Thursday 20 Dec 2007 is Aidil-Adha. It's celebrated just as merrily as Aidil-Fitri here in my part of the country. However this year I won't be present as my better half and I are going home to celebrate in Kamunting.
I am also sacrificing a cow this year. That's a first. Hopefully it won't be the last.
I just wonder how much the significance of this Holy Day is lost on Malaysian Muslims nowadays. Sure, there's little of the materialism of Aidilfitri and nobody under 12 expects duit raya from the adults. But somehow I always sense something lacking year after year.
Assuming we are all familiar with the history and story behind this celebration, then shouldn't we attempt to go back to the original intentions behind it?
What I see now is so much grandstanding and needless splashing out of money by our prosperous Malaysian Muslims. Going to perform the Haj isn't supposed to be like your annual vacation. It is supposed to be the near culmination and the peak point of our daily devotion to God. Treating it as nothing more than a yearly jaunt and common pilgrimage is not proper.
It is sometimes cringe inducing when I see wealthy Malaysians going to Mekah year after year. Alright, I understand that the pilgrimage has a unique and powerful attraction since it is the House of God they go to. But in many cases I see it as nothing more than waste and pride. Going to Mekah is supposed to bring out the humility in you, but where is the humility when you spend RM40-50k per person for a Haj package that cocoons you in a 5star hotel right at the doorsteps of Masjidil Haram and pampers you like its nothing more than annual vacation?
And would it not be better to use all that money instead towards other causes?
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