FESTIVAL OF SACRIFICE.

By Nii B. Andrews.

The Festival of Sacrifice or “Feast of Sacrifice”, aka Eid-el-Kebir( Aid el Adha) is one of the most important celebrations in the Muslim faith.

The feast commemorates Abraham’s submission (Ibrahim in Arabic) to the will of God when God asked him to sacrifice his son Ishmael.

PRAYER TIME; Ablade Glover.

Just as Abraham was about to slit the throat of the Ishmael, Jibarel (the angel Gabriel) replaced him with a sheep.

Since then, every Muslim family has to sacrifice an animal, traditionally a sheep or a ram, but sometimes a cow or a goat to mark the event.

The original incident is recorded in three holy books; the Torah, Quran and the Bible.

PRAYERS TO ALLAH; Ablade Glover, 1979.

The story is known as the Akedah in Judaism (Binding of Isaac) and originates in the Tora, the first book of Moses (Genesis, Ch. 22); it is also recorded in Surah 37 in the Quran.

Tradition dictates that the head of each family performs the sacrifice according to prescribed rites.

One third of the sacrificed animal is then offered to the needy; this is called a “Sadaka” or gift.

SPIRIT OF OBEDIENCE; Suraj Adekela, 2009.

Another third goes to relatives, friends and neighbors; the final third is reserved for the family.

The feast is celebrated 10 days after the sighting of the lunar crescent that announces the month of Dou Al Hijja.

This year the crescent was observed on August 12th (and 2 days later, it was magnificently juxtaposed to Venus – the brightest object in the night sky).

Consequently, this year, the feast will be celebrated on 10 Dou Al Hijja 1439; it begins on the evening of today – August 21 2018.

AT PRAYER; Ablade Glover, 2006.

In the second and third paintings shown above, Glover and Adekela opt for a structured poetic directness by utilizing flowing paint and light; there are also already hints of gestural abstractions from Glover.

The first and last paintings bring these abstractions to a crescendo.

Glover has now transformed the plane of canvas into a sonorous polyphony that captures the deep reverence and piety of our Muslim brothers and sistahs.

Eid Mubarak.

Asalaam Aleikum.

6 thoughts on “FESTIVAL OF SACRIFICE.”

    1. Yes it is indeed very interesting since Iba N’Diaye offers another perspective and precedes Glover.

      Thank you for the reference, NT.

  1. Nice piece of writing.
    I’ve learnt many things today.
    The history behind today & the word “sadaka”….known to me since I was a kid as we had Muslim relatives.
    Interesting read.

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