Staff Reporter :
The holy Eid-ul-Azha, the second biggest religious festival of the Muslim community, will be celebrated across the country tomorrow (Sunday) with due solemnity and religious fervor.
The Eid-ul-Azha is celebrated on the 10th day of Zilhajj month of the Hizri calendar as Hazrat Ibrahim (AS), on this day, offered to sacrifice his beloved son Hazrat Ismail (AS) who willingly
submitted to the will of his father to please Almighty Allah some 4,500 years ago.
But the Almighty in His benign mercy spared Hazrat Ismail (AS) and instead sent a ram to be sacrificed.
To commemorate this historic event, the Muslims across the world offer prayers in congregations and sacrifice animals in the name of Almighty Allah on the day. They also offer munajat seeking divine blessings for peace, progress, prosperity and welfare of the Muslim Ummah.
Like other Muslim countries, the Muslim devotees of Bangladesh will celebrate the religious festival tomorrow as per the lunar calendar.
Considering the Covid-19 situation, the Muslim devotees of the country are set to celebrate the Eid festival maintaining the health guidelines.
The Bangladesh government has urged people to maintain social distancing and use face masks to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
The government has declared three days official holiday on Saturday, Sunday and Monday marking the Eid-ul-Azha.
Meanwhile, the Religious Affairs Ministry on July 7 issued a notification urging all authorities concerned to take measures for holding the Eid congregations following the directives issued by the ministry and maintaining the health guidelines.
According to the notification, the devotes have been urged to come to Eidgahs after making ablution at their respective homes.
Hand sanitizer or soap and water must be kept for washing hands at mosques and Eidgahs before entering there. Everyone must wear masks and refrain from using prayer mats and caps reserved in the mosques.
The devotees should maintain social distancing and health protocols while standing in queues for offering prayers and stand at the queue one after another keeping one line gap.
All people have been urged to seek apology to Almighty Allah for getting rid of the global pandemic coronavirus.
Khatibs, Imams, and mosque and Eidgah management committees and local administration will ensure the enforcement of the guidelines.
The main congregation of Eid-ul-Azha will be held at 8.00 am on Eid day at the National Eidgah in Dhaka if the weather remains favourable. In case of inclement weather or any other unavoidable reason, the main Eid-ul-Azha congregation will be held at 9:00 am at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque.
Five Eid jamaats will be held at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha. The first Eid congregations will be held at 7am, said a press release of Islamic Foundation Bangladesh on Wednesday.
The second jamaat will be held at 8am, the third jamaat at 9am, the fourth jamaat at 10am while the fifth jamaat will be held at 11am.
Baitul Mukarram National Mosque senior Imam Hafej Mufti Mizanur Rahman will lead the first jamaat, while Hafej Mufti Muhibullahil Baki Nodvi will lead the second jamaat. Maulana Abu Saleh Patyari will lead the third jamaat, Maulana Muhiuddin Kashem will lead the fourth jamaat while Maulana Mohammad Abdullah will lead the fifth jamaat.
President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina greeted countrymen as well as the Muslims across the globe on the occasion of the holy Eid-ul-Azha.
On the eve of the day, they issued separate messages praying that the holy Eid-ul-Azha brings good for all with the rise of the ideology of sacrifice.
In his message, the President said: “Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) has set an incomparable example of love, obedience and sacrifice to Allah by taking steps to sacrifice his beloved son Hazrat Ismail (AS) at the directive of Allah.”
“Azha means Qurbani (sacrifice),” he said, adding that sacrifice instills the spirit of self-sacrifice into all and also teaches them the spirit of sharing happiness and sorrow with relatives and neighbors, Reports BSS.
The President said this year the Eid-ul-Azha is being celebrated at a time when the world community is distraught witnessing a catastrophe arisen out of coronavirus pandemic as many people are in hardship at different parts of the world, including Bangladesh.
In the last two years, the whole world, including Bangladesh, celebrated Eid-ul-Azha amidst the horrors of the corona pandemic, the head of the state said.
