Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى ‘Īd ul-’Aḍḥā, Urdu: بقرعید) or the Festival of Sacrifice is a religious festival celebrated by Muslims and Druze worldwide in commemoration of Ibrahim (Abraham) willingness to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to Allah. The devil tempted Ibrahim by saying he should disobey Allah and spare his son. As Ibrahim was about to kill his son, Allah intervened: instead Allah provided a lamb as the sacrifice. This is why today all over the world Muslims who have the means to, sacrifice an animal, as a reminder of Ibrahim's obedience to Allah. The meat is then shared out with family and friends, as well as the poorer members of the community (Islam names Ishmael as the son who was to be sacrificed, whereas the Judeo-Christian name Isaac).

Eid al-Adha is one of two Eid festivals celebrated by Muslims, whose basis comes from the Quran.^[1] (Muslims in Iran celebrate a third, non-denominational Eid) Like Eid el-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha begins with a short prayer followed by a sermon (khuṭba).

(... from Wikipedia on 2008-11-13 18:43:43 )