🐑Eid al-Adha

About Eid al-Adha

Eid al-Adha, the "Festival of Sacrifice", is the holier of Islam's two Eids and one of the most significant days in the Muslim year. It honours the willingness of the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son in obedience to God, who spared the boy and provided a ram instead. The festival falls on the tenth day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the final month of the Islamic lunar calendar, and lasts up to four days.

Eid al-Adha coincides with the climax of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that every able Muslim aspires to make once in a lifetime. The day begins with a communal Eid prayer, after which many families perform the Qurbani — the ritual sacrifice of a sheep, goat, cow or camel — sharing the meat in three parts among family, friends and those in need. Feasts, new clothes and visits to relatives follow.

Like all Islamic festivals, Eid al-Adha follows the lunar calendar, moving roughly eleven days earlier each year, with the precise date confirmed by moon sighting and the Hajj schedule. The countdown above points to the next expected Eid al-Adha — add it to your own countdown page and count down to the Festival of Sacrifice.