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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Dr Myriam François, journalist and research associate at the Centre of Islamic Studies, SOAS University of London.

Good Morning.

Today is Eid al-Adha or the "Festival of the Sacrifice" - the most important of the two Eid celebrations which Muslims mark each year.
The story is often described as honouring the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God's command, but I tend to see it a bit differently.

I’ve long struggled with the story of Ibrahim’s sacrifice – what parent wouldn’t choke at the thought of being asked to sacrifice your own child – and what person wouldn’t doubt a God who asked that of you.

I focus on the spiritual lessons we can learn from our children, whose ‘fitra’ or natural state of being, inclines them to live largely in the moment, appreciating the present, and in synch with the Divine, in a way which adults are gradually socialised away from. It’s Ibrahim’s son who reassures his father and it is together that they find the strength to follow God’s injunction.

Unlike our culture’s emphasis on comfort, tests of faith often come in the form of profound discomfort –as Muslims we believe that we are never tested beyond what we can withstand and so part of my own spiritual work involves trying to make peace with the challenges which come my way, and recognise within them an opportunity to refine my soul’s connection to principles higher than myself. I am just one element in an intricate global puzzle and I trust that I will get through life’s struggles.

As we begin this beautiful new day of Eid, I pray that we can all embrace the challenges our new dawn offers us and take solace in the struggle which transforms our coal form into diamonds radiating divine light for all. Eid Mubarak.