Eid Mubarak! A Day for Second Chances

Eid Mubarak to all my brothers & sisters! Today is a celebration ending Eid al-Adha 2013.

This is the Festival of Sacrifice, one of the two feast festivals celebrated by Muslims. We eat, give and love!!

Eid al-Adha is understood as an opportunity for second chances.

Depending on the year, the dates vary. Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th day of the Islamic calendar’s last month which is called Dhu al-Hijjah. A journey of dedication and purification.

This year, 2013 in the United States, Eid al-Adha began in the evening of Monday, October 14 and ends in the evening of Tuesday, October 15.

Muslims celebrate the holiday to commemorate their belief in Ibrahim’s willingness to follow God’s command to sacrifice his son Ishmael, and Ishmael’s consent to being sacrificed. Allah spared Ishmael after seeing Ibrahim’s devotion and instead gave him a lamb to kill. In the Bible version, he is named Abraham and it is Isaac, not Ishmael, who is almost sacrificed.

On the Eid, many Muslims celebrate and pay tribute to Allah by going to a mosque for morning prayers and share meat with family, friends, and the less fortunate.

According to the Quran, when Ishmael (known as Isma’el in Arabic) was 13, his father, Abraham (Ibrahim), began having inconceivable dreams in which God instructed him to sacrifice Ishmael (Quran Surah 37). Unbelievable as the dreams were, Abraham decided to follow Allah’s instructions — but not before asking Ishmael if he would agree to this. The son did not hesitate, showing ultimate submission to God’s will by telling his father to go through with the sacrifice. Then, at the very moment that Abraham raised the knife, Allah tells him to stop — they had passed the test — and to replace Ishmael with a sacrificial ram. In the Quran, Abraham is rewarded for his faith with a second son, Isaac.

Muslims observe and prepare for Eid al-Adha in a number of ways. Before the festival, the faithful acquire new clothing and visit with family and friends. At dawn on the day of Eid, Muslims recite the traditional declaration of faith, the Takbir, followed by the pre-sunrise communal prayer, Salat al-Eid, which is also said on Eid al-Fitr. Worshipers then greet friends with the traditional Arabic salutation of Eid Mubarak (“Have a blessed Eid”) and exchange gifts.

Today is important for new beginnings, second chances and love. Move forward, forgive and be forgiven ❤May peace be upon you! Have a blessed day!

Click here for the slide show and full story on Huffington Post.

Learn more about Hajj here!