top of page
Eid al-Adha: Abrham & Isaac
This portal was curated by:

EID AL-ADHA

Eid al-Adha (or Eid al-Azha and Eidul Azha; /ˌiːd əl ˈɑːdə, - ˈɑːdhɑː/ EED əl AH-də, -⁠ AHD-hah; Arabic: عيد الأضحى‎, romanized: ʿĪd al-ʾAḍḥā, lit. 'Feast of the Sacrifice', IPA: [ʕiːd al ˈʔadˤħaː]) is the latter of the two Islamic holidays celebrated worldwide each year (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to God's command. (The Jewish and Christian religions believe that according to Genesis 22:2, Abraham took his son Isaac to sacrifice.) Before Ibrahim could sacrifice his son, however, Allah provided a lamb to sacrifice instead. In commemoration of this intervention, animals are sacrificed ritually. One third of their meat is consumed by the family offering the sacrifice, while the rest is distributed to the poor and needy. Sweets and gifts are given, and extended family are typically visited and welcomed.[5]

In the Islamic lunar calendar, Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, and lasts for four days. In the international (Gregorian) calendar, the dates vary from year to year, shifting approximately 11 days earlier each year.
DATABASES
Eid al-Adha (or Eid al-Azha and Eidul Azha; /ˌiːd əl ˈɑːdə, - ˈɑːdhɑː/ EED əl AH-də, -⁠ AHD-hah; Arabic: عيد الأضحى‎, romanized: ʿĪd al-ʾAḍḥā, lit. 'Feast of the Sacrifice', IPA: [ʕiːd al ˈʔadˤħaː]) is the latter of the two Islamic holidays celebrated worldwide each year (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to God's command. (The Jewish and Christian religions believe that according to Genesis 22:2, Abraham took his son Isaac to sacrifice.) Before Ibrahim could sacrifice his son, however, Allah provided a lamb to sacrifice instead. In commemoration of this intervention, animals are sacrificed ritually. One third of their meat is consumed by the family offering the sacrifice, while the rest is distributed to the poor and needy. Sweets and gifts are given, and extended family are typically visited and welcomed.[5]

In the Islamic lunar calendar, Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, and lasts for four days. In the international (Gregorian) calendar, the dates vary from year to year, shifting approximately 11 days earlier each year.
Eid al-Adha is the second major Muslim festival after Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. 

Muslims believe the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) was tested by God who commanded him to sacrifice his first-born son, Ismail (Ishmail). Ibrahim was prepared to submit to the command, but God stayed his hand. Instead, he was told to sacrifice an animal, likely a lamb or sheep.The Torah and the Old Testament both recount a similar version of this story.

The event also marks the end of Hajj, a five-day pilgrimage all able-bodied and financially capable Muslims are obliged to undertake once in their lifetime. The pilgrimage is believed to cleanse the soul of sins and instil a sense of equality, sisterhood and brotherhood. Some 2.5 million pilgrims from around the world flock annually to the cities of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia for the ritual.
Eid al-Adha, (Arabic: “Festival of Sacrifice”) also spelled ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā, also called ʿĪd al-Qurbān or al-ʿĪd al-Kabīr (“Major Festival”), Turkish Kurban Bayram, the second of two great Muslim festivals, the other being Eid al-Fitr. Eid al-Adha marks the culmination of the hajj (pilgrimage) rites at Minā, Saudi Arabia, near Mecca, but is celebrated by Muslims throughout the world. As with Eid al-Fitr, it is distinguished by the performance of communal prayer (ṣalāt) at daybreak on its first day. It begins on the 10th of Dhū al-Ḥijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar, and continues for an additional three days (though the Muslim use of a lunar calendar means that it may occur during any season of the year). During the festival, families that can afford to sacrifice a ritually acceptable animal (sheep, goat, camel, or cow) do so and then divide the flesh equally among themselves, the poor, and friends and neighbours. Eid al-Adha is also a time for visiting with friends and family and for exchanging gifts. This festival commemorates the ransom with a ram of the biblical patriarch Ibrāhīm’s (Abraham’s) son Ismāʿīl (Ishmael)—rather than Isaac, as in Judeo-Christian tradition. See also mawlid; ʿĀshūrāʾ.
The word 'Eid' means 'feast' or 'festival'. Each year Muslims celebrate both Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha - but the names often get shortened to just 'Eid', which is why it can be confusing.

Eid al-Fitr - which means 'festival of the breaking of the fast - is celebrated at the end of Ramadan, , a month when many adult Muslims fast.

Eid al-Adha - which means 'feast of the sacrifice' - is celebrated just over two months later, at the same time when many Muslims perform the Hajj pilgrimage.

Eid al-Adha coincides with the end of Hajj - the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, and is generally considered the holier of the two.

Hajj is a once-in-a-lifetime activity that is a duty for those who can afford it, and who haven't already performed it.
Eid al-Adha is an Islamic festival to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim (also known as Abraham) to follow Allah's (God's) command to sacrifice his son. Muslims around the world observe this event.

At Eid al-Adha, many Muslims make a special effort to pray and listen to a sermon at a mosque. They also wear new clothes, visit family members and friends and may symbolically sacrifice an animal in an act known as qurbani. This represents the animal that Ibrahim sacrificed in the place of his son.

In some traditionally Muslim countries, families or groups of families may purchase an animal known as udhiya, usually a goat or sheep, to sacrifice, but this is not common or legal in many [places]... 

In the period around Eid al-Adha, many Muslims travel to Mecca and the surrounding area in Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj pilgrimage.
Visit our special guest curator
Related Portals:
 
Related Portals:
 
bottom of page