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for Allah is The Praise!

The Eid prayer is a couple of units or rak'ah's, followed by a sermon, or khutbah, by the imam (in some schools of jurisprudence, the sermon precedes the Eid prayer).

The one major aspect of this Eid is not to eat anything on 10th Dhul Hijjah until the meat of the sacrificial animal is cooked, and to partake from it as the first morsel of food for the day. The Prophet Muhammad [may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him] would thus fast from morning till the sacrifice, and break his fast with the meat of the animal. This fast is not compulsory; it is a sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad [may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him], and is thus highly recommended.

Perform the animal sacrifice as soon as possible after returning home from Eid prayer:

After the family returns home, the animals should be sacrificed. This can be done in the home verandah or courtyard, or in a neighborhood ground. In Muslim countries, animals are slaughtered everywhere, from the roads to the streets. In non-Muslim majority countries, however, animals can only be sacrificed at designated places, with prior permission.

If, for some valid reason, the sacrifice can not be performed on 10th Dhul Hijjah, it may be performed on the 11th or 12th (the days of stay in Mina for the pilgrims in Saudi Arabia). The reward will diminish with each passing day, though.

Eat from the meat:

A variety of delicious meat dishes await the Muslims on Eid Al-Adha! No sooner than the meat reaches the kitchen, that the appetizing aroma of mouth-watering delicacies starts wafting from it.

The recipe served immediately for breaking the short 10th Dhul Hijjah morning fast, is "kaleji" (roasted mutton or beef liver) with naan-bread or paratha.

For lunch and dinner, main courses of mutton biryani, pulao, beef nihari, qorma, and shami kababs are extremely popular in the Indo-Pak region.

Gift meat to relatives and neighbors:

Muslims send fresh meat to neighbors, relatives and friends as a sign of sharing and caring throughout the three days of Eid Al-Adha.

Give meat to the poor and needy:

It would not be an exaggeration to say that in most developing Muslim countries, the poor Muslim populace gets to each meat just once a year - on Eid Al-Adha. The spirit of charity runs high as every Muslim who sacrifices an animal is eager to share their meat with their poor brethren. Some better-off families go as far as dedicating several animals solely for feeding the poor and hungry on the three days of Eid.

It is heartening to witness the spirit of sharing and giving on this Eid, as no Muslim goes hungry during the tiring but joyous days of Eid Al-Adha!

Learn more about this author, Sadaf Farooqi.
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