Eid ul-Adha: All you need to know and how Muslims celebrate
Masses of Muslims worldwide on August 11, 2019 commenced the celebration of the Eid ul-Adha – the festival of sacrifice and feasting.
Eid ul-Adha is the second-most important event in the Islamic calendar. During the three-day celebrations, Muslim families around the world come together to honour Prophet Ibrahim’s devotion to Allah with gifts and feasting. typically sheep, cows, camel, chickens and goats, are slaughtered, cooked and shared with family, friends and the needy.
The Eid ul-Adha celebration also marks the end of the 10-day Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, which is one of the five pillars of Islam and all able-bodied Muslims must undertake Hajj at least once in their lifetime.
This is how Eid ul-Adha is it celebrated according Islamic Scholars
According to the Quran, Ibrahim – known as Abraham in the bible – and his wife Sarah had a son after many years of praying to be blessed with a child. However, Allah asked Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as an act of devotion. The couple travelled to Mecca to undertake the sacrifice – a route followed on the Hajj pilgrimage. But at the last minute, Allah told Ibrahim not kill his son but rather provided him with a ram to sacrifice.
On Eid ul-Adha, Muslims traditionally honour Ibrahim’s devotion to God by sacrificing a sheep, goat, cow or camel in their homes or other dedicated spot
According to the Islamic Scholars, for the good deed of the sacrifice to count, every person has to contribute a portion each. Since a goat equals one portion, a big family would opt for a cow or camel instead as both animals equal seven portions respectively. Families then divide up the meat to use during the feast with their family and friends; to distribute to closed ones not present at the gathering and neighbours; and lastly, to the poor. Families who have not conducted a sacrifice will often purchase halal meat for their meal and donate money to charity instead.
The celebration begins with a special prayer, ‘Salat al-Eid’, followed by a sermon called a khutbah. Traditionally, this is followed by the sacrifice. The rest of the day is devoted to visiting the houses of friends and family. Worshippers exchange the traditional Arabic greeting, ‘Eid Mubarak’ (‘have a blessed Eid’) and swap gifts.
