Eid al-Adha Mubarak to all Muslims

Eid al-Adha Mubarak to all Muslims.

Eid al-Adha for the year 2023 is celebrated/ observed on sundown of Wednesday, June 28^th.    Eid al-Adha is held around the 10th to the 13th days of the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah and commemorates Ibrahim’s sacrifice of his son to God.

Eid al-Adha marks one of the most important festivals of the year for the Muslims: the day that commemorates Prophet Ibraham’s devotion and obedience to Allah and marks the completion of the annual Holy Pilgrimage of Hajj.

The Hajj is a series of rituals that re-enacts the Prophet Muhammad’s final pilgrimage in 632 AD, when he followed the footsteps of the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail through the desert. The Hajj is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, one of the top five things a practicing Muslim must do to bring them closer to Allah.

Every Muslim, wherever they live, must take the trip to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia to worship in the Ka’bah, the most sacred site in Islam, at least once in their lifetime if they are financially and physically able to do so. The Hajj is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world. Eid al-Adha takes place at the end of it.

Families will celebrate the day with prayer, the exchange of gifts, charitable giving, and feasting. 

What is the history behind Eid al-Adha?

According to the Holy Qur’an, the Prophet Ibrahim was commanded by Allah, in the form of an angel, to sacrifice his firstborn son, Ismail. Ibrahim was ready to do so, in faithfulness to Allah, even fighting off Iblis (Satan) when Iblis tried to convince him not to obey.

Allah acknowledged Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice that which was most dear to him and sent the Angel Gabriel to stay his hand, providing an animal to be sacrificed in Ismail’s place. A similar story is told in the Jewish Torah and the Christian Old Testament, although in that version Abraham is told by God to sacrifice his younger son, Isaac.

For pilgrims in Mecca, Eid al-Adha begins on the third day of the Hajj, after pilgrims have met at Arafat and prayed to Allah to forgive their sins and lasts for three to four days. In the U.S., it’s generally observed on one day.

What does Eid al-Adha mean?

“Eid” means “festival” or “feast. “Al-Adha” refers to sacrifice, specifically the “one in which Abraham was asked – as a test – by God to sacrifice his son, only to have God intervene and substitute a ram (or lamb) instead,” said Omid Safi, professor of Islamic studies at Duke University.    

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