Bakr-id or Id-ul-zuha

Practice

This is a major Muslim festival, which commemorates an important event in the Islamic tradition. God tested Ibrahim's faith by asking him to sacrifice his beloved young son, Ismail who had been born after much waiting and longing. Ibrahim explained his situation to his son, who urges him to do his duty by God. Ibrahim took Ismail atop a mountain to carry out the sacrifice. Ismail tied a piece of cloth around his father's eyes so that he would be spared the sight of his child dying by his own hand.

Ibrahim plunged his knife into the sacrificial offering and removed his blindfold to find a goat on his makeshift altar and his son unharmed. It is in honour of this test of faith that Muslims around the world sacrifice an animal on the occasion of Id-ul-azha to show their faith, allegiance and sincerity towards Allah. In India, the animal used most often for sacrifice is the goat - which is why the occasion is spoken of in Urdu as Bakhr or Bakri-Id.

Time:March/April . It occurs in the month of March but the precise date is fixed by the sighting of the moon.

Place:All over India, indeed, the world.