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Level 6 :: Lesson 19

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Eid ul-Adha from A to Z (part 3 of 3)

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Description: Muslims celebrate two festivals: Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha. These lessons will cover everything you need to know about Eid ul-Adha to make it a part of your life and please Allah.

Published on 15 Jul 2013 - Last modified on 25 Jun 2019

Printed: 466 - Emailed: 0 - Viewed: 32,158 (daily average: 8)

Objectives:

·To learn two methods of offering the Eid prayer.

·To learn greetings exchanged on Eid and their proper response.

·To understand seven vital pieces of advice for a ‘Happy Eid’.

Arabic Terms:

·Allahu Akbar – Allah is the Greatest.

·Eid - festival or celebration. Muslims celebrate two major religious holidays, known as Eid-ul-Fitr (which takes place after Ramadan) and Eid-ul-Adha (which occurs at the time of the Hajj).

·Eid Mubarak – Eid greeting that means ‘Blessed Eid.’

·Eid Saeed – Eid greeting that means ‘Happy Eid.’

·Fatihah – the opening chapter of the Quran that is recited in every rakah of prayer.

·Imam – someone who leads the prayer.

·Rakah – unit of prayer.

·Ruku’ - the bowing position in prayer.

·Salat ul-Eid – two units of ritual prayer offered on Eid.

·Takbir – uttering “Allahu Akbar”.

·Takbiratul-Ihram – saying ‘Allahu Akbar’ that commences the prayer.

·Udhiyyah – the sacrificial animal.

·Wajib – obligatory.

Procedure for The Eid Prayer (Salat ul-Eid)

Eid ul-Adha 3.jpg The Eid Prayer is required (wajib). It consists of two rakahs, with extra takbirs (saying ‘Allahu Akbar’). The wisdom behind the Eid prayers, like the Eid days themselves, is to thank Allah for His countless blessings. The imam will pray in one of two ways. He will explain how he is praying before the beginning of the prayer:

METHOD 1

In the first rakah of the Eid prayer, the imam will offer 3 additional takbirs after the Takbiratul-Ihram and opening supplication but before reciting the Fatihah. Raise your hands with each takbir, as one does for Takbiratul-Ihram. After each takbir, let the hands rest at the sides. Place hands together after the third and final takbir. After this, the rest of the rakah is the same.

In the second rakah of the Eid prayer the imam will recite the Fatihah and some portion of the Quran. He will then say 3 additional takbirs. They are like the first rakah’s takbirs, except that you leave your hands to your sides after the third takbir. After these three takbirs have been called and completed, one says the takbir for going into ruku, without raising one’s hands.

METHOD 2

Like any prayer, the prayer begins with Takbiratul-Ihram followed by the opening supplication. It is followed by 7 takbeers in the first rakah and 5 additional takbeers in the second rakah. Rest of the prayer is like any other prayer.

Greetings Exchanged On Eid ul-Adha

Not knowing the greetings flying around during Eid can be an uncomfortable experience. Not exchanging any greeting is perfectly acceptable in Islam, but socially awkward. Therefore, knowing what are the greetings and their appropriate response will help you with social acceptance.

People from India and Pakistan congratulate one another by saying “Eid Mubarak” (Blessed Eid).

Arabs tend to say “Eid Saeed” (Happy Eid) or ‘kullu ‘aam wa antum bi-khair’ (may each year bring you good health).

The Companions of Prophet Muhammad used to say, ‘taqabalallahu minna wa minkum’ (May Allah accept it from us and from you).

They are all fine. Simply respond by repeating the same greeting back! It will be fine if you smile or ask for help in repeating back the words.

Advice for Eid ul-Adha

1. Take the day of Eid off from work or school. If you cannot, please make arrangements for time off for at least the Eid prayer.

2. Make arrangements for the sacrificial animal ahead of time. You can go with local Muslims to a ranch or a slaughter house. It will be an experience you will not forget! You may want to slaughter the animal yourself or you can have a fellow Muslim do it for you. You can also send money to an Islamic charity to do it on your behalf and they will distribute the meat to the poor. For millions of Muslims it is the only time in the year they get to eat meat. You can locate many charities by doing an online search for “udhiyyah 2013.”

At least for the first few years after accepting Islam, I will recommend that you simply send the money to feed poor Muslims overseas either through your mosque or one of the online Islamic relief organizations. You can join the local Muslims to get the experience if you like. Costs of doing udhiyyah overseas will vary based on the country you want it to be performed in. A few organizations are listed below, you can find many more online:

http://www.irusa.org

http://icnarelief.org

www.zakat.org

3. Call your local mosque or Islamic center a week before Eid ul-Adha to find out the time and place where Eid ul-Adha prayer will be held. After the Eid prayer, ethnic sweets and foods are usually served. Most mosques will hold Eid dinners either in the evening or within the next few days. Find out when and where they are and attend them.

4. Do not get lonely or feel isolated. Make arrangements with your Muslim friends or families ahead of time to visit them for Eid ul-Adha. Invite Muslim friends and cook for them. If you can’t cook, eat out with them. Try to involve your non-Muslim family members by taking them to the Eid prayer with you or have them visit you for dinner with your Muslim friends. It will take some planning. Do it ahead of time. You have four days to celebrate!

5. Families give gifts to children on Eid. Prophet Muhammad said: “Exchange gifts with each other, you will love each other.” (Bukhari, Al-Adab Al-Mufrad) You may like to give gifts to your non-Muslim and Muslim family members and friends.

6. Volunteer on Eid day at your local mosque. They will need volunteers for parking, food set-up, clean up, children’s activities, and more.

7. Dress up for Eid. Buy some new clothes and be in the ‘celebration’ mode!

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