Eid Al Adha Ends
- What
- Eid Al Adha Ends
- When
- 7/23/2021
- Where
- Muslim
Eid al-Adha coincides with the culmination of the hajj rites at Minā, Saudi Arabia, near Mecca. It begins on the 10th of Dhū al-Ḥijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar, and continues for an additional three days. But many Muslims celebrate throughout the world regardless of proximity to Minā.
During the festival, families that can afford a ritually accepted animal to sacrifice do so and divide up the animal equally between themselves, the poor, and their neighbors. Ritually accepted animals include sheeps, goats, camels, and cows. Eid al-Adha is a time for celebration and includes visiting friends and family and exchanging gifts.
This festival is meant to commemorate the ransom with a ram of the biblical patriarch Ibrāhīm’s (Abraham’s) son Ismāʿīl (Ishmael). The Feast of Sacrifice dates from the historic event when Prophet Abraham was commanded by God, in a form of a dream vision, to sacrifice his son, Ishmail. But while he was in the act of sacrificing his son, God sent the Angel Gabriel with a huge ram. Gabriel informed Abraham that his dream vision was fulfilled and instructed him to sacrifice the ram as a ransom for his son. The story is mentioned in Chapter #37 of the Holy Qur'an.
Eid al-Adha enjoys special significance because the Day of Sacrifice marks the climax of Hajj or Pilgrimage, the fifth pillar of Islam. This annual pilgrimage to Makkah and Madinah in Saudi Arabia is an obligation only for those men and women who are physically and financially able to perform it once in their lifetime.