I. Id-i-Qurban
Wealthy people are supposed to make the required pilgrimage to Mecca, and at least once in their lives keep the Id-i-Qurban, or feast of Sacrifice, on the tenth day of the month Dhu '1-Hijja at the House of God as Mohammed appointed. But the great majority of Moslems in Khorasan do not have the means to make the pilgrimage, and so they perform the rites of the sacrifice year by year in their own homes. When asked the meaning of the Feast of the Sacrifice, the reply universally given is that it is in memory of Abraham, who tried to offer Ishmael, his son, in sacrifice. The Patriarch several times applied the knife to the throat of his son, but the knife would not cut. Instead it fell from his hand and cut a rock that was lying on the ground. Just then Gabriel brought a sheep, which he told Abraham to offer in place of his son. When he had done this, the blood of the victim went to the sea and became red coral, the horns became amber, and the eyes pearls. The Persians think they are following the precedent set by Abraham in every detail of the sacrifice.
The night before the feast sleep is forbidden. The
gates of heaven are said to be open, and it is incumbent
on Mussulmans to spend the night in worship, preferably
in the mosque, for the sound of their voices raised in
prayer goes above like the buzzing of bees. On this
night the prayer of a worthy person is sure of an answer, and the sin of a sinner is counted less. If one spends the night in prayer he will share in the merit of those who make the pilgrimage to Mecca. Some say that washing one's body is also required (wdjib), others say that it is merely preferable (mustahabh) ^ but all agree that at the return of the Twelfth Imam it will become required. On the morning of the feast no food is to be eaten till one eats the flesh of the sacrifice.
The general rule is that there must be one animal sacrificed for every household. But if several of the members of a household are hd'j'fis, then one animal must be offered by every haj'ji male or female. If the family can afford it, the merit will be greater in every case to offer one victim for every member- of the family, but this is seldom done. If a group of poor people wish to club together to buy an animal, they may do so up to the number of seven, or even to seventy, according to some authorities. If a poor man says in his heart, "Would that I were able to offer a sacrifice !" he will gain the same merit as though he had offered it. It is permitted to borrow money in order to buy an animal, a tradition being brought forward to the effect that Mohammed gave his wife Umm Salma permission to borrow for this purpose. If an animal cannot be found, its price in money may be given to the poor. There is a tradition that Mohammed offered two animals, one for himself and one for any believer who might not happen to have one. And so it is possible for the Mussulman to offer a special sacrifice for Mohammed, or for a friend or member of the family who has died. In this case the merit is credited to the account of the dead person.
The victim may be a camel, sheep, cow, or goat; but
in Khorasan camels are very expensive now, and it is the
sheep that is almost universally chosen for the sacrifice. If a camel is chosen, it must be at least five years old, a cow or goat must be at least one year old, while a sheep must be six months or more. The female camel and cow are to be sacrificed, but if the victim be a goat or sheep it must be an unmutilated male, fat, and not too old and without a flaw. An animal that is branded or blind or lame or sick, or that has a broken horn or a split ear or a bruised hoof will not be accepted, unless no other can be found. It is considered an abomination to sacrifice a sheep that has been raised as a pet in one's house.
