According to Faryal Khan, a Muslim student and freshman in biomedical engineering, the Muslim holiday Eid-ul-Adha, also known as the Day of Sacrifice commemorates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael to Allah. Seeing Abraham’s commitment to him Allah provided a sheep for Abraham to sacrifice, in the place of his son. Eid-ul-Adha is four day celebration that begins after the Hajj on the tenth day of Dhul-Hajja, and takes place in the last month of the Islamic Calendar. This year Eid-ul-Adha will begin on the 20th of December and end on the 24th. On the first day of Eid, Muslims dress in their finest clothing and perform Eid prayer, Khan said. Eid-ul-Adha begins with a small prayer called a Salatul-Eid, and is then followed by a sermon called a Khutba. After the sermon is performed Muslims celebrate with feasts of food, exchanging of gifts, and charity to the less fortunate. Historically on this day Muslims would also sacrifice their best animals as a symbol of Abraham’s sacrifice. Khan said during this time of giving Muslims not only give to the less fortunate, they also forgive each other of past transgressions.
Eid: celebrating sacrifices
December 8, 2007