Festivities were found to be gripping people in cities like Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Bhadrak, Rourkela, Berhampur, Bolangir, Kendrapara with sizeable Muslim population offering special prayers at mosques, eidgahs and open grounds for communal peace and harmony.
Despite torrential rains lashing Cuttack, special arrangements were made for the Bakr-Eid celebrations. A large number of Hindu families were also found to be joining the Muslims at several places as a mark of peace and brotherhood.
In several places, Hindu families visited the houses of their Muslim friends and greeted them. Similarly Muslim families invited their Hindu neighbours to join them in community feast.
Large congregation of Muslims were seen at the mosques in Cuttack, Rourkela and Bhadrak.
It is a festival of sacrifice and we prayed Allah to give us courage to sacrifice for the nation and society for good cause. We prayed for communal peace, universal brotherhood and removal of human suffering.
- Arshin Siddique, a lecturer of Rourkela Government College.
Also known as the Feast of the Sacrifice, Eid Al-Adha is one of the two most important Islamic festivals. It commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son to God and as per traditional beliefs, animals are sacrificed during the festival.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also extended his greetings to the Muslims on the occasion.
"Wishing everyone a very happy Eid. Eid Mubarak," Aamir tweeted on Wednesday.
His "3 Idiots" co-star Boman Irani also wished Eid Mubarak to one and all. "May there be prosperity, peace and happiness, always."
Director Ali Abbas Zafar tweeted: "Eid mubarak to everyone...love, happiness and brotherhood."
Actor Rajpal Yadav hoped this Eid brings "joys unlimited, may all your wishes come true on this holy day and may you and your family be blessed by the grace of Allah. Eid Mubarak," he tweeted.
Anil sent "warm heartfelt wishes to all of you on the joyous occasion of Eid. Have a happy feast".
Actors like Dharmendra, Arshad Warsi, Inaamulhaq, Raveena Tandon, Ameesha Patel and Kiara Advani also wished Twitterati on Eid.
Cities including Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Balasore, Bhadrak, Rourkela, Berhampur, Bolangir, Kendrapara wore a festive look as people hugged and greeted each other to mark the special day.
Special arrangements were made in order to ensure hassle free celebrations as people thronged to mosques in large numbers to offer namaz. “I wish all Eid Mubarak. We offered namaz and sacrifices as per tradition,” said a resident of Balasore town who had reached the mosque to offer prayers.
Similarly, a huge population thronged the various mosques and eidgah fields in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar and offered prayers. As per tradition, after namaz, an animal is sacrificed and a feast is prepared thereafter. The meat is then cooked and distributed among friends, families and poor.
In several places, non-Muslim families visited the houses of their Muslim friends and greeted them. Similarly Muslim families invited their non-Muslim friends and neighbours to join them in community feast.
“Ei ul-adha is the festival of sacrifice for the larger interest of mankind,” said a devotee who reached the Qadam-E-Rasool in Cuttack on the occasion.
“After offering prayers in the mosque we will return home to relish the delicacies prepared at our homes. Particularly, children and youngsters adorned in new clothes will visit their friends and celebrate the festival. We have invited our non-Muslim friends to join us in the festivities,” said a resident of Bhubaneswar at Unit-IV mosque.
The Muslim community at Unit-IV mosque were seen collecting donation for flood ravaged-Kerala.
Also known as the festival of sacrifice, Ei ul-adha or Bakrid is one among the two eid. The other is Eid ul-fitr. It marks the end of Hajj- an annual pilgrimage to Mecca which Muslim devotees take up once in their lifetime.
It falls on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, as per the Islamic lunar calendar and commemorates with Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son to God and as per traditional beliefs, animals are sacrificed during the festival.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, former Kendrapara MP Baijayant Panda, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and OPCC chief Niranjan Patnaik took to twitter to wish the people on Eid ul-adha.
Warm wishes to all on Eid-ul-Zuha. May the spirit of Eid bring joy & prosperity in our lives and further us on path of harmony, compassion and brotherhood. #EidMubarak pic.twitter.com/9eE77EBKbY
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) August 22, 2018
#EidMubarak ??????
May the spirit of sacrifice and brotherhood bring good cheer to all, and succour to those in need...— Baijayant Jay Panda (@PandaJay) August 22, 2018
Kovind took to Twitter to extend his Eid greetings and posted messages on the microblogging site in three languages -- Hindi, English and Urdu.
"Eid Mubarak to all fellow citizens, especially to our Muslim brothers and sisters in India and abroad," the President tweeted.
"Idu'I Zuha symbolizes love, fraternity and service to humanity. Let us commit ourselves to these universal values that represent our composite culture."
The Prime Minister also chose Twitter to convey his greetings.
"My best wishes on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. I hope it furthers the spirit of peace and happiness in our society. Eid Mubarak!," Modi tweeted.
"Eid Mubarak! Idu'l Zuha symbolizes the spirit of sacrifice and amity which inspires us to work for the well-being of one and all. On this occasion, let us share our happiness with the needy and follow social distancing norms and guidelines to contain COVID-19 spread," the President tweeted.
Eid Mubarak! Idu’l Zuha symbolises the spirit of sacrifice and amity which inspires us to work for the well-being of one and all. On this occasion, let us share our happiness with the needy and follow social distancing norms and guidelines to contain COVID-19 spread.
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) August 1, 2020
He tweeted in Urdu, English and Hindi.
The Prime Minister expected that the festival would inspire people to create a harmonious and inclusive society.
"Eid Mubarak! Greetings on Eid al-Adha. May this day inspire us to create a just, harmonious and inclusive society. May the spirit of brotherhood and compassion be furthered," he said in his tweet.
