My Easiest Eid ul Adha Ever

_{Henna design on my niece's hand, Image by Author}

Eid ul Adha on Easy Mode

This Eid ul Adha felt like I played it on easy mode. Every previous Eid was much tougher. Let me compare and explain the culture of Eid ul Adha.

_{Henna design on my niece's hand, Image by Author (Yes, I have 3 nieces and I can apply henna ;))}

Typical Eid ul Adha Routine

For most people, Eid ul Adha involves waking up, bathing, performing ablution, praying, eating something sweet, and then either sacrificing an animal themselves or hiring a butcher. They divide the meat into three parts: one for the poor, one for relatives, and one for themselves.

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My High-Difficulty Eid ul Ahda

But since I was young, my Eid ul Adha has always been on the hardest difficulty. My family feels a strong urge to help others, probably in our genes. We pool our share with Al Khidmat (Jamaat-e-Islami), meaning we get it in meat form, and they handle buying, slaughtering, and preparing the animal. Where I live, managing livestock is tough due to limited space. Usually, my father and I handle the shares for eight or more people:

List of Shares We Manage

• Our share
• My father’s close friend’s share
• His wife’s share
• His sister’s share
• His sister’s daughter’s share
• His office boss’s share
• My father’s second cousin’s share
• His first wife’s share
• His second wife’s share
• His mother’s share

Extra Shares and Challenges

Sometimes, they add extra shares, like for their deceased parents.

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The Delivery Process

Every Eid, I load eight or more shares into my father’s car from Al Khidmat’s camp, deliver them to each person’s home, some in narrow alleys where the car can’t go, others on the second floor. The meat bags often slip. After dividing, my father and I distribute the poor’s share ourselves (for them as well). My day passes like a delivery truck. At first, I managed, but as I aged, my back started aching, and the work felt harder. We did it to help, not because others couldn’t.

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A Surprisingly Light Eid

This time, Eid felt like my first ever. I used to ask friends about their Eid, and they’d mention BBQ nights. Exhausted, I never joined. But this year, I experienced a normal Eid ul Adha. For various reasons, we didn’t deliver anyone’s share. Maybe because my father had a stroke in February and isn’t fit anymore so no one was comfortable to give us this volunteer responsibility. Some donated their entire sacrifice to Palestine. Whatever the reason, I finally had a light Eid. We picked only our share of meat from Al Khidmat, brought it home, cleaned it, divided it, and finished.

Relief and New Experiences

I’m not sure how much readers are unfamiliar with Eid ul Adha, but skipping the extra volunteer work let me visit friends, and I had so much fun. If you read this far, I salute your patience! If you relate or understand my feelings even a bit, let me know in the comments.