Religioneid al-adhaeid ul-adhaVideo

Eid Al-Adha 2014: Muslims Observe The Feast Of Sacrifice (PHOTOS)

PHOTOS: Muslims Around The World Observe Eid Al-Adha
HuffPost Religion Editors
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Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, is observed on October 4, 2014, in the United States. One of two feast festivals celebrated by Muslims, Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th day of the Islamic calendar’s last month, Dhu al-Hijjah.

Eid al-Adha falls within the annual pilgrimage to Mecca known as the hajj. Determining the exact date of Eid al-Adha is a point of contention and some wait for an official announcement from the authorities in Mecca. Muslims celebrate the holiday to commemorate their belief in Abraham's willingness to follow God's command to sacrifice his son Ishmael, and Ishmael's consent to being sacrificed. Today, it is is marked by slaughtering animals to feed the poor. Coming at the end of the hajj, a journey of dedication and purification, Eid al-Adha is understood as an opportunity for second chances.

According to the Quran, when Ishmael (known as Isma'el in Arabic) was 13, his father, Abraham (Ibrahim), began having inconceivable dreams in which God instructed him to sacrifice Ishmael (Quran Surah 37). Unbelievable as the dreams were, Abraham decided to follow Allah's instructions -- but not before asking Ishmael if he would agree to this. The son did not hesitate, showing ultimate submission to God's will by telling his father to go through with the sacrifice. But at the very moment that Abraham raised the knife, Allah told him to stop -- they had passed the test -- and to replace Ishmael with a sacrificial ram. In the Quran, Abraham is rewarded for his faith with a second son, Isaac.

Muslims observe and prepare for Eid al-Adha in a number of ways. Before the festival, the faithful acquire new clothing and visit with family and friends. At dawn on the day of Eid, Muslims recite the traditional declaration of faith, the Takbir, followed by the pre-sunrise communal prayer, Salat al-Eid, which is also said on Eid al-Fitr. Worshipers then greet friends with the traditional Arabic salutation of Eid Mubarak (“Have a blessed Eid”) and exchange gifts.

In a symbolic act, Muslims who can afford it slaughter a cow, goat, sheep or camel, keeping a portion to feed themselves and distributing the rest to friends, family and the needy. Those who can't afford it buy meat from a Halal butcher to distribute. Giving out this meat, in addition to the morning prayers, is considered an essential component of Eid al-Adha.

Eid al-Adha 2014
(01 of11)
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Bangladeshi Muslims try to climb on to the roof of an overcrowded train as they head to their homes ahead of Eid al-Adha in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(02 of11)
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A man cleans his goat before selling at a market in Jakarta, Indonesia. Friday, Oct. 3. 2014. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(03 of11)
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Painted sheep are displayed for sale by a Pakistani vendor, in preparation for the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, or "Feast of Sacrifice," on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, early Friday, Oct. 3, 2014. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(04 of11)
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A Kenyan purchasing goat for the Eid al-Adha festival in Nairobi, Kenya, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014. (AP Photo / Sayyid Azim) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(05 of11)
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Goats look out of a bus window, while being transported to a near by livestock market, to be displayed for sale in preparation for the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, or "Feast of Sacrifice", on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(06 of11)
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A Kenyan walks his goat back home after purchasing it for the Eid al-Adha festival in Nairobi, Kenya, Friday, Oct. 3 2014. (AP Photo / Sayyid Azim) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(07 of11)
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An Egyptian vendor waits for customers at a street coffee shop at the edge of the Nile river in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(08 of11)
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Fish look silhouette as an Egyptian man catches them at the edge of the Nile river in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(09 of11)
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Pakistani vendors off load their cattle at a make-shift market set up for the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, or "Feast of Sacrifice", on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(10 of11)
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A Pakistani vendor waits for customers at a make-shift cattle market set up for the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, or "Feast of Sacrifice," on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(11 of11)
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An Egyptian man carries meat in preparation for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha at a butchers market in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Hussein Tallal) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Learn more about hajj here

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Before You Go

Quranic Quotes On The Poor
Surat Ad-Duhaa 93:8(01 of12)
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"And He found you poor and made [you] self-sufficient." (credit:Image: Getty. Text: Sahih International from Quran.com)
Surat Luqman 31:4(02 of12)
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"Who establish prayer and give zakah, and they, of the Hereafter, are certain [in faith]." (credit:Image: Getty. Text: Sahih International from Quran.com)
Surat Maryam 19:31(03 of12)
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"And He has made me blessed wherever I am and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakah as long as I remain alive" (credit:Image: Getty. Text: Sahih International from Quran.com)
Surat Al-Isra 17:26(04 of12)
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"And give the relative his right, and [also] the poor and the traveler, and do not spend wastefully." (credit:Image: Getty. Text: Sahih International from Quran.com)
Surat Al-Baqarah 2:215(05 of12)
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"They ask you, [O Muhammad], what they should spend. Say, 'Whatever you spend of good is [to be] for parents and relatives and orphans and the needy and the traveler. And whatever you do of good - indeed, Allah is Knowing of it.'" (credit:Image: Getty. Text: Sahih International from Quran.com)
Surat An-Nisa 4:36(06 of12)
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"Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away, the companion at your side, the traveler, and those whom your right hands possess. Indeed, Allah does not like those who are self-deluding and boastful." (credit:Image: Getty. Text: Sahih International from Quran.com)
Surat Al-Baqarah 2:83(07 of12)
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"And [recall] when We took the covenant from the Children of Israel, [enjoining upon them], "Do not worship except Allah ; and to parents do good and to relatives, orphans, and the needy. And speak to people good [words] and establish prayer and give zakah." Then you turned away, except a few of you, and you were refusing." (credit:Image: Getty. Text: Sahih International from Quran.com)
Surat An-Nisa 4:8(08 of12)
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"And when [other] relatives and orphans and the needy are present at the [time of] division, then provide for them [something] out of the estate and speak to them words of appropriate kindness." (credit:Image: Getty. Text: Sahih International from Quran.com)
Surat Al-Baqarah 2:177(09 of12)
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"Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah , the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous." (credit:Image: Getty. Text: Sahih International from Quran.com)
Surat Al-Baqarah 2:271(10 of12)
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"If you disclose your charitable expenditures, they are good; but if you conceal them and give them to the poor, it is better for you, and He will remove from you some of your misdeeds [thereby]. And Allah , with what you do, is [fully] Acquainted." (credit:Image: Getty. Text: Sahih International from Quran.com)
Surat Al-Baqarah 2:273(11 of12)
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"[Charity is] for the poor who have been restricted for the cause of Allah , unable to move about in the land. An ignorant [person] would think them self-sufficient because of their restraint, but you will know them by their [characteristic] sign. They do not ask people persistently [or at all]. And whatever you spend of good - indeed, Allah is Knowing of it." (credit:Image: Getty. Text: Sahih International from Quran.com)
Surat An-Nisa 4:135(12 of12)
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"O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah , even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allah is more worthy of both. So follow not [personal] inclination, lest you not be just. And if you distort [your testimony] or refuse [to give it], then indeed Allah is ever, with what you do, Acquainted." (credit:Image: Getty. Text: Sahih International from Quran.com)
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