EID AL ADHA 2025 TABASKI, A CELEBRATION OF FAITH, PEACE AND SHARING

O Allah, Lord of all worlds,
On this blessed day where the knife honors Your word, Receive our prayers, our hearts and our souls
As Ibrahim offered what was most precious to him.
Answer the wishes of every Muslim around the world,

From Cotonou to Mecca, from Dakar to Jakarta,
Grant them the peace that calms the wars within,
The health that allows rising each morning with gratitude,The prosperity that feeds families and opens closed doors.

May Your blessings fall like gentle rain
Upon every home, every household, every heart that seeks You.

Today I lived Tabaski in its most beautiful and sincere expression the spirit of sharing. Quietly at home as the afternoon sun began its descent, at exactly 4:00 PM, a first messenger knocked at my door. He carried a generous bowl filled with approximately 2.5 kg of fresh ram meat beautiful, deep red boneless cuts, firm and abundant, held proudly in both hands as if delivering a treasure.

The warm golden light of the afternoon sun fell across the wooden table, making the offering glow like something sacred. Pure muscle, pure generosity, pure Tabaski.

Then at 4:20 PM, just twenty minutes later, came a second knock. This time, another approximately 1 kg portion arrived meat with bone, a rich mix of cuts with fat, marrow and sinew all together the kind of piece that promises a deep, slow-cooked broth full of flavour.

Laid out in a steel basin, it told its own story of sacrifice and abundance.Two visits. Two bowls. Two acts of love from neighbors and brothers who remembered me on this holy day.

This is the true soul of Eid not just the prayer at dawn, not just the sacrifice of the ram, but this quiet afternoon moment when someone sends a piece of their blessing to your door.

To all my Muslim brothers and sisters in Benin and around the world: Happy Eid Al Adha May your prayers be answered, your families be protected and your blessings overflow.