Ahmad Lai (facing camera) hugs a member of Masjid Al-Firdaus congregation after the morning mass prayer.
MIRI: It was a moderate Hari Raya Aidiladha celebration here, with local Muslims observing more on the significance of the ‘korban’ (sacrifice) and thanksgiving for all the blessings and good fortunes.
Mosques and suraus across the city hosted Muslims from their respective congregations for the morning Aidiladha prayer, which was followed by a sermon from the ‘imam’ (head of congregation).
Many committees of these centres of worship also conducted the ‘korban’ of cattle – one of the rituals of Aidiladha – on a ‘gotong-royong’ (work party) basis.
Some also choose to hold the sacrifice either today or tomorrow, as the permitted time for the ‘korban’ is from the first day of Aidiladha to the fourth. The dates, on the Hijrah calendar, is from 10 to 13 Zujhijjah – on the Gregorian calendar this year, they fall on Sept 1 to 4, respectively.
The dates 11 to 13 of Zulhijjah are known as the ‘Days of Tasyriq’ – these are among the five days in a Hijrah year that the Muslims are strictly forbidden to fast – the other two are Hari Raya Aidilfitri (first of Syawal) and first day of Hari Raya Aidiladha.
Masjid Al-Firdaus at Taman Tunku here gathered about 1,000 Muslims, including Sibuti MP Ahmad Lai Bujang, who came for the mass morning prayer and the Aidiladha sermon, delivered by Imam Arbi Lai.
In his sermon ‘Iktibar Daripada Pengorbanan’ (Lessons From The Sacrifice), Arbi called upon fellow Muslims to strive in fortifying their belief and devotion to Allah S.W.T., and abandon all things prohibited by Him.
“We must strive to elevate our level of ‘taqwa’ (fear) to Allah. We, the Muslims, would be on the losing side if we were to distance ourselves from Allah due to the temptations from this material world. This would eventually prevent us from practising Islam as our way of life because (due to the temptations), we become confused between our necessities and our wishes,” he said.
Arbi also highlighted the story of Prophet Ibrahim AS whose faith, love and devotion to Allah were steadfast.
“There’s nothing that could compare to the obedience and willingness to sacrifice shown by Prophet Ibrahim to Allah. It is this devotion that we symbolically re-enact as part of observing Aidiladha every year,” he added.
Ahmad Lai later presented a goat to the mosque committee for ‘korban’.
For the Muslim personnel of Battalion 8 of Border Regiment (RS8) at National Service (NS) Camp Sungai Rait here, it is a different kind of sacrifice – they are celebrating Aidiladha with their comrades, away from their families, in the name of duty.
The battalion, which had its first anniversary earlier this year, houses 320 personnel – 190 of them are Muslims.
The Muslim servicemen gathered at Surau Kampung Damai in Sungai Rait for their mass morning prayer together with local villagers, led by Imam Noor Fariza Abdul Samad.
Hari Raya Aidiladha is one of the holiest days for Muslims, which marks the Haj pilgrimage in Mecca performed by millions of Muslims from around the world every year.