Muslims observe Eid’l Adha on Sunday; holiday falls on Monday

COTABATO CITY—President Rodrigo Duterte had declared Aug. 12, Monday, a nonworking holiday for the celebration of the Muslim feast Eid el-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) which Muslims in the Philippines would actually celebrate on Sunday.

This was announced by Bangsamoro Grand Mufti Abu Huraira A. Udasan, in an Aug. 2 letter to Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahad Ebrahim.

Udasan said Muslims around the world would perform the early morning prayer that signals the start of the observance of Eid el-Adha, one of Islam’s two biggest feasts. The feast marks the culmination of of the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. The other big Muslim feast is Eid el-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan.

During Eid el-Adha, prayers are followed by the slaughter of a goat or a cow or camel for those who could afford and the sharing of the meat with the poor. In Muslim tradition, the feast commemorates the day that the prophet Abraham sacrificed his son, Ismael, to heed God’s command. But when Abraham was about to slay Ismael, an angel appeared and replaced the boy with a sheep, saving Ismael./TSB