Monday marks the observance of the Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha

Eid al-Adha is one of the two major celebrations in the Islamic religion. The first Eid occurs at the conclusion of the holy month of Ramadan, to celebrate the month spent fasting. Monday’s Eid occurs after the hajj, or the pilgrimage to Mecca, is completed, said Ahmed Hassan, university studies junior and Education Officer of the Muslim Students’ Association.

Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam that Muslims strive to embody, and it consists of a pilgrimage to the holy cities, Mecca and Medina, located in Saudi Arabia.

“When you become a Muslim, or if you are a Muslim, you constitute the five pillars of our religion,” said Mariam Khokhar, biomedical sciences junior and outreach officer for the Muslim Students Association. “One of the pillars is hajj, our pilgrimage. Every Muslim, if you are healthy and can afford it, you have to travel to the holy cities, Mecca and Medina, to complete the pilgrimage. The pilgrimage is based off of one of our prophets, prophet Abraham.”

Eid al-Adha, which translates to “the festival of sacrifice,” commemorates the sacrifice of the prophet Abraham, said Anwer Ahmed, accounting professor and faculty representative of the Muslim Students’ Association.

Muslims believe Abraham saw a vision, or dream, in which God asked him to offer his only son, Ismail, as a sacrifice, but God replaced Ismail with a lamb, Ahmed said.

“We are commemorating [Abraham’s] tremendous act,” Ahmed said. “It teaches us that we always have to give God’s commands priority and that the love of God has to be above any other being or anything else.”

The day of Eid begins with morning prayers. Following morning prayers, the sacrifices of animals will ensue, to honor Abraham’s sacrifice. Some people will sacrifice animals themselves and others will delegate the deed to somebody else, many times, overseas, and the meat from the animal are donated to contribute to refugee aid or to help alleviate the drought in Africa.

“A third of the meat that’s sacrificed goes to your family, the second third goes to your friends and the third portion of the meat sacrificed is donated to the poor, or you give it to charity,” Khokhar said.

Ahmed said traditional Eid dishes vary from culture to culture . There are many diverse cultures within the Muslim countries and within the Muslim traditions. The food fluctuates, depending on the regions that different people come from.

“There is always some type of meat dish, either grilled or boiled … I am originally from Pakistan and we have specific sweets that my wife will make, but other people, like from the Middle East, will go for the baklava or other Middle Eastern sweets,” Ahmed said. “Each culture has its own kind of tradition.”

Eid al-Adha is a celebration that unites friends, families and communities, Hassan said.

“Eid is a holiday, just like any other one … We really look forward to it,” Hassan said. “It’s super fun. It’s a great time for all of us, because we’re all relaxing, enjoying each others’ company, eating good food together and laughing.”