16 June - 20 June (Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan)[1] 16 June – 18 June (Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Bangladesh)[2][3][4][5] 17 June (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore)[6][7][8] 18 June - 20 June (United Kingdom, Brunei, Japan, Morocco)[9]
Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى, romanized: ʿĪd al-ʾAḍḥā, EED əl AD-hə; IPA:[ˈʕiːdalˈʔadˤħaː]), commonly translated as the Feast of Sacrifice and also known as Yawm an-Nahr (Arabic: يوم النحر, romanized: Yawm al-Naḥr), is the second of the two main Islamic holidays alongside Eid al-Fitr. In the Islamic calendar, Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th day of the twelfth and final month of Dhu al-Hijja, and celebrations and observances are generally carried forward to the three following days, known as the Tashreeq days.
As with Eid al-Fitr, the Eid prayer is performed on the morning of Eid al-Adha, after which udhiyah, or the ritual sacrifice of sheep, may be performed. In Islamic tradition, it honours the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God's command. Depending on the narrative, either IshmaelorIsaac are referred to with the honorific title "Sacrifice of God".[14] Pilgrims performing the Hajj typically perform the tawaf and saee of Hajj on Eid al-Adha, along with the ritual stoning of the devil on the Eid day and the following days.
Eid al-Adha is also sometimes called the "Greater Eid" (Arabic: العيد الكبير, romanized: al-ʿĪd al-Kabīr).[15] In India it is also called Bakr-Id.[16]
Etymology
The Arabic word عيد (ʿīd) means 'festival', 'celebration', 'feast day', or 'holiday'. The word عيد is a triliteral root (ʕ-y-d), with associated root meanings of "to go back, to rescind, to accrue, to be accustomed, habits, to repeat, to be experienced; appointed time or place, anniversary, feast day".[17][18]Arthur Jeffery contests this etymology, and believes the term to have been borrowed into Arabic from Syriac, or less likely Targumic Aramaic.[19]
The holiday is called عيد الأضحى (Eid-al-Adha) or العيد الكبير (Eid-al-Kabir) in Arabic.[20] The words أضحى (aḍḥā) and قربان (qurbān) are synonymous in meaning 'sacrifice' (animal sacrifice), 'offering' or 'oblation'. The first word comes from the triliteral root ضحى (ḍaḥḥā) with the associated meanings "immolate; offer up; sacrifice; victimize".[21] No occurrence of this root with a meaning related to sacrifice occurs in the Qur'an[17] but in the Hadith literature. Assyrians and other Middle Eastern Christians use the term to mean the Eucharistic host. The second word derives from the triliteral root قرب (qaraba) with associated meanings of "closeness, proximity... to moderate; kinship...; to hurry; ...to seek, to seek water sources...; scabbard, sheath; small boat; sacrifice".[18]Arthur Jeffery recognizes the same Semitic root, but believes the sense of the term to have entered Arabic through Aramaic.[19]
One of the main trials of Abraham's life was to receive and obey the command of God to slaughter his beloved son. According to the narrative, Abraham kept having dreams that he was sacrificing his son. Abraham knew that this was a command from God and he told his son, as stated in the Quran,
"Oh son, I keep dreaming that I am slaughtering you". he replied, "Father, do what you are ordered to do."
Abraham prepared to submit to the will of God and to slaughter his son as an act of faith and obedience to God.[23][24] During the preparation, Iblis (Satan) tempted Abraham and his family by trying to dissuade them from carrying out God's commandment, and Abraham drove Iblis away by throwing pebbles at him. In commemoration of their rejection of Iblis, stones are thrown during Hajj rites at symbolic pillars, symbolising the place at which Iblis tried to dissuade Abraham.[25]
Acknowledging that Abraham was willing to sacrifice what is dear to him, God honoured both Abraham and his son. Angel Gabriel (Jibreel) called Abraham, "O' Ibrahim, you have fulfilled the revelations," and a ram from heaven was offered by Angel Gabriel to prophet Abraham to slaughter instead of his son. Many Muslims celebrate Eid al-Adha to commemorate both the devotion of Abraham and the survival of his son Ishmael.[26][27][28]
This story is known as the Akedah in Judaism (Binding of Isaac) and originates in the Torah,[29] in the first book of Moses (Genesis, Ch. 22). The Akedah is referred to in the Quran in its 37th surah, As-Saaffat.[30]
The word "Eid" appears once in Al-Ma'ida, the fifth surah of the Quran, with the meaning "a festival or a feast".[31]
In the days preceding Eid al-Adha and during the Eid and Tashreeq days, Muslims recite the takbir.[32][33] Like on Eid al-Fitr, the Eid prayer is performed on Eid al-Adha any time after sunrise and before the Zuhr prayer. In the event of a force majeure, the prayer may be delayed to the day after, or the second day after Eid.[34] The Eid prayer is followed by a khutbah (sermon).[35] At the conclusion of the prayers and sermon, Muslims embrace and exchange gifts and greetings with one another, such as the phrase Eid Mubarak. Many Muslims also take this opportunity to invite their friends, neighbours and colleagues to the festivities to better acquaint them about Islam and Muslim culture.[36]
Arabic calligraphic fragment dated to the early 18th century displaying blessings for Eid al-Adha
Udhiyah
