So Said The Promised Messiah (as) — Page 52
It indicates. its relevance to the Holy Prophet, sallallaho alaihi wa sallam, and the Messiah who was to appear. What is that relevance? One, the Roly Prophet Mohammad, sallallaho alaihi wa sallam, is the Prophet of the latter days and his bless- ed person and the time of his appearance were, as if, the time of Eid-uz-Zuha. Every Muslim child knows that the Holy Prophet is the Nabi-i-Aakhiruz-Zaman (the Prophet of the latter days). And this month (the month of Eiduz-Zuha) is also Aakhirush-shohoor (the· last of the months). That is why (I say) that this month has a relevance to the life and the time of the Holy Prophet, sallallaho alaihi wa sallam. The second relevance is that this month is known as the month of sacrifices. The Holy Prophet, sallallaho alaihi wa sallam, also appeared to give a perfect example of sacrifice. Just as you people slaughter goats, camels, cows and ewes, human beings were also slaughtered in the way of Allah the Almighty thirteen centureis ago; that was real and true Eiduz- Zuha and that really was the time when the light of Zuha was shown to the world. The sacrifices that the people now make by slaughtering the animals are not the kernel; they are the shell. They are not the soul, they are the body (flesh and bones). In this age of comfort and ease, the Eid is celebrated with great joy and. happiness, and luxury. The women wear their jewellery (all that they have), the men put on their best clothes and arrange for the best available food. This day is considered to be a day of enjoyment and comfort; even the most niggardgly person takes meat on this day. So far as the Kashmiris are concerned, it can be said that their stomachs become, so to say, the graves of the goats; the others also do not lag behind. In short, Eid has come to mean a day of making fun and indulging in all sorts of sports. Alas the people do not pay 52