Published in: The Daily Star
Date: 01 August, 2020

Eid-ul-Azha, the festival of sacrifice, is being celebrated in Bangladesh as the country grapples with the Covid-19 outbreak and floods inflict untold sufferings to hundreds of thousands of people.

Eid-ul-Azha is celebrated on the 10th of Zilhaj to commemorate the true spirit of sacrifice made by Prophet Ibrahim (AS). On this day Prophet Ibrahim had offered to sacrifice his son Ismail, who willingly submitted to the will of his father to please Allah. But the Almighty in His benign mercy spared Hazrat Ismail (AS) and instead sent a ram to be sacrificed. This year, Eid-ul-Azha is being celebrated in a different situation without any outdoor programme and Jamaats at Eid grounds due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The government has taken different safety measures to ensure that the celebration doesn’t worsen the outbreak. It urged devotees to avoid Eidgah or other open places for Eid congregations and offer prayers at mosques while maintaining recommended health guidelines. This year, the main congregation of Eid was held at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in Dhaka instead of National Eidgah while following the hygiene rules. The government suggested disinfecting mosques before the Eid prayer and not rolling out carpets on the floors. The devotees were asked to bring prayer mats from home. Besides, arrangements were made at the entrances of the mosques for washing hands. People offering prayers must wear masks inside mosques and avoid using prayer mats and caps that were stored there earlier.

Children, elderly people, people with physical ailments, and those involved in taking care of the sick were not be allowed to attend the Eid prayer. The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock has issued specific guidelines over sacrificing animals. Local administration, law enforcement agencies, public representatives, staffers of the Islamic Foundation and managing committees of mosques have been implementing the directives. All necessary measures were taken to ensure that the environment is not polluted by the blood and waste material of the sacrificed animal after the qurbani. However, amid the risk of virus infection, thousands of people have already left the capital to celebrate the occasion with their near and dear ones in their village homes.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Bangladesh’s officially confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 2,37,661 in the last updated figures. Floods have hit vast swathes of Bangladesh amid the pandemic. Hundreds of thousands of people are being forced to live under the sky as floods wreak havoc on the cropland, wash away fish enclosures and trigger large scale erosion, putting livelihoods at risk.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/country/news/holy-eid-ul-azha-being-celebrated-1939229