also play with
it."
"Yahoo! I�ll take care of it," said Ali, "I�ll even teach it tricks!"
The boys and their father finally found a goat and took it home. The
next day, Ali woke up early long before the time he used to wake up.
He washed and dressed, then went outside to play with the goat. His
brothers Usmanand Abdullah were already outside playing with the goat.
"Assalamu alaikum," they said together.
"Wa-alaikum as salam," replied Ali.
"We have decided that we will take turns to feed the goat. Everyone
will take care of the goatfor one day. You can be the first one to
feed him," said Abdullah.
"Okay," said Ali, "where is the food?"
"Right here," replied Abdullah, pointing to thefood hidden in a corner.
"Make sure, you give him enough water and hay," said Usman.
Ali then called the goat. The goat came to him obediently and ate the
food. Then he drank a little water.
The boys kept on taking turns until the Eid day. Many times they took
it for walks around their neighborhood. One time, as Abdullah was
getting out of his house to go for the Maghrib prayer, the goat
followed him. Abdullah then had to force the goat back into the
backyard, which the goat resisted very much. The boys started liking
the goat very much.
After the Eid prayer, on the Eid day, the family returned home. It was
time to slaughter the goat.
"D-d-daddy, why are yougoing to k-k-kill the goat?" asked Ali, who was
nearly crying, as his father sharpened his knife.
"We have to kill him, because Allah has ordered us to," came thereply,
"Every Eid-ul-Adha,Muslims all over the world, who can afford,
slaughter a goat, sheep, lamb, cow, or camel. Prophet Ibrahim, alayhi
salam, was ordered by Allah to slaughter his sonas a test. He was
about to do that because it wasAllah�s order, but then Allah provided
him with a ram to slaughter, and Ibrahim, alayhi salam, slaughtered
that. As a commemoration of that great sacrifice, Muslims are asked to
slaughter an animal. You will also be slaughtering an animal when you
grow up."
Ali did not reply but rather watched his father as he slaughtered the
goat. Then he ran into the house, because he could not stand watching
the goat die.
Abdullah went after him and explained everything to him again that his
father had said before. Ali finally understood, but he still seemed
sad.
The boys then helped their father in doing the rest of the work. As he
kept thinking about it, Ali realized he had just learned the
word"sacrifice" now: you giveup something you love for a higher
purpose. He had become happy now because he knew they had killed the
goat because Allah had commanded them to do so. Then he skipped into
his house and started helping his mother clear up the meat.
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