Muslims across Saudi Arabia, gulf countries celebrating Eid-ul-Azha

MAKKAH: Muslims in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Dubai, and other gulf countries on Sunday are celebrating Eid-ul-Azha with religious fervour.

Over a billion Muslims from around the world are celebrating Eid-ul-Azha, which is also known as the “Festival of the Sacrifice’.

In Saudi Arabia, tens of thousands of Muslims have arrived at Masjid-e-Nabvi and the Grand Mosque in Makkah for offering Eid-ul-Azha prayers.

The annual Islamic festival, which this year has begun on August 11, sees Muslims offer a sacrificial animal (typically a goat or a sheep) in gratitude for Allah’s blessings.

Eid-ul-Azha is named after the sacrificial ritual, one of the rites of the Haj in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, where more than two million Muslims from around the world have gathered for the annual occasion.

In the UAE, Eid-ul-Azha is being celebrated as a four-day public holiday, from Saturday (August 10) to Tuesday (August 13).

It is considered as a common practice to gift some of the sacrificial meat, donate a part to charity and consume the rest at home.

The sacrificial rite is preceded by the Eid congregational prayer held in large numbers at mosques and open areas shortly after sunrise.