Eid ul-Adha

Eid ul-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى), or Eid-e Qurban (Persian: عید قربان) or Kurban Bayramı (Turkish) occurs on the tenth day of the Islamic month of Dhul Hijja. It is one of two Eid festivals that Muslims celebrate. Eid ul-Adha is celebrated by Muslims worldwide as a commemoration of Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismael for Allah.Others celebrate Eid ul-Adha as it marks the end of the Pilgrimage or Hajj for the millions of Muslims who make the trip to Mecca each year. Like Eid ul-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha also begins with a short prayer followed by a khutba. In Mecca, the khutba is delivered at Mount Arafat.

It is celebrated on the 10th day of the month of Dhul Hijja (ذو الحجة) of the lunar Islamic calendar, after Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. This happens to be approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan.

Eid ul-Fitr is three days while Eid ul-Adha is four days long. Men, women, and children are expected to dress in their finest clothing and perform prayer (Salaa) in a large congregation called as Eid Ghah(worshing place for Eid). Muslims who can afford to do so sacrifice best domestic animals, usually sheep, as a symbol of Ibrahim's sacrifice,any faulty animal scarifcation may not be acceptable by Allah(Quran,Hadith); this sacrifice is called "Qurban." The meat is equally distributed amongst themselves, their neighbours and relatives, and the poor and hungry. The regular charitable practices of the Muslim community are demonstrated during Eid ul-Adha by the concerted effort to see that no impoverished Muslim is left without sacrificial food during this day. Coming immediately after the Day of Mount Arafat when Muhammad pronounced the final seal on the religion of Islam, Eid ul-Adha gives concrete realization to what the Muslim community ethic means in practice. People in these days are expected to visit their relations, starting from their parents, then their families and friends.

Other names for Eid ul-Adha

Eid ul-Adha is also known as Hari Raya Haji/Iduladha/Qurbani in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines; Eid el-Kbir in Morocco, Egypt and Libya; Tfaska Tamoqqart in the Berber language of Jerba; and Tabaski or Tobaski in West Africa, "Ciidwayneey" in Somalia and somali speaking regions of Kenya and Ethiopia.


In India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh it is also called Eid ul-Azha, and commonly referred to as Bakr-Eid بکرا عید "Goat Eid" as goat is the major sacrificial animal in those countries.

In Turkey it is often referred to as the Kurban Bayramı or "Sacrifice Feast". Similarly, in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania it is referred as Kurban Bajram.

[edit] Traditions and practices

After the Eid ul-Adha prayer and upuntil the sunset of the third following day, Muslims are encouraged to offer sacrifice. The sacrificed animals (camels, cows, goats and sheeps) have to meet certain age and quality standards. At the time of sacrifice, Allah's name is recited along with the offering statement and a supplication as Muhammad said (Arabic audio with English meaning).

In the name of Allah بسم الله
Allah is the greatest والله أكبر
O Allah, indeed this is from you and for you اللهم إن هذا منك ولك
O Allah accept from me اللهم تقبل مني

Eating and sharing the meat is considered an element of worship during this period, as well as saying Takbir out loud in public, see about Takbir in "Traditions and practices" of Eid ul-Fitr

[edit] Eid ul-Adha in the Gregorian calendar

See also: Islamic calendar

While Eid ul-Adha is always on the same day of the Islamic calendar, the date on the Gregorian calendar varies from year to year since the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar and the Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar. Each year, Eid ul-Adha (like other Islamic holidays) falls on one of two different Gregorian dates in different parts of the world, due to the fact that the boundary of crescent visibility is different from the International date line. Furthermore, some countries follow the date in Saudi Arabia rather than the astronomically determined local calendar.

* 2005: January 21; January 20 in Saudi Arabia (See note 1 below.)
* 2006: December 31
* 2007: December 20, January 1, depends on the country, January 01, 2007 in Pakistan
* 2008: December 8
* 2009: November 28
* 2010: November 17
* 2011: November 7

NOTE 1: The Saudi authorities had originally confirmed that Eid ul-Adha in 2005 would begin on Friday, January 21 ([1]), but subsequently moved up the date by one day to January 20. The official reason was that the new moon was sighted earlier than expected, starting the month of Dhul Hijja one day early.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hari_Raya_Haji