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Eid al-Adha: Celebration sweeps across the Muslim world

Agencies
August 11, 2019

Dubai, Aug 11: Joy and celebrations are sweeping across the UAE and the Muslim world as residents and visitors mark Eid Al Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, on Sunday.

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

Eid Al Adha is named after the sacrificial ritual, one of the rites of the Haj in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, where some 2 million Muslims from around the world have gathered for the annual occasion.

Public holiday

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

This is the moment when residents visit each other’s homes for Eid greetings and go out for a variety of dining, entertainment and shopping options.

Cattle markets and abattoirs had already prepared days in advance for the Eid rush to buy and sacrifice livestock.

It is 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 mosques and open areas shortly after sunrise.

‘Days of Eating’

The days of Eid Al Adha — the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th of the month of Haj — are also known “as the days of eating and drinking”.

Family lunches as well as meals or tea parties with friends at home are a main part of the festivities. Traditionally, Muslims cook some of the meat from the sacrificial animal for lunch or dinner. Many people also like to head out to restaurants.

Sweets, too, are a major flavour of Eid and shops are brimming with treats. As usual, especially in demand are traditional stuffed dates, Arabic sweets, dry fruits and chocolates, shopkeepers said. A salesman at a sweetshop in Diyafah said customers keep shopping till 4am on the eve of Eid.

Richly-decorated special Eid packaging and trays laden with sweets can be seen at the shops. Some non-Muslims are also buying sweets as gifts for Muslim colleagues and friends.

Children are in for a double treat as elders present them cash gifts called ‘Eidiya’ or ‘Eidee’.

Events and attractions
The UAE, like other Muslim countries, has organised a range of Eid events and activities.

Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE) is rolling out its ‘Eid in Dubai — Al Adha’ calendar of events with a focus on family fun.

There will be stage performances and roaming shows at malls, including Ibn Battuta Mall, Mercato Mall, and City Centre Mirdif, among others.

A complete line up of things to do for Eid is available on www.eidindubai.ae and on @dssoscial accounts of DFRE.

There will be fireworks at Dubai Festival City Mall on Sunday and Monday, at 8pm and 10pm.

Also, from Sunday to Tuesday, IMG Worlds of Adventure will be hosting shows between 11am and 11pm. Meanwhile, Modhesh World, a free-to-enter entertainment park at Dubai World Trade Centre, will continue to provide games, rides and entertainment throughout the Eid break and beyond.

Play areas and activations will also be offered at Children’s City, at Creek Park Gate 1, on Monday and Tuesday from 11am to 1pm, and then 4pm to 6pm.

Despite the hot weather, some families will be heading to public parks, beaches and tourist spots for an Eid getaway; while others have planned staycations at UAE resorts for the long weekend.

Online shopping is in
Shopping for new clothes and gifts is also a main aspect of Eid and this year many residents logged in for online deals instead of heading to the mall.

“We start shopping for Eid about 10 days ahead, beginning with the gifts and the new outfits to the groceries,” Alexandre LeChef, a French-Syrian public relations director and father-of-two, told Gulf News.

“I don’t want to miss out on the latest toys and must-haves, so this is what I usually pick up first, including video games, consoles and toys. We’ve also managed to find our Eid outfits, but need to get matching shoes that will please my two daughters.”

LeChef said he likes to finish his shopping early, including picking up ingredients for the traditional sweets and pastries.

Like Le Chef, Ansar Babu, a 39-year-old marketing executive from India, said he prefers to shop with his wife.

“We have families on both sides living here, and Eid is very a family affair. So we spend quite a bit of our time getting clothes for the family, and also to present as gifts to our extended family. There were quite a few sales on last weekend, and we’ve managed to get everything we wanted,” Babu said.

This Eid, Babu and his family are also focusing on renovating their house, and they so ended up making a few household purchases.

Sara Mousa, a 25-year-old Canadian-Egyptian media executive, said she loves to dress to the nines on Eid.

“I love wearing new clothes and accessorising, but had put off my purchases till the last minute. Everything seemed a tad expensive despite the sales. If I don’t find what I’m looking for, online shopping is always an option,” she said.

LeChef agreed, saying he had found a number of bargains online.

“I was able to find a few things that I couldn’t find in stores, and they were delivered the very next day too,” he added.

To ensure the safety and security of residents in the Eid rush, police departments nationwide are deploying extra units and operating special 24-hour patrols. Public transport services have also been extended to meet high passenger demand during the festive season. Meanwhile, public parking has been made free for the Eid holidays.

What is Eid Al Adha?

The Muslim festival marks the completion of rite of sacrifice during the annual Haj pilgrimage to the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Devotees globally also sacrifice an animal, usually a sheep or goat, to show gratitude for the blessings of Islam.

Muslims believe Allah accepted a ram as a sacrifice from Prophet Ebrahim (PBUH) after he had tested him with the order to sacrifice his son Prophet Ishmael (PBUH). When he obeyed, his son was replaced by a ram.

Eid routine

The first day of Eid Al Adha starts with group Eid prayers held in larges mosques and dedicated open spaces in each emirate shortly after sunrise. Many worshippers proceed to purchase a goat or sheep (or a camel or cow, in some cases) from the livestock market so they can offer the Eid sacrifice at abattoirs.

