Kurban Bayramı

Kurban Bayrami


Today marks the start of a 4 day religious holiday in Turkey; Kurban Bayram. Kurban Bayrami, the most important religious holiday, commemorates the near sacrifice of Isaac by his father Abraham. God spared the child, allowing a lamb to be sacrificed instead. Throughout the country, those who can afford it sacrifice an animal in memory of this event.

In Turkey, bayrams are very important times. In terms of the emphasis put on the bayrams, you can compare them with the Christmas in Christian countries. However, their content and the way they are celebrated have some important differences from Christmas.

How did it Start?
Bayrams are religious holidays, so their roots are in the religion, Islam. According to Islamic rules, every adult Muslim wealthy enough has to sacrifice a farm animal in the Kurban Bayramı for God. The offer of sacrifice for God dates back to times before Prophet Muhammed and the birth of Islam. Therefore, this yearly sacrifice was performed before Muslims. The foundation of this act of goes back to Propher Ibrahim. Prophet Ibrahim was put to a tough test by God to prove the strength of his faith. In his dream, God speaks to him and asks him to sacrifice his son Ismail (who also becomes a prophet later). Ibrahim tells this to his son Ismail, and Ismail tells him to do what God wanted him to do. Prophet Ibrahim takes his son to Mount Mina near Mecca to do his offering to God. Prophet Ibrahim is ready to sacrifice his son for God, and his son Ismail is ready to die for God. However, before the sacrifice takes place, God sends a goat with his angel Gabriel and tells Ibrahim that he passed the test of God. Prophet Ibrahim is then asked to sacrifice the goat instead of his son as the sign of his loyalty to God. Since that day, the offer of sacrifice to God is performed by the followers of Prophet Ibrahim and the other Prophets following him.

Every adult Muslim that is wealthy enough has to offer a sacrifice to God on this bayram – sheep, goats or cows are the popular choice. The meat from the sacrificed animal is consumed during the four day festival and later on. When one sacrifices an animal, one third of the meat is kept for the household, one third is consumed with friends and relatives, and the remaining one third are distributed to poor people who can’t afford a sacrifice at this time. Therefore, bayrams are times for remembering the obligations to God, getting together with family members and friends, and sharing with those less fortunate.

Kurban Bayramınız kutlu olsun!