The main holiday of the year - Eid al-Adha or Kurban Bayram for Turkic peoples - will come on Sunday for Muslims around the world.
The history of the holiday dates back to the time of Ibrahim (Abraham), whose hand, raised to sacrifice his son Ishmael, was turned away by the Almighty, ordering him to slaughter a ram at the last moment. Thus, according to legend, the Almighty established a ban on the shedding of human blood.
The holiday also symbolizes the completion of the Hajj to the holy places of Islam in Saudi Arabia - Eid al-Adha is directly related to the culminating ceremony of the Hajj - "stoning the devil" (rami al-jamarat), which pilgrims perform at the shrines of Islam in Mecca and Medina. The rite personifies the legend when the devil tried to prevent Ibrahim from going to prayer. The ritual is performed in the area of the Jamarat bridge in the Mina valley, about 25 km from Mecca. Muslims throw seven stones each at the stelae symbolizing the devil. After the completion of the ritual, the pilgrims sacrifice an animal, and each Muslim participating in the Hajj must do this. The first sacrifice in Saudi Arabia is an unspoken signal of the onset of the holiday.
On Saturday, pilgrims participate in the main ceremony - standing on Mount Arafat ("wakfa"), which traditionally lasts from sunrise to sunset. All this time, the faithful offer prayers. It is believed that it is at this moment that the Almighty forgives them their sins, and non-participation in the standing makes the entire Hajj invalid. On the eve of Eid al-Adha, in Mecca, they update the sacred veil (kiswah) on the Kaaba - a shrine in the form of a cubic structure in the inner courtyard of the Grand Mosque.
According to a long-standing tradition, the kiswah is made of five pieces of black fabric embroidered with gold and silver, which cover the sides of the cube and the entrance to it. Dozens of craftsmen take part in the work on the kiswah, who manually embroider the text from the Koran on the fabric. And the old veil after replacement is cut into many pieces and distributed as souvenirs.
Eid al-Adha will last until Wednesday, June 19. During these days, millions of rams, goats and cows will be slaughtered in the Middle East.
Blogs