It is recommended to gift some of the sacrificial meat, donate a part in charity and consume the rest at home. Eid dishes are a main part of festivities, as the Eid days are known as “the days of eating and drinking” in Islam.

Muslims put on their best clothes for the occasion. They also gift money to children in a tradition called “Eidiya” or “Eidee”.

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News Network
March 13,2020

New Delhi, Mar 13: Delhi's Tis Hazari Court on Friday sentenced expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and six others to 10 years imprisonment for the death of Unnao rape survivor's father. Sengar is already serving life imprisonment for raping the minor.

While sentencing them, District Judge Dharmesh Sharma said, "There can be no denying that rule of law was broken. Sengar was a public functionary and had to maintain the rule of law. The way the crime has been committed, it does not call for leniency."

Sengar and his brother Atul has been directed to give 10 lakh compensation to family of the victim for loss of their father. "There are four minor children involved, three girls and one boy. They have also been uprooted from native place," the judge said.

Seven people, including Sengar, his brother and two police personnel, were held guilty for culpable homicide and criminal conspiracy, earlier this month.

The case pertains to the death of rape survivor's father in custody on April 9, 2018. It was alleged that he was assaulted following a quarrel with some of the accused in the case.

He was taken to the police station and then framed for allegedly possessing an illegal firearm. Pursuant to this, he was sent to custodial remand, during which he died.

The case was transferred to Delhi from a trial court in Uttar Pradesh on the Supreme Court's directions in August last year. Both the death and illegal firearm case was later clubbed by the court.

During the arguments on sentencing on March 12, Sengar had told the court that he should be "hanged and acid poured into his eyes if he has done anything wrong".

The former MLA had also raped the daughter of the deceased in 2017 in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district and was sent to jail for "remainder of his natural biological life", last year.

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Agencies
February 29,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 29: With Saudi Arabia indefinitely suspending visas for visit to Islam's holiest site for the Umrah pilgrimage in the wake of coronavirus outbreak, more than 10,000 people in the state who are awaiting their turn this year for the annual Hajj pilgrimage are a worried lot.

"This year more than 10,000 people in Kerala have been cleared by the Hajj committee," said C Muhammed Faizy, chairman, Kerala State Hajj Committee.

"There is no cause of worry. We hope that during the time of the pilgrimage, the travel restriction by Saudi Arabia will be lifted," he said.

Umrah is a pilgrimage to the holy site that can be undertaken at any time of the year, while the annual Hajj pilgrimage has specific months according to the lunar calendar.

"The move by the Saudi Arabian Government to impose travel restriction was due to the outbreak of coronavirus. It is a preventive step to contain it. In such large gatherings, if one person is affected, it will spread to others. So we fully understand the concerns of the Saudi Government," Muhammed Faizy added.

He said that the Hajj Committee only processes the requests of annual Hajj visit pilgrims and not Umrah.

"This year we expect the Hajj pilgrimage season to be from June to August after Ramzan. But it may vary according to the Ramzan date. We are yet to get any official correspondence from the Saudi Government regarding travel restrictions," he added.

The Saudi Arabian Government suspended visas for tourists from countries affected by the coronavirus, with many having to cancel their Umrah pilgrimage at the last minute.

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Agencies
May 14,2020

New Delhi, May 14: India may witness the death of additional 1.2-6 lakh children over the next one year from preventable causes as a consequence to the disruption in regular health services due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF has warned.

The warning comes from a new study that brackets India with nine other nations from Asia and Africa that could potentially have the largest number of additional child deaths as a consequence to the pandemic.

These potential child deaths will be in addition to the 2.5 million children who already die before their fifth birthday every six months in the 118 countries included in the study.

The estimate is based on an analysis by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health published in the Lancet.  

This means the global mortality rate of children dying before their fifth birthday, one of the key progress indicators in all of the global development, could potentially increase for the first time since 1960 when the data was first collected.

There were 1.04 million under-5 deaths in India in 2017, of which nearly 50% (0.57 million) were neonatal deaths. The highest number of under-5 deaths was in Uttar Pradesh (312,800 which included 165,800 neonatal deaths) and Bihar (141,500 which included 75,300 neonatal deaths).

The researchers looked at three scenarios, factoring in parameters like reduction in workforce, supplies and access to healthcare for services like family planning, antenatal care, childbirth care, postnatal care, vaccination and preventive care for early childhood. The effects are modelled for a period of three months, six months and 12 months.  

In scenario-1 marked by 10-18% reduction of coverage of all the services, the number of additional children deaths could be in the range of 30,000 plus over three months, more than 60,000 over six months and above 120,000 over the next 12 months.

Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths on May 13

The numbers sharply rose to nearly 55,000; 109,000 and 219,000 respectively for scenario-2, which was associated with an 18-28% drop in all the regular services.

But in the worst-case scenario in which 40-50% of the services are not available, the number of additional deaths ballooned to 1.5 lakhs in the three months in the short-range to nearly six lakhs over a year.

The ten countries that could potentially have the largest number of additional child deaths are Bangladesh, Brazil, Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Uganda and Tanzania.

In countries with already weak health systems, COVID-19 is causing disruptions in medical supply chains and straining financial and human resources.

Visits to health care centres are declining due to lockdowns, curfews and transport disruptions, and due to the fear of infection among the communities. Such disruptions could result in potentially devastating increases in maternal and child deaths, the UN agency warned.

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