By Prarthana Mitra
On Tuesday, Muslims all over the world observed the commencement of Eid al-Adha, the sobering counterpart of Eid ul-Fitr and the second largest celebration in Islamic culture. But all prayers converged at the holy shrine of Mecca, where two million devotees congregated to chant Quranic verses for the Prophet Muhammad and concluded the five-day long haj.
https://twitter.com/BeautifulDesti_/status/1031860105032216576
Known as the festival of sacrifice, Eid al Adha in Saudi Arabia began last evening and will continue until Sunday August 26. Having spent the previous night camped out after the visit to Mount Arafat, the pilgrims were seen marching stoically to Mina to perform Jamarat.
Eid Mubarak to our followers celebrating #EidAlAdha, the festival commemorating the story of Ibrahim as told in the Qur'an and coinciding with the annual #Hajj pilgrimage. Here is a photograph of #Mecca produced in 1907. https://t.co/RcGS2CG6dZ pic.twitter.com/Z4WkD8VQwS
— British Library (@britishlibrary) August 21, 2018
The festival commemorates the event where Prophet Abrahams faith was put to a divine test, and a goat was sacrificed in place of his own son. Following the Quranic parable of Muhammad and his son, thousands of Muslims have sacrificed cows and goats, following which they cook, feast and distribute the meat among the poor, needy and children.
A look at Jabalia Refugee Camp's market on the eve of Eid al-Adha.
Photo by Ahmed Kamal #Gaza #eidaladha pic.twitter.com/tWpNaqi7Ws— AbdelKarim (@Kari2023m) August 20, 2018
The first day of #EidAlAdha at the Holy Al Aqsa Mosque In Occupied #Jerusalem #PalestineBeautiful #GroupPalestine#ÙرÙب_ÙÙسطÙÙÙ
â¤ï¸ðµð¸ð¹ pic.twitter.com/buJGhlZcoI— ⡠⦠Ᾰnnie ⦠⡠(@Betelgeuse100) August 21, 2018
#EidAlAdha prayer at Al-Aqsa mosque today morning.#Palestine pic.twitter.com/SBPKpBlKU2
— Muhammad Smiry ðµð¸ (@MuhammadSmiry) August 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/zana_med/status/1031636429548478464
In India, the tone and religious fervour is not very different. Commonly referred to as Bakri-Eid here, the feast of sacrifice is taken very seriously. New clothes are exchanged, namaz offered and dargahs illuminated in cities like Srinagar, Old Delhi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. However, some animal-loving Muslims decided to boycott the bloodshed and slaughter of animals, decided instead to exchange cakes instead of mutton.
#EidAlAdha prayer in #Xining, #China pic.twitter.com/rtR8a4vYtY
— çåå®ç¶ âªï¸ Cui Haoxin (@ismaelan) August 21, 2018
President Vladimir #Putin congratulated #Russian #Muslim community on the feast of #Eid al-Adha.https://t.co/IHKkF0Stnl@KremlinRussia_E @mfa_russia @MEAIndia @IndEmbMoscow @IndianDiplomacy pic.twitter.com/PwX6STicmz
— Russia in India ð·ðº (@RusEmbIndia) August 21, 2018
Braving the Islamophobia, the Muslim diaspora in the US and UK also celebrated the occasion with great flair and show, with their families and friends. A number of British football clubs released greetings of the season, with Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) and Mohammad Salah (Liverpool) taking to wish their Twitter fans a happy Eid separately. In Africa, where some zones are predominantly Muslim, Eid was celebrated with colourful processions on the stree and enervating calls for salvation.
It was amazing to join thousands of Minnesotans this morning to celebrate #EidAlAdha at the #USBANKSTADIUM. Eid Mubarak from our family to yours â¤ï¸ pic.twitter.com/bddnBDHcIo
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 21, 2018
Tell me the President that has ever done this in Nigeria. @MBuhari is love by all. @MBuhari and @ProfOsinbajo 2019 no shaking. #EidAlAdha #EidMubarak pic.twitter.com/dnkk2bYcrD
— Tunmise Reformer (@MrRefor) August 21, 2018
Prarthana Mitra is a staff writer at Qrius
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