What is Eid al-Adha? Thousands of North Jersey Muslims gather for Feast of the Sacrifice
Mona Khan doesn't normally wear her traditional Pakistani frock. But Wednesday was Eid al-Adha, one of the most significant holidays on the Muslim calendar, so she dressed for the occasion.
As she enjoyed a festival outside the Teaneck Armory in honor of the holiday with her daughter, Myra, her bespangled green shalwar kameez glimmered in the sunlight.
Myra, 7, who was also garbed in a traditional Pakistani gown, was busy crunching on her rainbow-colored snow cone. As the mercury soared to 80 degrees, she tried valiantly not to let it drip on her light-green dress.
"This is such a beautiful day," said Mona Khan, who lives in Edgewater, as she swept her arm while standing in the front yard of the armory. "The highlight is seeing other Muslims from all over New Jersey here together, celebrating the holiday."
The Khans were among the thousands of Muslim worshippers who gathered at the Armory on Teaneck Road and at other sites around North Jersey on Wednesday to celebrate Eid al-Adha, Islam's Feast of the Sacrifice, with prayers and festivals. Similar events were held in Edison and New Brunswick and at Bergen County's Overpeck Park in Leonia, where hundreds gathered for an outdoor service.
An Eid festival in Wayne featuring Turkish music, a magician show and games for children will be held Thursday.
The Eid Committee of New Jersey has been organizing the armory event for the past 19 years, said Khaja Khateeb, a committee founder who estimated that this year's event drew nearly 10,000 participants.
"This is one of the biggest Eid events in New Jersey. Mayors of 10 New Jersey towns came. We are grateful to them," Khateeb said.
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Muslims around the world gather on Eid al-Adha to recall the willingness of the Prophet Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to Allah. According to the story recounted in the Quran, an angel was sent to save the boy and provide a ram to be sacrificed in his stead.
(A similar story is found in Judaism and Christianity about Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son, known in the Bible as Isaac.)
The festival also coincides with the completion of the annual pilgrimage, or Hajj, to Mecca in Saudi Arabia to worship at Islam's holiest site, the Kaaba. Every Muslim is expected to make that journey at least once if they are able.
Eid, which means "festival" in Arabic, is celebrated twice a year: Muslims also gather for Eid al Fitr, which means "the feast of breaking the fast," to mark the end of the monthlong Ramadan holiday.
Wednesday's event in Teaneck featured a half-hour prayer service followed by speeches, presentations by local politicians and a festival featuring food trucks, bouncy houses, face painting and pop-up clothing shops.
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Yassine Elkaryani, an entrepreneur who is active in the Teaneck community, volunteered with other congregants of the Darul Islah mosque to organize the event at Overpeck Park.
"Today is the most important holiday of the year for Muslims," he said. It's also a busy day: "We have to wake up early to perform the early-morning prayer, which I did at the mosque at 4:45 a.m. And then you pray the Eid prayer later in the morning. After that, people spend a lot of the day exchanging and WhatsApping friends and family to share holiday greetings."
At the Teaneck Armory, Shaheen Khateeb of Washington Township added, "This is a family day that everyone enjoys. It also has great religious significance. We remember that Abraham made a sacrifice."
Muslim worshippers observe Eid al-Adha by sharing meals and exchanging gifts with family and friends. Traditionally, celebrants also slaughter an animal — usually a goat or cow — and distribute its meat among neighbors and the poor, explained Mohammed Sadig of Cresskill. His Eid plans, he said, included going to a slaughterhouse in Paterson to perform this ritual.
Deena Yellin covers religion for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to her work covering how the spiritual intersects with our daily lives, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: yellin@northjersey.com
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This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: What is Eid al-Adha? Where in NJ to celebrate Muslim holiday
