Eid al-Adha

Muslims in all parts of the world celebrate two Eids, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, which has several other names, such as the holiday of Sacrifice, the Pilgrims’ Day, and the Greater Eid.

Eid al-Adha and Prophet Abraham

The story of Eid al-Adha dates back to a dream that Prophet Abraham, peace be upon him, saw in his sleep, he saw that he was slaughtering his son, Ishmael, peace be upon him, when Abraham narrated the dream to his son, Ishmael, he agreed to implement it due to the reality of the prophets’ visions, but when the Prophet Abraham came to slaughter his son, God Almighty replaced him with a ram. The story was mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, Surah As-Saffat, (Then when the boy reached the age to work with him, Abraham said, “O my dear son! I have seen in a dream that I must sacrifice you. So tell me what you think.” He replied, “O my dear father! Do as you are commanded. Allah willing, you will find me steadfast.” Then when they submitted to Allah’s Will, and Abraham laid him on the side of his forehead for sacrifice, We called out to him, “O Abraham! You have already fulfilled the vision.” Indeed, this is how We reward the good-doers. That was truly a revealing test. And We ransomed his son with a great sacrifice, and blessed Abraham with honourable mention among later generations: “Peace be upon Abraham.” This is how We reward the good-doers. He was truly one of Our faithful servants).

The sacrifice

Based on the story of the Prophet, Abraham, peace be upon him, the sacrifice is a mean of approaching to God Almighty, so God Almighty mentioned in his noble book in Surat Al -Hajj, “Neither their meat nor blood reaches Allah. Rather, it is your piety that reaches Him. This is how He has subjected them to you so that you may proclaim the greatness of Allah for what He has guided you to, and give good news to the good-doers.” God Almighty has prescribed the slaughter of the sacrifice to perform dhikr of Allah and get closer to Allah, the time of sacrifice begins during the days of Eid immediately after performing the Eid prayer until sunset on the last days of al-Tashreeq, which are (11, 12, 13) of the month of Dhul-Hijjah, provided that this sacrifice has exceeded a certain age, if it is a cow, it must be two years old or more, if it is a camel, it must be five years old or more, and if it is a goat or a sheep, then it must be one year old or more.

The person who sacrifices must be a free and sane Muslim, and that this sacrifice is his property, if the person who sacrifices cannot carry out the slaughtering process himself, he should assign someone else to do the matter, provided that he attends and testifies himself, and during the slaughtering process it is recommended to stand towards the Qibla while saying in the name of God, the Most Merciful, prayers be upon the Prophet Muhammad, the God is the greatest, and praying to God to accept it, Islam also prescribed for women to carry out the slaughtering process. After slaughtering and waiting for the sacrifice until it completely calms down, the sacrificer begins to divide it, a part that he and his household eat, a part that he stores, and a part that he gives in charity, as in Surat Al -Hajj, God Almighty said, “That they may witness things that are of benefit to them, and mention the Name of Allah on appointed days, over the beast of cattle that He has provided for them. Then eat thereof and feed therewith the poor having a hard time”.

Eid al-Adha prayer and manifestations of celebration

Eid al-Adha is on the tenth of Dhu al-Hijjah according to the Hijri calendar, it is the day immediately following the pilgrims’ standing at Arafat, this Eid lasts for 4 consecutive days, while Eid al-Fitr lasts only one day. This day begins with all Muslims going out to perform the Eid prayer, which takes place immediately after sunrise, about 15 to 20 minutes, even if there are women who are going through menstruation or postpartum period, they are allowed to attend and watch the prayer. The Prophet Muhammad, may God’s blessings and peace be upon him, used to pray two rak’ahs before the sermon, the first rak’ah had seven takbeers, including the opening takbeer, and the second rak’ah had five takbeers, he recited Al-Fatihah in both rak’ahs, followed by a short surah, it is said that among the surahs that the Prophet, may God’s blessings and peace be upon him, used to recite are Surah “Al-Ghashiyah” and Surah “Al-A’la”. Immediately after the end of the Eid prayer, the Eid manifestations begin, the sacrifices are everywhere, visits are made by family, relatives, friends, and neighbors, and everyone wears new and clean clothes.

While mentioning Eid al-Adha, some Egyptian customs during Eid al-Adha must be highlighted, which is that the food (fattah) is present in every Egyptian food table on Eid al-Adha, this food is made of rice, cooked tomato paste, well-cooked pieces of meat and pieces of toast, with some other flavorings. The reason for naming this food by this name is that it was cooked with bread crumbs, its origin dates back to the Fatimid era when the Fatimids used to cook large quantities of rice and meat and distribute them during Eid al-Adha.