Eid ul-Adha

Eid ul-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى) occurs on the tenth day of the Islamic month of Dhul Hijja. It is one of two Eid festivals that Muslims celebrate. Eid ul-Adha is celebrated by Muslims worldwide as a commemoration of Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son(Ishmael) for (Allah)God. Others celebrate Eid-ul Adha as it marks the end of the Pilgrimage or Hajj for the millions of Muslims who make the trip to Mecca each year. Like Eid ul-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha also begins with a short prayer followed by a khutba. In Mecca, the Khutba is delivered from Mount Arafat.

The story behind Eid ul-Adha

Many Muslims believe that God(Arabic:Allah) revealed in a dream to Ibrahim (Prophet Abraham) to sacrifice his son Isma’il. Ibrahim and Isma’il set off to Mina for the sacrifice. As they went, the devil attempted to persuade Ibrahim to disobey Allah and not to sacrifice his beloved son. But Ibrahim stayed true to Allah, and drove the devil away. As Ibrahim prepared to sacrifice his son, Allah stopped him and gave him a sheep to sacrifice instead. The story is also a part of the other Abrahamic religions (see the Binding of Isaac). Others celebrate Eid-ul Adha as it marks the end of the Pilgrimage or Hajj for the millions of Muslims who make the trip to Mecca each year.

Observing Eid ul-Adha

It is celebrated on the 10th day of the month of Dhul Hijja (ذو الحجة) of the lunar Islamic calendar, after Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. This happens to be approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan. While Eid ul-Fitr is considered to be three days, Eid ul-Adha is supposed to be four days. The first day is the primary holiday, on which men, women, and children are expected to dress in their finest clothing and perform prayer (Salah) in a large congregation. Muslims who can afford to do so sacrifice domestic animals, usually sheep, as a symbol of Ibrahim's sacrifice; this sacrifice is called "Qurban." The meat is distributed amongst their neighbors, relatives, and the poor and hungry. The regular charitable practices of the Muslim community are demonstrated during Eid ul-Adha by the concerted effort to see that no impoverished Muslim is left without sacrificial food during this day. Coming immediately after the Day of Arafat (when Muhammad pronounced the final seal on the religion of Islam), Eid ul-Adha gives concrete realization to what the Muslim community ethic means in practice.

Other names for Eid ul-Adha

Eid ul-Adha is also known as Hari Raya Haji/Iduladha/Qurban in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines; Eid el-Kebir in Morocco; Tfaska Tamoqqart in the Berber language of Jerba; and Tabaski or Tobaski in West Africa.

In Bangladesh it is commonly called Qurbani Eid, while in parts of Pakistan and India it is known as Bakr-Id بکرا عید "Goat Eid" as goat is the major sacrificial animal in India and Pakistan as opposed to sheep.

In Turkey it is often referred to as the Kurban Bayramı or "Sacrifice Feast". Similarly, in Bosnia it is referred as Kurban Bajram.

Eid ul-Adha in the Gregorian calendar

While Eid ul-Adha is always on the same day of the Islamic calendar, the date on the Gregorian calendar varies from year to year since the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar and the Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar. Each year, Eid ul-Adha (like other Islamic holidays) falls on one of two different Gregorian dates in different parts of the world, due to the fact that the boundary of crescent visibility is different from the International date line. Furthermore, some countries follow the date in Saudi Arabia rather than the astronomically determined local calendar.

2005: January 21; January 20 in Saudi Arabia (See note 1 below.)
2006: January 10 or January 11; also, December 31
2007: December 20
2008: December 8
2009: November 28
2010: November 17
2011: November 7

NOTE 1: The Saudi authorities had originally confirmed that Eid ul-Adha in 2005 would begin on Friday, January 21 (but subsequently moved up the date by one day to January 20, possibly for better crowd control by avoiding Hajj during the weekend (^*," target="_blank" >[http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2005-01/15/article01.shtml). The official reason was that the new moon was sighted earlier than expected, starting the month of Dhul Hijja one day early. Skeptics, however, feel that this is due to a Saudi superstition that states that if the Eid falls on a Friday, the King will die soon. As chance (or Fate) would have it, King Fahd died later that year.

Islamic festivals

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The story behind Eid ul-Adha

Observing Eid ul-Adha

Other names for Eid ul-Adha

Eid ul-Adha in the Gregorian calendar