Eid al-Adha is a significant religious holiday that is observed by Muslims around the world. Generally, the Islamic calendar consists of two Eid festivals, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. On this day, Muslims observe this holiday in celebration of Prophet Ibrahim’s (Abraham) disposition to sacrifice his only son in submission to Allah’s will. However, before Ibrahim sacrificed his son, God provided him with a lamb to sacrifice instead. As such, the holiday became known as the Festival of Sacrifice. Muslims offer a lamb as sacrifice and share it with their family members and those less fortunate. Moreover, this holiday also marks the conclusion of Hajj, an annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
The source of this holiday can be traced back to the story of Prophet Ibrahim, who was asked by Allah in a dream to sacrifice his most precious possession, his son Isma’il (Ishmael). After hearing the command of God, Prophet Ibrahim got ready to submit to God’s plan. During his preparation, the Prophet and his family were tempted by the devil not to follow God’s will. However, Prophet Ibrahim threw pebbles at him and chased him away. Today, in tribute to the dismissal of Satan, stones are symbolically thrown at pillars during Hajj in a ceremony referred to as casting stones.
As Prophet Ibrahim endeavoured to sacrifice Isma’il to God on Mount Arafat, God provided an animal which was then slaughtered and sacrificed in place of his son. Prophet Ibrahim passed God’s test through his devotion to following Allah’s order.
Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr are the two most significant religious festivals celebrated in the Islam faith. Eid al-Fitr commemorates the conclusion of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of prayer and fasting, which lasts for 29 to 30 days. Eid al-Fitr is also referred to as the Feast of Breaking the Fast and is observed on the first day of the month of Shawwal, the tenth month in the Islamic calendar.
On the other hand, Eid al-Adha celebrates Prophet Ibrahim’s devotion to Allah’s will and coincides with the culmination of Hajj. Eid al-Adha is also referred to as the Feast of Sacrifice and is observed on the 10th day during the last month of the Islamic calendar, Dhu al Hijjah, which is the 12th most holy month in the Islamic lunar calendar.
Typically, this holiday is celebrated by performing numerous rituals in commemoration of the sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim was willing to make in obedience to God’s plan. Some of these traditions include:
Eid al-Adha is observed on the 10th day of the month of Dhu al Hijjah of the Islamic lunar calendar and lasts for three days. Typically, the date of this celebration varies in the Gregorian calendar because the boundary of the crescent’s visibility differs from the international calendar and it is also a solar calendar.
In the Gregorian calendar, the dates shift by approximately 11 days annually. As such the official dates of this holiday are usually announced by the Supreme Judicial Council of Saudi Arabia and are estimated based on the Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia. The confirmation for the official date is usually applied on the 29th day of the lunar month before Dhu al-Hijjah.
Naturally, this holiday takes place after the Hajj, an annual pilgrimage and one of the pillars of Islam. The holiday is observed around the same period and the traditions for celebrating the holiday are almost similar globally, with minor differences in the cuisines prepared and the way people spend their time during this holiday. Additionally, this holiday is translated into local languages in various regions where Arabic is not the official language, for example:
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