A new appreciation
EID-ul-Adha celebrations mark the culmination of Hajj – Muslims’ annual pilgrimage to Mecca. We are mindful that this year, Hajj and Eid-ul-Adha take place during August, a time during which South Africans recognise and celebrate the important role of women in our lives.
It is instructive to note that the symbolic significance of the rites of the Hajj and our celebration of Eid-ul-Adha are intricately connected to the life histories of Prophet Abraham, his son, Isma’il, and the not-so-familiar legacy of his wife Hagar. Prophetic sources inform us that Hagar was an African slave woman and servant of Prophet Abraham’s wife Sara. When Sara was unable to bear him a child, she offered Hagar in marriage to Abraham. Hagar gave birth to a son, Isma’il.
God instructed Abraham to take leave of Hagar and Isma’il in the desert valley of Mecca.
Accepting this divine will, Hagar’s subsequent struggle in search of sustenance for her hungry baby Isma’il is symbolically re-enacted in one of the most significant rites of the Hajj, which is running between the hillocks of Safa and Marwa (Sa’i).
An integral part of the Hajj is thus about retracing the life struggle of a woman. A black, slave woman.
A woman who put her trust in God struggled and persevered until a well of water (Zamzam) emerged at the feet of her crying baby.
Ultimately, in that once-barren valley, a new civilisation was born and the well of zam zam has miraculously continued to nourish the valley of Mecca and its millions of pilgrims annually for more than four centuries now.
Reflecting on the story of the life struggle of Hagar at this time when we celebrate the culmination of Hajj in Women’s Month should inspire us all to recommit ourselves to the struggle for the equivalence and full dignity of women.
It should inspire us to revere and protect our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters and wives, and to be mindful of the many sacrifices they make in nurturing and raising our children.
We should take collective action and strive to eradicate violence against women and children in our society.
On this blessed day of Eid-ul-Adha let us remember all women and children who live with and suffer violence and gender discrimination as their constant companions in South Africa, and elsewhere in world.
Let us use this great day as the starting point for a new consciousness and appreciation of the role of women in the reconstruction of our family lives, our society and our country.
Eid Mubarak – may your entire year be filled with goodness, peace and health.