Eid al-Adha (Arabic: ??? ???????, translit. ??d al-?a???, lit. 'Feast of the Sacrifice', [?i:d æl'??d??æ:]), also called the "Festival of Sacrifice", is the second of two Islamic holidays celebrated worldwide each year (the other being Eid al-Fitr), and considered the holier of the two. It honors the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God's command. But, before Abraham could sacrifice his son, God provided a lamb to sacrifice instead. In commemoration of this, an animal is sacrificed and divided into three parts: one third of the share is given to the poor and needy; another third is given to relatives.
In the Islamic lunar calendar, Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah. In the international (Gregorian) calendar, the dates vary from year to year drifting approximately 11 days earlier each year.
Video Eid al-Adha
Other names
In languages other than Arabic, the name is often simply translated into the local language, such as English Feast of the Sacrifice, German Opferfest, Dutch Offerfeest, Romanian S?rb?toarea Sacrificiului, and Hungarian Áldozati ünnep. In Spanish it is known as Fiesta del Cordero or Fiesta del Borrego (both meaning "festival of the lamb"). It is also known as ??? ?????? ??d al-Baqarah in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and in the Middle East, as ??? ????? Id-e Qorb?n in Iran, Kurban Bayram? ("Holiday of Sacrifice") in Turkey, ???????? ?? Korbanir Id in Bangladesh, as ??? ?????? ??d el-Keb?r in the Maghreb, as Tfaska Tamoqqart in Jerba Berber, as Iduladha, Hari Raya Aiduladha, Hari Raya Haji or Qurban in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, as ???? ??? Bakr? ?d ("Goat Eid") or ??? ??? Ba?? ?d ("Greater Eid") in Pakistan and India, Bakara Eid in Trinidad and as Tabaski or Tobaski in Senegal and Odún Iléyá by Yorúbà People in Nigeria West Africa (most probably borrowed from the Serer language -- an ancient Serer religious festival).
The following names are used as other names of Eid al-Adha:
- ?d al-Azh? / ?dul-Azh? / Iduladha (transliterations of the Arabic name) is used in Urdu, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, and Austronesian languages such as Malay and Indonesian.
- ??d al-Kab?r /??d el-Keb?r meaning "Greater Eid" (the "Lesser Eid" being Eid al-Fitr) is used in Yemen, Syria, and North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt). Local language translations are used in Pashto (??? ???? Loy Axtar), Kashmiri (Baed Eid), Urdu and Hindi (Ba?? ?d), Bengali (??? ?? Boro Id), Tamil (Peru N?l, "Great Day") and Malayalam (Bali Perunnal, "Great Day of Sacrifice") as well as Manding varieties in West Africa such as Bambara, Maninka, Jula etc. (?????? Seliba, "Big/great prayer").
- ??d al-Baqarah meaning "Eid of Cows (also sheep or goats)" is used in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. Although the word baqarah (????) properly means a cow, it is also semantically extended to mean all livestock, especially sheep or goats. This extension is used in Hindi and Urdu as a very similar name "Bakra-Eid / Bakrid" meaning "Goat Eid" is used for the occasion.
- Qurbon Hayiti meaning "Eid of Sacrifice" is used in Uzbekistan.
- Lebaran Haji("Hajj Feast") is used in Malaysian and Indonesian, in the Philippines.
Etymology
The word ??? ??d means "festival," "celebration," "feast day," or "holiday." It comes from the triliteral root ??? ?ayn ??? w?w ??? d?l, 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." Arthur Jeffery contests this etymology, and believes the term to have been borrowed into Arabic from Syriac, or less likely Targumic Aramaic.
The word ????? 'a??an means "sacrificial animal." It comes from the triliteral root ??? ??d ??? ??' ??? w?w, with associated meanings "daylight... to appear, to appear conspicuously... sacrificial animal, to sacrifice." No occurrence of this root with a meaning related to sacrifice occurs in the Qur'?n. In modern Arabic, the verb ???? ?a??? means "to sacrifice," and a ????? ?a?iyyah is a sacrificial offering.
The first element in the Persian name ???? ????? Id-e Qorb?n is identical to Arabic ??d, above. The second is from Arabic ????? qurb?n, meaning "offering, sacrifice." Christians use the term to mean eucharistic host. In the Islamic Arabic tradition, it is held to derive from the root ??? q?f ??? r?' ??? b?', with associated meanings of "closeness, proximity... to moderate; kinship...; to hurry; ...to seek, to seek water sources...; scabbard, sheath; small boat; sacrifice." Arthur Jeffery recognizes the same Semitic root, but believes the sense of the term to have entered Arabic through Aramaic.
