Muslims worldwide celebrate Eid el-Kabir as pilgrims conduct Hajj

Muslims are celebrating Eid el-Kabir (known also as Eid al-Adha) as more than 2 million pilgrims carry out the final days of Hajj in Saudi Arabia.

Muslims across the world are celebrating the festival of Eid el-Kabir, which coincides with the final rites of the Hajj in Saudi Arabia.

While many will celebrate on Tuesday, millions of others, including in South Asia, will celebrate the start of the religious holiday the day after.

Eid al-Adha, which in Arabic literally means the “festival of the sacrifice”, commemorates the story of the Muslim Prophet Ibrahim’s test of faith.

Muslims believe Ibrahim was commanded by God him to sacrifice his son, Ismail. Tradition holds that God stayed his hand, sparing the boy, and placing a ram in his place.

 

The day is marked with the sacrifice of an animal, usually a goat, sheep, or cow, and the distribution of the meat among neighbours, family members, and the poor.

In the village of Mina, near the Muslim holy city of Mecca, it marks the day, millions of pilgrims perform the symbolic stoning of the devil.

The five-day-long Hajj is a series of rituals meant to cleanse the soul of sins and instil a sense of equality and brotherhood among Muslims.

The pilgrimage is required of all Muslims with the financial and physical means to perform it.

During the last three days of Hajj , male pilgrims shave their heads and remove the white cloth garments worn during the Hajj, known as the ‘ihram’. Women cut off a small lock of hair in a sign of spiritual rebirth and renewal.

© AJN

Eid al-Adha is also known as:
Eidul Adha in the Philippines
Eid el-Kabir in Nigeria and Morocco
Tabaski in Senegal and Gambia
Kurban Bayrami in Turkey
Hari Raya Haji in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore
Eid-e-Qurbon in Iran
Bakri-Id or Qurbani Eid in South Asia.