Ibrahim was asked by Allah to sacrifice his son and had passed the test
when he had raised the knife in order to carry out the sacrifice. A ram
was substituted in place of Ismail for the sacrifice. The hidden moral
here is that God was testing Abraham’s trust, faith and obedience to
him. Similarly, Muslims believe that they are tested for their
worthiness and have to sacrifice in order to be united with Allah.
Eid-al-Adha takes place at the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
This year, Eid-Al-Adha is believed to commence on Saturday, October 4, 2014 and end on Sunday, October 5, 2014. Government offices, banks, schools, and many stores will remain closed or have reduced opening hours on Eid-Al-Adha 2014.
On the morning of Eid-Al-Adha, Muslims attend prayers and recite the Takbir. The prayer consists of units or rak’ah’s followed by a semon by the imam. Muslims also celebrate a similar festival called Ramadan almost a couple of months before Eid Al Adha. After the prayer, they make short visits to their friends and family’s homes to greet them. They exchange gifts and greetings and then make arrangements for slaying the animal. Ramazan Bayrami is also celebrated in a similar fashion. In Britain, animals have to be sacrificed in the slaughterhouse.
The meat is then divided into three parts: One third is kept for the family, One third is distributed to friends and neighbors and the rest to the poor as a sign of sharing and caring throughout the three day festival. In Muslim countries, animals are slaughtered everywhere, from houses to the streets. The sacrificed animal is referred to as Udiyyah and has to meet certain quality and standards or else the animal is considered as an unacceptable sacrifice. Also, it is mandatory for the sacrifice to be done during broad daylight. Fried liver is normally served for breakfast, while the rest of the animal is served for lunch and dinner. Other main courses consist of Mutton biryani, pulav, kababs and sweets. The food that is served differs from place to place.
Eid-al-Adha 2014 is also called as the ‘Greater Eid’ and is the second momentous festival of the Muslims. This festival comes immediately after Eid-ul-Fitr and every Muslim is required to fast for 6 days in the month of Shawwal. After this, they have to prepare for their trip to Hajj.On the tenth day of Hajj, they celebrate the festival of sacrifice. Eid-Al-Adha is celebrated in a similar way as Eid-Ul-Fitr, the only difference is that an animal is sacrificed on this day.
Eid-Al-Adha is a day of self-judgment where Muslims are required to judge their actions and behavior. They have to avoid self indulgence and sacrifice worldly pleasures to reach the objective of getting closer to Allah. No Muslim goes hungry on the festival of sacrifice, i.e. Eid-Al-Adha. Eid-Al-Adha 2014 is also anticipated to be celebrated with spiritual devoutness. Sacrificing an animal on this day symbolizes obedience to God and giving the poor and needy represents one of the five pillars of Islam.
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