Eidul Azha was around the corner and there was too much excitement in the air. Everyone could sense the Eid vibes, so when the Zilhaj moon was sighted, Saem started persuading his father to get his goat. He had already prepared and cleaned the place for his goat, near the fence of his garden and had even bought the sheet to cover the area, his goat’s feeding tubs and fodder, etc.

Saem had a good friend, Saad, who was his neighbour as well. Saad belonged to a poor family and his parents could not afford an animal for Eid. However, their financial status didn’t interfere in their friendship.

Finally, Saem’s father bought him a lovely white goat, with twinkling brown eyes. Saem named it “Cloudy”, and showed it to Saad. Both friends loved the goat, played with it, took great care and fed it well.

The next day, Saem’s parents bought him four new dresses for Eid, shoes and a pair of sandals, along with some other stuff.

Saad could not even afford one dress, let alone two or three dresses. For him, the most embarrassing part on Eid day was when right after Eid prayers in the mosque, everyone hugged and greeted each other Eid and often talked about the scrumptious treats awaiting them in their homes. At that moment, he usually didn’t have anything to share.

Days passed, and the big day of Eid arrived and the butcher was there to sacrifice Saem’s favourite goat, Cloudy. Soon after the sacrifice, Saem got so upset that he went to his grandma to share his grief with her — the grief of losing Cloudy. His grandma told him that the essence of this festival was to sacrifice what we hold dear, for Allah, and to share what we have with others. There could be just one way to get over this grief and that was to share his most favourite things with those in need.

“Just like when you shared your sorrows with me and felt better, you can make your Eid a very happy one by sharing what you enjoy about Eid with others, to make Allah happy,” she explained. She also told him about how Prophet Ibrahim A.S. was willing to make a big sacrifice to please Allah.

All of a sudden, Saem thought of his friend Saad. He remembered that Saad didn’t go shopping and so had no new clothes, and didn’t have an animal to sacrifice too. It made him realise that he could make Saad happy by sharing his things and multiplying their happiness together.

“I got it, grandma!” Saem exclaimed, jumping up. He hurried to his room and picked out two of his new Eid dresses and asked his mum to give him some meat from their sacrificed goat so that he could give it to Saad. With his parents and grandma, he walked to Saad’s house to surprise him and make him happy.

When Saad opened the door of his house, he couldn’t believe that Saem was there with his family. He was surprised as well as nervous. Both families greeted each other. Saad’s family was delighted to have them over. Saem’s mum invited Saad’s family for a special Eid dinner that night and Saem handed over the gifts he had brought to his friend. It was a beautiful and joyful Eid for both the families, and Saem discovered the right way to enjoy Eidul Azha.

That night, both Saem and Saad could not sleep in excitement. This certainly was their best Eid ever!

Published in Dawn, Young World, June 29th, 2023