Id al-Adha (Arabic: Feast of Sacrifice)
The most important yearly festival holiday of the
Islamic calendar is Id al-Adha, or al-Id al-Kabir
(Great Feast). It is also known as Id al-Qurban
(Feast of Sacrifice), as well as Qurban Bayrami
(Sacrifice Feast) in Turkic lands, Bakar Id (Goat
Feast) in india, and Reraya Qurben (Sacrifice
Holiday) in indonesia. In Muslim-majority coun-
tries today, it has been declared a public holiday.
The festival begins on the 10th day of the 12th
month (Dhu al-Hijja) of the Islamic lunar year, at
the conclusion of the annual haJJ rites in mecca,
and lasts for up to four days. According to Islamic
law, Muslims around the world who are able are
obliged to sacrifice an unblemished sheep, goat,
cow, or camel. They are also expected to attend
a special communal prayer, traditionally held in
open air or at a mosqUe, where they listen to a
holiday sermon. Unlike other prayer times, there
is no adhan (call to prayer) performed. Muslims
believe that the festival represents complete obe-
dience to God, as abraham obeyed him when
commanded to sacrifice his son. According to the
story, which has biblical roots and is retold in the
qUran and Islamic exegetical literature, a ram was
substituted in place of Abraham’s son. Among the
Shia, this story is associated with themes of mar-
tyrdom and redemption.
The sacrificial feast allows all Muslims, pil-
grims and nonpilgrims alike, to experience a sense
of community at the conclusion of the hajj. Men
customarily perform the sacrifice with their own
hands according to ritual slaughtering procedures
approved by Islamic law, but meat can also be
obtained from qualified butchers. In Mecca, there
are special slaughtering facilities in the pilgrim
town of Mina, just outside the holy city. Muslims
living in the United states or Europe obtain their
meat from a halal butcher, or they go to a farm
where they can purchase an animal and slaughter
it themselves, as they would in a Muslim country.
Women participate by preparing dishes made from
the meat of the sacrificed animal. Everywhere
Id al-Adha is a very festive time when people
gather together with family and friends. children
wear bright new clothing. Muslim girls in India
and pakistan show off fresh henna designs on
their hands and arms. In many communities, the
holiday affirms ties to deceased loved ones and
the poor, because people distribute food to the
needy in memory of the dead. Women usually
visit cemeteries during the Id to do this. Meat may
also be distributed through mosques and Islamic
charities, making Id al-Adha one of the few times
in the year when the needy eat meat. In modern
times, the internet has made it possible for people
to make donations online by credit card so that
needy Muslims anywhere in the world can join in
the Feasting.
See also almsgiving; animals; Food and drink;
FUnerary ritUals.Further reading: Jonah Blank, Mullahs on the Main-
frame: Islam and Modernity among the Daudi Bohras
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001); 104–110;
John R. Bowen, “On Scriptural Essentialism and Ritual
Variation: Muslim Sacrifice in Sumatra and Morocco.”
American Ethnologist 19 (Nov. 1992): 656–671; Hava
Lazarus-Yafeh, “Muslim Festivals.” Numen 25 (April
1978): 52–64.Id al-Fitr (Arabic: Feast of Fast-Breaking)
The second most important yearly festival on the
Islamic calendar after id al-adha is Id al-Fitr, or
al-Id al-Saghir (Little Feast). This holiday is also
known as Kuchuk Bayram (Little Feast) in Turkic
lands and Hari Raya Puasa (Fasting Day of Cel-
ebration) in malaysia. The festival celebrates the
end of the ramadan fast and begins with the sight-
ing of the new moon on the eve of the first day of
the 10th month (Shawwal) of the Islamic lunar
year. It usually lasts for up to three days. In Mus-
lim-majority countries today, it has been declared
a public holiday, like Id al-Adha. To prepare for
the holiday, each person is obliged to offer charity
for the needy during the closing days of Ramadan.
This is called zakat al-fitr or zakat Ramadan, andK 342 Id al-Adha