THE SPIRIT OF FELLOWFEELING IS THE ESSENCE OF ALL RELIGIONS

On this occasion of Eid al-adha (Bakrid), I want to share a heart-warming memory of religious munificence. About a decade ago, soon after my doctorate degree, I called my professor to show my gratitude . The erudite professor, late Dr Rehan Qadir, and his spouse, insisted that I stay with them on Eid at their Kolkata home.

But in my heart of hearts, I had this extremely uncomfortable feeling that they’d sacrifice a goat as Qurbani. But no such Qurbani took place. Instead, we went to an orphanage and spent time with the inmates distributing clothes and food. I wondered why they didn’t sacrifice a goat on the occasion of Eid. Later, I sent them a letter asking why they refrained from offering a sacrifice on the sacred day.

What Dr Qadir wrote is still etched in my memory. He wrote: ‘No religion can be greater than fellow-feeling and empathy. You were our esteemed guest and we knew that you never touched meat in life. It’d have been terribly uncomfortable for you had we sacrificed a goat. Allah understands the intentions. Moreover, we sacrificed our ardent wish to sacrifice on Eid al-adha, because Allah says , “Sacrifice what’s closest to your heart and dearest to you.”

The spirit of fellow-feeling is the essence of all religions. Creating goodwill is the universal message all religions will always say yes to. Happy Eid al-adha to all.