Eid al-Adha is one of the two holidays approved in Islam.

It falls on the tenth of Dhu al-Hijjah every Hijri year, and it is considered the day of the "great pilgrimage" on which pilgrims perform most of the rituals.

In it, Muslims in all parts of the world perform specific religious rituals, live their joys, and solidarity prevails among them.

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It has other names in the popular cultures of Arab and Islamic countries, where it is also called the “Great Eid” in the Maghreb and some regions of the Levant, the “Pilgrim Festival” in some areas of the Arabian Gulf, and the “Eid al-Qurban” among some Muslim peoples in Asia such as Turkey and Iran .

Eid in the language is a name for everything that is usual, as it is called so because it comes back and is repeated every year, and if non-Muslims have many annual religious holidays, Islam legislated for its followers only two annual holidays;

He made them one of his major rituals and linked them to two great pillars of the five pillars of religion, namely Eid al-Fitr at the end of the month of fasting (Ramadan), and Eid al-Adha in the middle of the Hajj season following the holy day of Arafat.


Date

Eid al-Adha was legislated in the second year of migration, and the jurists and narrators of the Prophet’s biography stated that the first Eid prayer that the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, prayed was the Eid al-Fitr prayer in the second year of migration, and that the first Eid al-Adha prayer he prayed was in the same year.

And it was authentically reported on the authority of the Prophet - may God’s prayers and peace be upon him - that when he came to Medina as an emigrant from Mecca, he found them celebrating two festivals. He, peace and blessings of God be upon him, said: “You had two days to play in, and God has substituted them for you with something better than them, the day of al-Fitr and the day of al-Adha.”

On Eid al-Adha, Muslims also commemorate the story of the Prophet of God Ibrahim with his son Ismail, peace be upon them, when he saw in a dream that he was slaughtering him.

And it is the story that the Noble Qur’an summarizes in verses, including the Almighty’s saying: “When he reached the quest with him, he said, “O my son, I see in a dream that I am slaughtering you, so see what you see.” He said, “Father, do as you are commanded. O Ibrahim, you have believed the dream, so we also reward the doers of good, for this is a clear calamity, and we ransomed him with a great sacrifice.”

(Surat As-Saffat. Verses 102-107).

Eid rituals

Muslims in all parts of the world celebrate the blessed Eid al-Adha in an atmosphere of joy and happiness.

Muslims also draw close to God Almighty on the days of Eid by slaughtering their sacrifices, adorning themselves with new clothes, and exchanging congratulations and blessings on the advance of Eid.

Islam has legislated on Eid al-Adha a set of collective rituals for Muslims to perform in it wherever they are, and the most prominent of these rituals are:


1- The takbeer


It is prescribed to say takbeer in homes and mosques after prayers and in the markets and other places from the dawn of the day of Arafa until the afternoon of the last days of al-Tashreeq (the 13th day of Dhul-Hijjah) because of the Almighty’s saying: “And remember God in a number of days.”

One of the most famous forms of takbeer on Eid is “God is great, God is great, there is no god but God, and God is great, God is great, praise be to God.”

2- Eid


prayer The imam prays two rak’ahs with the people during the Eid prayer, then delivers two sermons to them, and it is Sunnah to pray early when the sun has risen.

And the Eid prayer is a confirmed Sunnah according to some schools of thought, and some others said that it is obligatory in kind or sufficient. As for attending her sermon, it is desirable, not obligatory.

The Eid prayer does not have an adhaan, an iqamah, or a call, but the imam prays two rak’ahs aloud to the people, in the first he says 7 takbeers, and in the second 5 takbeers.

And from the Sunnah of the Prophet for the returnee from the Eid prayer-place to take a path other than the one he took on his way to it.

It is also desirable for him to take a bath, perfume, and wear the best clothes as possible.

3- The sacrifice


is one of the confirmed Sunnahs on the day of Eid. The sacrifice is sacrificed and donated to the poor and the needy, and it is stipulated by conditions established in the books of Islamic jurisprudence related to its type, age, description and validity.

The sacrifice must be from cattle, namely camels, cows, sheep, sheep and goats, and it was proven from the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, that he sacrificed two fat, large, and horned rams.

It is acceptable for a sacrifice of sheep that has completed 6 months, a cow that has completed two years, and a camel that has completed 5 years, and it must also be free from defects, as it is not permissible to sacrifice a one-eyed one who is clear-eyed, a sick one whose disease is clear, a lame one whose rib is clear, and a fractured one that does not Purify.

The sacrificial animal is not sacrificed or sacrificed until after the end of the Eid prayer, because of what the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said in the authentic hadith: “He who slaughtered before he prayed, let him take another place, and he who did not slaughter, let him slaughter.” As for the pilgrims in Mina, they slaughter after the sun rises because they do not have to pray Eid.


The prescribed time for sacrificing remains from the day of sacrifice (the tenth of Dhu al-Hijjah) until the end of the days of al-Tashreeq, because the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “All days of al-Tashreeq are slaughtered.”

It is from the Sunnah that a person eats from his sacrifice, feeds his family and relatives from it, and gives alms from it to the poor and needy.

4- Joy and congratulations


, and it is from the Sunnah to show joy and happiness on the days of Eid and to extend to oneself and one’s family by practicing the types of recreation and entertainment that are permissible by Sharia.

It also includes visiting neighbours, relatives and friends and exchanging words of congratulations in any known word, such as “Eid Mubarak” and “May God accept from us and from you.”

When the companions of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, met on the day of Eid, they would say to each other, “May God accept from us and from you.”

Among the purposes of the Eid legislation is to develop feelings of brotherhood among people, reminding them of the virtues and blessings of God upon His servants, and what this entails of glorifying God’s rituals, rejecting all forms of quarrels and resentment, bringing happiness and joy to people, expanding the family, and strengthening the bonds of love, mercy, cooperation and solidarity among members of society. .