After the Eid prayer, udhiyah, or the ritual sacrifice of cattle, may be performed. Affluent Muslims who can afford it sacrifice halal cattle, usually a camel, goat, sheep, or ram, as a symbol of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his only son.[37][38] The animals have to meet certain age and quality standards to be considered for sacrifice.[39] In Pakistan alone, roughly 7.5 million animals, costing an estimated $3 billion (equivalent to $4.16 billion in 2023), were sacrificed in 2011.[40][41] The meat from the sacrificed animal is generally divided into three parts: the family performing the udhiyah retains a third; while the remainder is equally divided between friends and relatives, and the poor.[37]
The tradition for Eid al-Adha involves slaughtering an animal and sharing the meat in three equal parts – for family, for relatives and friends, and for poor people. The goal is to make sure every Muslim gets to eat meat.[42][43] However, there is a dissent among Muslim scholars regarding the obligatory nature of this sacrifice. While some scholars, such as Al-Kasani, categorise the sacrifice as obligatory (wāǧib), others regard it only as an "established custom" (sunna mu'akkada).[44] Alternatives such as charitable donations or fasting have been suggested to be permissible by several fuqaha.[45]
Muslims are expected to dress in their finest clothing to perform Eid prayer in a large congregation in an open waqf ("stopping") field called Eidgah or mosque. Cuisine traditionally associated with Eid al-Adha includes ma'amoul and samosas.[34]
Cattle market for Eid al-Adha in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Conversion of Hijri years 1343 to 1500 to the Gregorian calendar, with first days of al-Muharram (brown), Ramadan (grey) and Shawwal (black) bolded, and Eid al-Adha dotted – in the SVG file, hover over a spot to show its dates and a line to show the month
While Eid al-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. The lunar calendar is approximately eleven days shorter than the solar calendar.[46][a] Each year, Eid al-Adha (like other Islamic holidays) falls on one of about two to four Gregorian dates in parts of the world, because the boundary of crescent visibility is different from the International Date Line.[47]
The following list shows the official dates of Eid al-Adha for Saudi Arabia as announced by the Supreme Judicial Council. Future dates are estimated according to the Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia.[11] The Umm al-Qura calendar is just a guide for planning purposes and not the absolute determinant or fixer of dates. Confirmations of actual dates by moon sighting are applied on the 29th day of the lunar month prior to Dhu al-Hijja[48] to announce the specific dates for both Hajj rituals and the subsequent Eid festival. The three days after the listed date are also part of the festival. The time before the listed date the pilgrims visit Mount Arafat and descend from it after sunrise of the listed day.[49]
In many countries, the start of any lunar Hijri month varies based on the observation of new moon by local religious authorities, so the exact day of celebration varies by locality.
^Translation, Office of Assistant to Deputy Cabinet Secretary for State Documents & (12 September 2023). "Gov't Announces National Holidays for 2024". Sekretariat Kabinet Republik Indonesia. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
^Haigh, Phil (31 July 2020). "What is the story of Eid al-Adha and why is it referred to as Big Eid?". Metro. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2021. Simply, Eid al-Adha is considered the holier of the two religious holidays and so it is referred to as 'Big Eid' whilst Eid al Fitr can be known as 'Lesser Eid'. Eid al-Kabir means 'Greater Eid' and is used in Yemen, Syria, and North Africa, whilst other translations of 'Large Eid' are used in Pashto, Kashmiri, Urdu and Hindi. This distinction is also known in the Arab world, but by calling 'Bari Eid' bari, this Eid is already disadvantaged. It is the 'other Eid'. 'Bari Eid', or Eid-ul-Azha, has the advantage of having two major rituals, as both have the prayer, but it alone has a sacrifice. 'Bari Eid' brings all Muslims together in celebrating Hajj, which is itself a reminder of the Abrahamic sacrifice, while 'Choti Eid' commemorates solely the end of the fasting of Ramazan.
^Quran 5:114-The Clear Quran— Jesus, son of Mary, prayed, "O Allah, our Lord! Send us from heaven a table spread with food as a feast for us—the first and last of us—and as a sign from You. Provide for us! You are indeed the Best Provider."
Quran 5:114-Sahih International— Said Jesus, the son of Mary, "O Allāh, our Lord, send down to us a table [spread with food] from the heaven to be for us a festival for the first of us and the last of us and a sign from You. And provide for us, and You are the best of providers."
^Hawting, Gerald (2007). "The Juristic Dispute about the Legal Status of the Animal Offerings on the Feast of Sacrifices". In Christmann, Andreas; Gleave, Robert (eds.). Studies in Islamic Law: A Festschrift for Colin Imber. Journal of Semitic Studies Supplement. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 123–142. ISBN978-0-19-953491-3.
^Leaman, Oliver; Shaikh, Zinnira (2022). "Heresy or Moral Imperative? Islamic Perspectives on Veganism". Routledge Handbook of Islamic Ritual and Practice. Routledge Handbooks. Abingdon, New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. pp. 446–447. ISBN978-0-367-49123-9.
(federal) = federal holidays, (abbreviation) = state/territorial holidays, (religious) = religious holidays, (cultural) = holiday related to a specific racial/ethnic grouporsexual minority, (week) = week-long holidays, (month) = month-long holidays, (36) = Title 36 Observances and Ceremonies
Media related to Eid al-Adha at Wikimedia Commons
