Muslims in Seychelles celebrate Eid-ul-Adha with devotion and joy |27 October 2012

Muslims attended traditional Eid prayer early yesterday morning at the main mosque in Victoria and at Beaufond Lane where the Qur’aan and Sunnah society of Seychelles has its temporary mosque.
Abul Fadl Mohsin Ebrahim led the Eid prayers at the main mosque at 7.30am yesterday. After the prayers, he delivered the sermon in front of a huge gathering, where he spoke about the significance of the religious ritual and the obligation of Muslims towards it.

Eid-ul-Adha is Islam’s second most important religious festival on the Muslim calendar and is observed after the Hajj – the annual pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca) in Saudi Arabia – and Muslims sacrifice animals to please God.

The main objective of this ritual is to remember the supreme sacrifice offered by Prophet Ibrahim (a.s) and to sacrifice our wishes in front of Allah’s command. Prophet Ibrahim was willing to sacrifice his son when God ordered him to.

Eid-ul-Adha celebrates the occasion when Allah appeared to Ibrahim in a dream and asked him to sacrifice his son Isma'il as an act of obedience to God. The devil tempted Ibrahim by saying he should disobey Allah and spare his son. As Ibrahim was about to kill his son, Allah stopped him and gave him a lamb to sacrifice instead.

Eid-ul-Adha is also a day of remembrance as the Muslim makes a fresh start of the day by a session of congregational prayers to Allah.

The Muslim’s most important religious feast is Eid-ul-Fitr which follows Ramadan – a lunar month of partial fasting.