The story behind Eid-ul-Adha

The tradition for Eid Al-Adha involves slaughtering an animal and sharing the meat in three equal parts – for family, for relatives and friends, and for the less fortunate. It is not about animal cruelty or shedding any blood to please Allah(SWT), Eid el-adha is also called the feast of sacrifice, it is celebrated by many Muslims worldwide in the honor of prophet Ibrahim's (AS) willingness to sacrifice his young first-born son Ismael (AS) as an act of submission to Allah’s commands, when Allah appeared to Ibrahim in his dreams and asked him to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience, he didn’t rebel or hesitated to do so, bur rather prepared his son immediately for the sacrifice and took him to the top of mount Arafat and in his hands, a knife and a rope. Upon arrival, he mentioned the dream to his son Ismail (AS) and made him aware that Allah (SWT) has decreed for him to be a sacrifice and in obedience, his son Ismail (AS) accepted what was commanded of him and told him to do what is asked to do- suret As saffat (37:102). When he reached with him [the age of] exertion, he said, “O my son, indeed I have seen in a dream that I [must] sacrifice you, so see what you think.” He said, “O my father, do as you are commanded. You will find me, if Allah wills, of the steadfast.” Ismail (AS) asked to have both his hands and legs tied and asked his father to blindfold himself as to not see him suffer. Regardless of the repetitive dissuasion from Satan, Ibrahim (AS) shunned it away with stone-pelting (which became one of the hajj rites). After then, Allah (SWT) witnessed Ibrahim’s absolute devotional compliance and replaced Ismail (AS) with a ram as a sacrifice for his soul and that the command was sent to test his obedience and submission to the will of Allah(SWT). For Eid, we get all the way excited; we buy new clothes, gather with our families, exchange greetings with one another (Eid Mubarak), we see men putting on their white thobes, chanting the takbir out loud before the eid prayer on the first day. Throughout the four days of eid, we love seeing kids lighting up their fireworks on streets, we wait for our grandparents to call us over in the morning to give us el edya, it’s the authenticity of this that makes it incredible and different every year.