Turkish Kurban Bayram? uses the same first element as the Persian ????? qorb?n. Bayram means "holiday" in Turkish, with close cognates in other Turkish languages. Its ultimate etymology is contested.
Maps Eid al-Adha
Origin
One of the main trials of Abraham's life was to face the command of God to sacrifice his dearest possession, his son. The son is not named in the Quran, but some Muslims believe it to be Ishmael, whereas it is mentioned as Isaac in the Bible. Upon hearing this command, Abraham prepared to submit to will of God. During this preparation, Shaitan (the Devil) tempted Abraham and his family by trying to dissuade them from carrying out God's commandment, and Abraham drove Satan away by throwing pebbles at him. In commemoration of their rejection of Satan, stones are thrown at symbolic pillars during the Stoning of the Devil during Hajj rites.
When Abraham attempted to cut his son's throat on mount Arafat, he was astonished to see that his son was unharmed and instead, he found a animal which was slaughtered. Abraham had passed the test by his willingness to carry out God's command.
This story is known as the Akedah in Judaism (Binding of Isaac) and originates in the Tora, the first book of Moses (Genesis, Ch. 22). The Quran refers to the Akedah as follows:
Abraham had shown that his love for God superseded all others: that he would lay down his own life or the lives of those dearest to him in submission to God's command. Muslims commemorate this ultimate act of sacrifice every year during Eid al-Adha. While Abraham was prepared to make an ultimate sacrifice, God ultimately prevents the sacrifice, additionally signifying that one should never sacrifice a human life, especially not in the name of God.
The word "Eid" appears once in Al-Ma'ida, the fifth sura of the Quran, with the meaning "solemn festival".
Eid prayers
Devotees offer the Eid al-Adha prayers at the mosque. The Eid al-Adha prayer is performed any time after the sun completely rises up to just before the entering of Zuhr time, on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijjah. In the event of a force majeure (e.g. natural disaster), the prayer may be delayed to the 11th of Dhu al-Hijjah and then to the 12th of Dhu al-Hijjah.
Eid prayers must be offered in congregation. Participation of women in the prayer congregation varies from community to community. It consists of two rakats (units) with seven takbirs in the first Raka'ah and five Takbirs in the second Raka'ah. For Shia Muslims, Salat al-Eid differs from the five daily canonical prayers in that no adhan (call to prayer) or iqama (call) is pronounced for the two Eid prayers. The salat (prayer) is then followed by the khutbah, or sermon, by the Imam.
At the conclusion of the prayers and sermon, Muslims embrace and exchange greetings with one another (Eid Mubarak), give gifts and visit one another. Many Muslims also take this opportunity to invite their non-Muslim friends, neighbours, co-workers and classmates to their Eid festivities to better acquaint them about Islam and Muslim culture.
Traditions and practices
During Eid al-Adha, distributing meat amongst the people, chanting the takbir out loud before the Eid prayers on the first day and after prayers throughout the three days of Eid, are considered essential parts of this important Islamic festival.
The takbir consists of:
Men, women, and children 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. Affluent Muslims who can afford it sacrifice their best halal domestic animals (usually a cow, but can also be a camel, goat, sheep, or ram depending on the region) as a symbol of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his only son. The sacrificed animals, called a??iya (Arabic: ??????), known also by the Perso-Arabic term qurb?ni, have to meet certain age and quality standards or else the animal is considered an unacceptable sacrifice. In Pakistan alone nearly ten million animals are slaughtered on Eid days costing over US$2.0 billion.
The meat from the sacrificed animal is preferred to be divided into three parts. The family retains one-third of the share; another third is given to relatives, friends, and neighbors; and the remaining third is given to the poor and needy.
Muslims wear their new or best clothes. Women cook special sweets, including ma'amoul (filled shortbread cookies). They gather with family and friends.
Eid al-Adha in the Gregorian calendar
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. Each year, Eid al-Adha (like other Islamic holidays) falls on one of about two to four different Gregorian dates in different parts of the world, because the boundary of crescent visibility is different from the International Date Line.
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. The Umm al-Qura 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-Hijjah 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 the Mount Arafat and descend from it after sunrise of the listed day.
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.
See also
- Korban
Notes
References
External links
- Muttaqi, Shahid 'Ali. "The Sacrifice of "Eid al-Adha"". Animals in Islam.
- When are Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha?
- Eid Al-Adha Or Bakrid
- Eid Al-Adha Wish
Source of article : Wikipedia
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