How to Respect Eid Ul-Adha

Eid Ul-Adha is a traditional festival celebrated by Muslims across the globe to honor the respect Abraham was willing to give to God through the sacrifice of his first born son, Ismael. In the end, Ismael was not sacrificed and later became known as the Father of the Arabs, reputedly living to the age of 137 years. Participation in this celebration starts with learning how to respect Eid Ul-Adha traditions.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Know that Eid Ul-Adha falls on the tenth day of the month of Dhul Hijja on the Islamic lunar calendar (approximately 2.5 months after Ramadan) and is celebrated for 3 consecutive days.

2. Expect to dress appropriately to respect Eid Ul-Adha, which means being clean, neat and modestly attired to attend mosque for the traditional Eid prayer known as Salatu'l-`id.

3. Participate in the Eid prayer, which is performed with two ra'kat and in which the takbir is repeated seven times as sunnah (in the way of the Prophet). During the second rak'ah, pronouncement of the takbir is given five additional times, usually while standing. It is traditional for one to raise his arms for each takbir.

4. Understand that Eid Ul-Adha is a festival of sacrifice and those Muslims that can spare a domestic animal (such as a cow, goat or even a camel) are called upon to do so. However, note that in order to be considered worthy of sacrifice, the animal must meet certain age and health requirements.

5. Practice charity by giving away the major portion of the meat from the sacrifice to the needy so that all may participate in the feast of Eid Ul-Adha. The remainder of the meat may then be roasted for family and friends to enjoy.

6. Plan to visit your relatives during the days of Eid Ul-Adha, especially parents. Per tradition, it is expected that one pays respect to the family, particularly to elders.

Tips & Warnings

• Know the various names of Eid Ul-Adha. It is known throughout the world by several other names, such as Eid el-Kbir in Egypt, Algeria and Libya, as well as Eid ul-Azha in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
• Eid ul-Adha always occurs at the same time on the Islamic lunar calendar, but differs on the Gregorian calendar since it is solar-based and roughly 10 days longer than the former. In addition, the international date line causes the festival date to occur on two different dates of the Gregorian calendar in varying parts of the world.