Muslims celebrate festival of Eid al-Adha

Millions of Muslims around the world are  celebrating Eid al-Adha, the three-day Islamic festival, satarting from monday,  as a reminder of Ibrahim's obedience to Allah.

It falls a day after the visit to the mount of Arafat, one of the activities of the the Hajj - the annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca that all believers who can afford it are required to perform once.

It falls on the 10th day of the month of Zul Hijjah, the last month in the Islamic calender

In many Muslim cultures, Eid ul Adha is referred to as the big Eid, while Eid ul Fitr is referred to as little Eid
Eid al-Adha is Islam's holiest festival and is celebrated annually as an official holiday in many countries.

Eid al-Abha is one of the two most important Islamic festivals, and is known as the Feast of the Sacrifice, as it recalls Ibraham's willingness to sacrifice his son in obedience to Allah when Allah appeared to him in a dream and asked him to sacrifice his son Isma'il as an act of obedience to God.

The devil tempted Ibrahim by saying he should disobey Allah and spare his son. As Ibrahim was about to kill his son, Allah stopped him and gave him a lamb to sacrifice instead.

CELEBERATION IN GHANA

At the Central mosque of Mamobi, Accra, the Chief Imam, Shaikh Zakaria Addo charged Muslim to embrace peace as Islam preaches about peace.

"We cannot involve ourselves in act that does not conform to Islamic teachings and traditions.The development of the society must be a core concern of every Muslim", he said.

"Let shun acts that does help our society grow, acts that brings calamity into our siociety.Am talking about bribary, accepting interest which is haraam in Islam, indecent dressing, sakawa and drugs.

There is nowhere in the teachings of Islam that allows Muslims to involve themselves in these acts which bring nothing but  hardship to our society."

The National Chief Imam’s spokesperson Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu has said  the celebrations will be dedicated to promoting peace ahead of the 2016 elections, citinews report indicates.

“For this year in Ghana in particular, it’s going to be special because it occurs just in a period close to our election so there are a number of things which will come central to this year’s celebration. So peace is going to be one of the key elements that will reverberate in the various sermons that will be delivered across the country.”

He said though “Chief Imam though he is now in the holy land of Saudi Arabia his representative will lead a prayer at the Independence Square.” “We want to use the occasion to tell all Muslims of the country particularly the youth who occasionally have been reduced to tools or agents of violence, we want to call particularly the Muslim youth that they should now focus on their God given duty to be the agents of peace in the world.

Today Muslims all over the world who can afford it , sacrifice a sheep (sometimes a goat) as a reminder of Ibrahim's obedience to Allah.

They share out the meat among family, friends and the poor, who each get a third share.

Eid usually starts with Muslims going to the Mosque for prayers, dressed in their best clothes, and thanking Allah for all the blessings they have received.

It is also a time when they visit family and friends as well as offering presents.

At Eid, it is obligatory to give a set amount of money to charity to be used to help poor people buy new clothes and food so they too can celebrate.

Hajj

Every year around 2 million Muslims from all over the world converge on Makkah.

They stand before the Kaaba, a shrine built by Ibrahim praising Allah together.

The Hajjis or pilgrims wear simple white clothes called Ihram which promote the bonds of Islamic brotherhood and sisterhood by showing that everyone is equal in the eyes of Allah.

During the Hajj the Pilgrims perform acts of worship and they renew their faith and sense of purpose in the world.

By Fiifi Abdul-Malik/ghanaguardian.com