Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Context and Culture

AAN wishes calm for Afghanistan at Eid al-Adha

AAN Team 4 min

This Eid al-Adha comes at a very troubling time for Afghanistan. War has continued and intensified across the country, leaving a trail of deaths, injuries, displacement and damage on all sides. Equally worrying is the widespread uncertainty and fear about what is coming next. At AAN, we sincerely hope this Eid will help to usher in not just a short-lived respite from the war but also renewed efforts to engage seriously in urgently needed meaningful peace talks and for such talks to conclude in good faith. We share today excerpts from the wisdom of Rumi and Saadi to remind those in positions of influence what it means to look to the plight of the distressed and powerless.

Tilework at the shrine of the eleventh-century Sufi saint Khwaja Abdullah Ansari, Herat. Photo: Said Reza Kazemi, 2021.

Again, many Afghans will have little to celebrate this Eid al-Adha.[1]Eid al-Adha marks the end of the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Literally meaning the Feast of the Sacrifice, Eid al-Adha honours the obedience of the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to … Continue reading Pilgrimages are still not allowed from outside Saudi Arabia due to the Covid-19 pandemic.[2]For a second year running, the hajj pilgrimage has been restricted because of coronavirus-related concerns with the numbers of pilgrims falling from about 2.5 million to 10,000 in 2020 and 60,000 in … Continue reading Far too many families are mourning the deaths or treating the injuries of their loved ones. Those recently displaced will be struggling to find a roof over their heads. Livestock numbers are significantly diminished and many farmers have suffered the loss of their harvests as the country grapples with a severe drought. Those who have lost their livelihoods, their jobs and their savings to the war will be facing economic desperation. Uncertainty about the future and what may be coming next is spreading across the country.

Against this terrifying backdrop of the country seeming to unravel, we sincerely hope that this year’s Eid al-Adha provides not only a brief cessation of the conflict, but also a renewed momentum for meaningful peace negotiations between the government and the Taleban. It is our deeply held wish at AAN that this Feast of the Sacrifice gives a time for reflection that real pilgrimage is, as Rumi says, about shedding one’s arrogance and winning hearts, particularly of those in distress. The Eid is also an occasion for us to remember, in the words of Saadi, that nothing will remain of each of us, particularly those in power, except the good we do, especially to those with far less power.

طواف کعبه دل کن اگر دلی داری

دلست کعبه معنی تو گل چه پنداری

طواف کعبه صورت حقت بدان فرمود

که تا به واسطه آن دلی به دست آری

هزار بار پیاده طواف کعبه کنی

قبول حق نشود گر دلی بیازاری

کمر به خدمت دلها ببند چاکروار

که برگشاید در تو طریق اسراری

گرت سعادت و اقبال گشت مطلوبت

شوی تو طالب دلها و کبر بگذاری

Circle the Kaaba of the heart if you possess a heart [3]Walking anticlockwise around the Kaaba seven times, called tawaf in Arabic, is obligatory for completing the hajj pilgrimage. Kaaba, located in the centre of Islam’s most important mosque, Masjid … Continue reading

The heart is the true Kaaba, the other is just a stone

God enjoined the ritual of circling the formal Kaaba

As a way for you to find a heart

But if your feet walk around the Kaaba a thousand times

And yet you injure a heart, do you expect to be accepted?

Tie the belt of service and become a servant of hearts

And the way to the Mystery may open up within you

If you yearn for holy felicity

Shed your arrogance and become a seeker of hearts

– Rumi [4]Read the entire ghazal poem number 3104 from the book Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi (The Works of Shams of Tabriz) by the thirteenth-century Persian poet and Sufi mystic Mawlana Jalaluddin Muhammad Balkhi, … Continue reading

بس نامور به زیر زمین دفن کردهاند

کز هستیش به روی زمین بر، نشان نماند

خیری کن ای فلان و غنیمت شمار عمر

زان پیشتر که بانگ برآید فلان نماند

Beneath this earth lie men of fame whose days

Existing on this earth have left no trace.

Live well, do good — whoever you are — before

The cry goes out that you are no more.

– Saadi [5]This poem is an excerpt from the anthology Golestan (The Garden) story two, chapter one titled ‘Dar Sirat-e Padshahan’ (On the Manners of Kings) by the thirteenth-century Persian poet Saadi … Continue reading

Inscription of the following poem by Saadi on a wall of the Great Mosque, Herat.
Photo: Said Reza Kazemi, 2021.

خدا را بر آن بنده بخشایش است

که خلق از وجودش در آسایش است

کسی نیک بیند بهر دو سرای

که نفع رساند بخلق خدای

That servant from God will forgiveness obtain,

Through the presence of whom people happy remain.

The good of both worlds the kind person enjoys

Who in bettering people, his moments employs.

– Saadi [6]This poem is an excerpt from the anthology Bustan (The Orchard) story 17, chapter two ‘Dar Ehsan’ (On Mercy) by the thirteenth-century Persian poet Saadi, in Persian here. See: Saadi, Kolliyat-e … Continue reading

References

References
1 Eid al-Adha marks the end of the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Literally meaning the Feast of the Sacrifice, Eid al-Adha honours the obedience of the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to God’s command to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael). However, before he could do so, God is believed to have sent a lamb to sacrifice instead. For this reason, Muslims including in Afghanistan sacrifice animals such as sheep, goats and cows at Eid al-Adha.
2 For a second year running, the hajj pilgrimage has been restricted because of coronavirus-related concerns with the numbers of pilgrims falling from about 2.5 million to 10,000 in 2020 and 60,000 in 2021. Details in these media reports here and here
3 Walking anticlockwise around the Kaaba seven times, called tawaf in Arabic, is obligatory for completing the hajj pilgrimage. Kaaba, located in the centre of Islam’s most important mosque, Masjid al-Haram, in Mecca, is considered bayt Allah (house of God) and therefore the most sacred site in Islam. The Kaaba has long been associated with del (heart) in Persian literature.
4 Read the entire ghazal poem number 3104 from the book Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi (The Works of Shams of Tabriz) by the thirteenth-century Persian poet and Sufi mystic Mawlana Jalaluddin Muhammad Balkhi, also known as Rumi, in Persian here. The English translation is from: Maulana Jalal al-Din, Love’s Ripening: Rumi on the Heart’s Journey, translated by Kabir Helminski and Ahmad Rezwani, Boston and London, Shambhala, 2010, pp 48-51.
5 This poem is an excerpt from the anthology Golestan (The Garden) story two, chapter one titled ‘Dar Sirat-e Padshahan’ (On the Manners of Kings) by the thirteenth-century Persian poet Saadi Shirazi, in Persian here. See: Saadi, Kolliyat-e Saadi (The Complete Works of Saadi), edited by Kamal Ejtemayi Jandaghi, Tehran, Sokhan, 1385 (2006/2007), pp 12, 200-201. The English translation is by A.Z. Foreman, see here.
6 This poem is an excerpt from the anthology Bustan (The Orchard) story 17, chapter two ‘Dar Ehsan’ (On Mercy) by the thirteenth-century Persian poet Saadi, in Persian here. See: Saadi, Kolliyat-e Saadi (The Complete Works of Saadi), edited by Kamal Ejtemayi Jandaghi, Tehran, Sokhan, 1385 (2006/2007), pp 12, 200-201. The English translations is from: The Garden of Fragrance translated by G.S. Davie, M.D., London, Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., 1882, pp97-98.

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