“We do this because of ibadah (Arabic for obeisance) to God.”

While Muslims celebrate Eid ul-Adha every year, the number of volunteers who help out annually at various mosques around Singapore

has steadily increased as the older generation passes the baton over to the young ones to carry on the tradition and spirit of the festival.

At Sultan Mosque, the number of volunteers – dressed in bright green – make up almost half of the crowd at the ritual compound where the sheep are readied to be sacrificed and given out to members of family, as well as the poor and needy.

For student, Ahmad Elyas, 19, it is his first time volunteering at Sultan Mosque although he has been volunteering since he was 13 at Kassim Mosque and Darul Ghufran in Tampines.

“I learn by watching the elders do it,” he says, referring to how he picked up skills to skin the sheep.

On the other hand, the Daud bin Haji Hassan family has been helping out every year at Sultan Mosque, with several members carrying out various roles during the course of the sacrificial ritual.

Every year on 10 Dzul Hi j jah, Musl ims worldwide commemmorate Prophet Ibrahim’s wi l l ingness to sacri f ice his son in obedience to a command from God. Known as Eid ul-Adha ,

or Hari Raya Haji in Southeast Asia, FARAH ELIAS joins the sacri f ic ial r i tual at Sultan Mosque in Singapore and learns about the act of giving and community spir i t that is brought about during the --

To learn more about Eid ul-Adha, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_al-Adha.

Haji Karim Basuri, 65, mosque caretaker

THE BIG PICTURE

“We used to sacrifice sheep in our family house at Race Course Road but now we help out here,” says undergraduate, Abdullah Aziz, 24, a member of the family and an active helper at the mosque for six years now.

Referring to the family tradition that has been passed down from one generation to the next, he said: “My cousin is the most experienced in my generation. He will shop for the right knives. My father goes to him for advice.”

His cousin, 40-year-old Ghazali Ali, carries a holster with three knives on his hip as he goes around the compound carrying out his duties.

DAY OF SACRIFICE

THE SACRIFICIAL RITUAL (top) Once sacrificed, young volunteers carry a sacrificed sheep to another section, to let the animal die before continuing with the process. Blood from the animal is drained away to the sewers in specially installed manholes within the mosque compound. Muslims believe that slaughtering an animal by Dhahiba - making a swift, deep incision with a sharp knife across the neck; cutting through the wind and food pipe, and main veins and arteries but leaving the spinal cord intact - is the humane approach.

THE WAIT (left) A group of old folks wait in the open as volunteers get food organised and prepare for the mass meal which will mark the end of the day’s events. Cooked in big metal drums, free food is served to the less fortunate and the remaining meat is distributed. When sheep are sacrificed, one-third of the portion goes to the family, another third is given to relatives and the final third is given to the poor.

read the full story in today’s afternoon edition

“I lose track after a while but I slaughter around a hundred each year,” says Ghazali, who has been helping out every year since he was six years old.

Old-timer, Haji Karim Basuri, 65, who works as a caretaker at the mosque, says that his ‘gang’ will come down to help out every year without fail.

Haji Karim’s two dozen mates who come down yearly, hail from his childhood and are kampong folk he grew up with.

“We do this because of ibadah (Arabic for obeisance) to God,” he adds.

“In Islam, we believe that these sacrificed animals are inhabitants of heaven”, he adds thoughtfully, gesturing to

SHEEP IN A PEN (right) Sultan Mosque was Singapore’s

first to receive its 194 sheep three days ahead of the korban ritual.

The batch of 1,900 sheep was flown in from Perth, Australia, but the flight was delayed due to the

longer route the Singapore Airlines plane had to take because of the

Mount Merapi volcanic ash.

THE STAGES (below) A volunteer prepares a skinned sheep to be chopped up by the butcher. Professional skinners

are also hired by the mosque to remove the fur and innards, which

are discarded. Each sacrificed sheep is tagged so that when the meat is packed, it is handed over

to the right owner who bought it to be sacrificed. Cattle are required to face the Ka’abah - a cube structure located in Mecca, the most sacred

site in Islam - in order to be sacrificed in the name of God.

CALL FOR PRAYER (left) An imam leads the korban by calling everyone present to begin the the sacrificial ritual by reciting the Fatiha - “The Opener” prayer - together. Frantic preparations come to a standstill as everyone present takes a moment to offer personal prayers. Throughout the day, chanting of the Takbir takes place as a declaration of the individual’s faith.

A FAMILY AFFAIR (centre) A mother and her two children wait to meet up with her husband after morning Eid prayers. Men, women, and children typically dress in their best clothing to perform Eid prayers.Wearing white, where possible, is enouraged. Similar to weekly Friday prayers, the Eid prayer is offered in congregation. At the end of the prayer and sermon, Muslims embrace and exchange greetings with one another.

For more on Farah’s works, contact her at farahelias.g@gmail.com

the sheep enclosed in a pen behind the mosque.Abdullah believes that it is important for the younger

generation to get involved. “It’s first and foremost a communal effort, so the younger generation should be the most active.”

“Younger people have the strength and energy while older ones will soon leave us,” he said.