ISLAM > Eid ul-Adha in Islam

Eid ul-Adha is second in the series of Eid festivals that Muslims celebrate. It is also referred to as the "Big Bayram" (from Turkish) or "Big Feast". Eid ul-Adha is celebrated as a commemoration of Prophet Ibrahim's (Abraham) willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael for Allah.

On this day Muslims sacrifice animals which have been deemed Halal, or fit for sacrifice. They not only eat the meat themselves but distribute it amongst their neighbors, relatives and the poor and hungry.

It is celebrated on the 10th day of the month of Dhul Hijja of the lunar Islamic calendar, after Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. This happens to be 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan. While Eid ul-Fitr is considered to be one day, Eid ul-Adha is supposed to be four days, with the prayer being on the first day. Likewise, Eid ul-Fitr has the prayer on the first and only day. During this day, men, women, and children are expected to dress in their finest clothing.

The centre of the world-wide celebrations of Eid ul-Adha is the small village of Mina, a few miles from Mecca. This is the site of the three pillars which represent the devil (Iblis) and are stoned by Muslims during the Hajj. These three pillars represent the three steps taken to shoo away the devil, who tried to convince Prophet Ibrahim not to offer the sacrifice to Allah. The village also plays host to scores of butchers who arrange for the Halal slaughter of the sacrificial animals on the pilgrims' behalf. The recent explosion of numbers of people attending Hajj has led to a huge number of animals being slaughtered. Today, instead of sacrificing the traditional sheep in memory of Allah's intervention in the story of Ibrahim and Ismail, sacrifices can be measured in terms of sheep-units, in which a cow or a camel is worth many sheep.

The charitable instincts 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 Prophet 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.

Eid ul-Adha is known as Hari Raya Haji in Singapore and Malaysia, and Tabaski in West Africa.