Muslim_Festival_Eid Al Adha

Eid Al Adha

Islamic culture reflects how God commanded Ibrahim- also known as Abraham to the Jews and Christians- for sacrificing his son as a test of his devotion. Though he loved his son, Ibrahim made up his mind to follow Allah’s command.

At the last moment, God told Ibrahim is leaving the child and just sacrifice something else instead of a son. In the commemoration of Ibrahim’s willingness for submitting himself to the sacred will. So Muslims families sacrifice an animal at the time of Eid-Al-Adha.

Eid al-Adha Also Marks the End of the Hajj

There are five pillars of Islam that are mandatory for Muslims: Salat (Prayer), Zakat (Charity), Shahada (Creed), Sawm (Fasting), and, only if the individual can afford it, Hajj (Pilgrimage).

The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Islam’s holiest site Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Every year on the last month of the Islamic lunar calendar, over 2 million Muslims from all around the world and from different walks of life travel to Mecca and pray to God facing the Ka’aba (a shrine built by Abraham). According to Islamic beliefs, it is believed that Prophet Mohammed said a person who performs the pilgrimage returns home as a “newly born baby, free of all sins.”

Every year, Eid al-Adha falls on the end of the pilgrimage where Muslims head to Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia and ask God for his forgiveness for their sins. In Islam, it is important to understand that sins are not washed away by the blood of another. Instead, God is seen as the Most Merciful and Gracious, and often bears us forgiveness of or sins if we plead for it.