What Is Eid al-Adha?

Eid al-Adha (عيد الأضحى‎, Feast of the Sacrifice), also called the “Festival of the 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 part of the share is given to the poor and needy; second part is for the home, 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.

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 Sărbătoarea 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 عید البقرةʿĪd al-Baqarah in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and in the Middle East, as عید قربان Id-e Qorbān in Iran, Kurban Bayramı (“Holiday of Sacrifice”) in Turkey, কোরবানীর ঈদ Korbanir Id in Bangladesh, as عید الكبير ʿĪd el-Kebīr 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 بکرا عید Bakrā Īd (“Goat Eid”) or بڑی عید Baṛī Īd (“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 for Eid al-Adha:

• Īd al-Azhā / Īdul-Azhā / Iduladha (transliterations of the Arabic name) is used in Urdu, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, and Austronesian languages such as Malay and Indonesian.
• ʿĪd al-Kabīr /ʿĪd el-Kebīr 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 (لوی اختر Loy Axtar), Kashmiri (Baed Eid), Urdu and Hindi (Baṛī Īd), Bengali (বড় ঈদ Boro Id), Tamil (Peru Nāl, “Great Day”) and Malayalam (Bali Perunnal, “Great Day of Sacrifice”) as well as Manding varieties in West Africa such as Bambara, Maninka, Jula etc. (“Big/great prayer”).
• ʿĪd al-Baqarah meaning “Eid of Cows (also sheep or goats)” is used in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. Although the word baqarah (بقرة) 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 عيد ʻīd means “festival,” “celebration,” “feast day,” or “holiday.” It comes from the triliteral root عين ʻayn واو wāw دال dāl, 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 ًأضحى ‘aḍḥan means “sacrificial animal.” It comes from the triliteral root ضاد ḍād حاء ḥā’ واو wāw, 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’an. In modern Arabic, the verb ضحّى ḍaḥḥā means “to sacrifice,” and a ضحيّة ḍaḥiyyah is a sacrificial offering.

The first element in the Persian name عيدِ قربان Id-e Qorbān is identical to Arabic ʻīd, above. The second is from Arabic قربان qurbān, meaning “offering, sacrifice.” Christians use the term to mean eucharistic host. In the Islamic Arabic tradition, it is held to derive from the root قاف qāf راء rā’ باء bā’, 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 Bayramı uses the same first element as the Persian قربان qorbān. Bayram means “holiday” in Turkish, with close cognates in other Turkish languages. Its ultimate etymology is contested.

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 the earliest Islamic traditions identify Isaac as the son who was sacrificed, in agreement with the Bible. Upon hearing this command, Abraham prepared to submit to the 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 an 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:

100 “O my Lord! Grant me a righteous (son)!”
101 So We gave him the good news of a boy ready to suffer and forbear.
102 Then, when (the son) reached (the age of) (serious) work with him, he said: “O my son! I see in vision that I offer thee in sacrifice: Now see what is thy view!” (The son) said: “O my father! Do as thou art commanded: thou will find me if Allah so wills one practicing Patience and Constancy!”
103 So when they had both submitted their wills (to Allah), and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead (for sacrifice),
104 We called out to him “O Abraham!
105 “Thou hast already fulfilled the vision!” – thus indeed do We reward those who do right.
106 For this was obviously a trial–
107 And We ransomed him with a momentous sacrifice:
108 And We left (this blessing) for him among generations (to come) in later times:
109 “Peace and salutation to Abraham!”
110 Thus indeed do We reward those who do right.
111 For he was one of our believing Servants.
112 And We gave him the good news of Isaac – a prophet – one of the Righteous.

— Quran, sura 37 (Aṣ-Ṣāffāt), āyāt 100–112

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

Main article: 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 the 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:

Arabic	Romanized	Translation
الله أكبر الله أكبر لا إله إلا الله الله أكبر الله أكبر ولله الحمد	Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar lā ilāha illā-Allāh Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar walillāhi l-hamd	Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest There is no god but Allah Allah is greatest, Allah is greatest and to Allah goes all praise

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 aḍḥiya (أضحية‎), known also by the Perso-Arabic term qurbāni, 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.

Islamic year	Gregorian date
1406	15 August 1986
1407	4 August 1987
1408	23 July 1988
1409	13 July 1989
1410	2 July 1990
1411	22 June 1991
1412	11 June 1992
1413	31 May 1993
1414	20 May 1994
1415	9 May 1995
1416	27 April 1996
1417	18 April 1997
1418	7 April 1998
1419	28 March 1999
1420	15 March 2000
1421	5 March 2001
1422	22 February 2002
1423	11 February 2003
1424	1 February 2004
1425	20 January 2005
1426	30 December 2006
1427	20 December 2007
1428	8 December 2008
1429	27 November 2009
1430	16 November 2010
1431	6 November 2011
1432	26 October 2012
1433	14 October 2013
1434	5 October 2014
1435	24 September 2015
1436	12 September 2016
1437	2 September 2017
1438	20 August 2018
1439	11 August 2019
1440	31 July 2020
1441	20 July 2021
1442	9 July 2022 (calculated)
1443	28 June 2023 (calculated)
1444	16 June 2024 (calculated)
1445	6 June 2025 (calculated)
1446	26 May 2026 (calculated)
1447	16 May 2027 (calculated)
1448	4 May 2028 (calculated)
1449	23 April 2029 (calculated)
1450	13 April 2030 (calculated)
1451	2 April 2031 (calculated)
1452	21 March 2032 (calculated)
1453	11 March 2033 (calculated)
1454	28 February 2034 (calculated)
1455	17 February 2035 (calculated)
1456	7 February 2036 (calculated)
1457	26 January 2037 (calculated)
1458	16 January 2038 (calculated)

Adapted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia