Eid al-Adha

Kaaba

Eid al-Adha, also called  Baqr'Eid is the second of two religious holidays celebrated by Muslims worldwide each year. It honors the willingness of ibrahim a.s to sacrifice his promised son, Ismail a.s, as an act of submission to allah's (God) command, before God then intervened to provide ibraham a.s with a lamb to sacrifice instead. The meat from the sacrificed animal is preferred to be divided into three parts. The family retains one third of the share; another third is given to relatives, friends and neighbors; and the remaining third is given to the poor and needy.

In the Islamic calendar, Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah and lasts for three days.

Eid al-Adha is the latter of the two Eid holidays, the former being Eid al-Fitr. The basis for the observance comes from the 196th ayah (verse) of Al-Baqara, the second sura of the Quran. The word "Eid" appears once in Al-Ma'ida, the fifth sura of the Quran, with the meaning "solemn festival".

 Eid al-Adha begins with a Sunnah prayer of two rakats followed by a khutbah. Eid al-Adha celebrations start after the descent of the Hujjaj, the pilgrims performing the Hajj, from Mount Arafat, a hill east of Mecca. Eid sacrifice may take place until sunset on the 13th day of Dhu al-Hijjah.The days of Eid have been singled out in the Hadith as "days of remembrance".

 "It is not their meat nor their blood that reaches Allah; it is your piety that reaches Him" (Qur'an 22:37).