Eid’l Adha begins September 12

Eid’l Adha falls on the 10th day of the Dhul Hijjah lunar month, corresponding to September 12, 2016

By MOHAMMAD YASIN

MARAWI CITY, September 2 — The Muslims in the Philippines will start the Eid’l Adha festivity which is commemorated all over the world on September 12 with the Salaat Eid prayed in the morning.

The festival day will be a holiday but Muslim Filipinos will mark it in days.
In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Supreme Court on September 2 confirmed the Eid to be on September 12 after religious authorities in the Kingdom failed to sight the Moon on September 1, Sauudi media reported.

As the activity is a culminating act of the annual Haj to Makkah, KSA, Muslim Filipinos like any other Muslims in the world have to follow the date confirmed by the Kingdom authorities.

The Eid’l Adha is Islam's holiest festival celebrated annually around the world and an official holiday in Muslim-majority countries.

In the Islamic calendar, Eid’l Adha occurs on the 10th day of the Dhul-Hijjah.

In the United States, the Fiqh Council of North America has said it will follow the Eid date announced by the authorities in Mecca, and so will the European Council of Fatwa and Research.

Holiday tradition

For Muslims, Eid’l Adha commemorates the day when Prophet Abraham (pbuh) was going to sacrifice his son but was instructed by God to offer an animal instead. Eid’l Adha in Arabic literally means "festival of the sacrifice".

Traditionally, the festival lasts for four days but public holidays vary from country to country.

In Turkey, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced that his country will observe a nine-day public holiday for Eid, known in Turkey as Qurban Bayram, from Saturday, September 10 until Sunday, September 19.

As in Eid’l Fitr 2016, the UAE, Kuwait and Bangladesh are also likely to observe a nine-day public holiday over the same dates as Turkey.

Qatar’s public sector will take five working days off for Eid, the Emiri Diwan has announced. Eid will be observed on Monday, Sept. 12.

According to QNA, government offices will be closed from next Sunday (Sept. 11) until Sept. 15 inclusive.

Taking into account the weekends, it will mean a nine-day holiday for government employees, who will be back to work on Sept. 18.

The holiday dates for employees of Qatar Central Bank (QCB), banks, QCB-supervised financial institutions and Qatar Financial Markets Authority (QFMA) will be set by the QCB Governor, the Diwan’s statement added.

Many schools across Qatar will also begin their new terms on Sept. 18.

In the Philippines, Eid’l Adha has also been a public holiday since 2002. TNRS