Eid Mubarak!
Greetings on Eid al-Adha. May this day inspire us to create a just, harmonious and inclusive society. May the spirit of brotherhood and compassion be furthered.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 1, 2020
Union Home Minister Amit Shah also took to Twitter, saying: "Greeting on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. May this day bring peace, harmony and prosperity in our society".
Muslims celebrate Eid al-Adha or Bakrid by stepping out in their best clothes and meeting their friends and families.
As is the tradition, Muslims around the world sacrifice animals on this day.
Later, a feast is prepared which is divided into three parts. One part is for family, friends and neighbours, the second part is distributed among the needy, and the last part is kept for immediate family.
(IANS)
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The people avoided hugging each other after morning prayers at mosques -- a tradition followed on festive occasions -- to curb the spread of coronavirus that has infected 16,95,988 people across the country. On Saturday, a record 57,118 cases and 764 deaths were reported for the last 24 hours.
The people restricted themselves to do 'salam'. Citizens above 60 years, persons with comorbidities or asymptomatic and children below 10 years offered namaz at home as advised. There were no prayers at Eidgahs or in open grounds.
Earlier in the day, mosque care-takers disinfected the premises and surroundings before and after namaz. Most mosques saw prayers in two phases to ensure social distancing among the worshippers.
At most mosques, people who offered 'fajr' or pre-dawn prayers stayed back for Namaz-e-Eid, held 30-60 minutes after the sunrise.
Eid ul-Adha or Bakrid is the second major Muslim festival celebrated to commemorate the sacrifice by Prophet Ibrahim, who offered to sacrifice his son Ismail on the Allah's command. The almighty, however, replaced Prophet Ismail with a lamb just as Prophet Ibrahim was about to slit his throat.
Calling upon the devout to imbibe Prophet Ibrahim's spirit of sacrifice, Imams, in their sermons on the occasion, said the Eid's message was that they should always be ready to surrender to the Allah's will.
After prayers, Muslims offered sacrifice of 'halal' animals. Sacrificing is obligatory for adults who are 'saheb-e-nisab' or possess wealth equivalent to 87.48 gram gold or 612.35 gram silver.
An individual can sacrifice a sheep or goat or may join six others to sacrifice a big animal. The meat of the sacrificed animal is distributed equally in three parts. The person making the sacrifice keeps one part for his family and distributes two parts among the relatives and the poor.
This year, the number of people offering sacrifice at homes came down due to Covid-19. To avoid the risk while buying the animal or hiring services of butchers, many either outsourced the job to traders or socio-religious organisations.
Many people preferred taking a 'hissa' or share in the cattle with the individuals and groups who organised a 'ijtemai qurbani' or collective sacrifice every year.
Community leaders said many people entrusted the task of distribution of meat among the poor to the groups arranging collective sacrifice. They wanted to avoid visits to relatives, friends and others to distribute meat due to Covid-19.
Meanwhile, President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the nation on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, urging people to enjoy the festival by maintaining social distancing and other norms.
"Eid Mubarak! Idu'l Zuha symbolises the spirit of sacrifice and amity, which inspires us to work for the well-being of one and all. On this occasion, let us share our happiness with the needy and follow social distancing norms and guidelines to contain Covid-19 spread," the President tweeted. He also tweeted in Urdu and Hindi.
The Prime Minister expected that the festival would inspire people to create a harmonious and inclusive society. "Eid Mubarak! Greetings on Eid al-Adha. May this day inspire us to create a just, harmonious and inclusive society. May the spirit of brotherhood and compassion be furthered," he said in his tweet.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted: "Greeting on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. May this day bring peace, harmony and prosperity in our society".
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other Chief Ministers also greeted people on the festival.
The Jama Masjid and the Fatehpuri Masjid in Old Delhi attracted a sizable number of people for the early morning namaz.
Shahi Imam Mufti Mukarram of the Fatehpuri Masjid said, "People observed social distancing and wore masks in the mosque during namaz. The mosque was full, but the number was less than previous years, as people were not allowed to offer namaz on the streets.
"Eid al-Adha means Eid of sacrifices. We prayed for relief from the virus, peace and growth of the country and thanked the authorities to allow namaz in mosques with precautions against Covid-19," he said.
(IANS)
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State Governor Ganeshi Lal and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik greeted people on the occasion of the festival, also known as Bakr Eid.
"We are celebrating the festival in a simple manner as we need to protect people from the deadly coronavirus," the president of a Bhubaneswar-based mosque, Shakilur Rahman, said
He said that devotees were asked to offer prayers at home and urged people to abide by COVID-19 protective guidelines laid down by the government.
Amid COVID-19 restrictions like lockdown and shutdown being in force in several parts of the state, the business was dull for shops selling items related to the festival in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Bhadrak, Balasore and other places.
Extending Eid greetings to people, the governor in a message called upon them to cooperate with the administration in battling coronavirus pandemic.
"Warm greetings on the auspicious occasion of #EidAdhaMubarak. May the Eid bring happiness and strengthen the spirit of peace, brotherhood & compassion in society," the chief minister tweeted.
Warm greetings on the auspicious occasion of #EidAdhaMubarak. May the Eid bring happiness and strengthen the spirit of peace, brotherhood & compassion in society.#EidMubarak pic.twitter.com/Q2IOnKtEy8
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) August 1, 2020
Among others, BJP national vice-president and former MP Baijayant Panda also greeted the people on the occasion.
Wishing Eid Mubarak to everyone on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. May the spirit of compassion & brotherhood flourish & contribute to peace, prosperity & happiness for all.
— Baijayant Jay Panda (@PandaJay) August 1, 2020
(PTI)
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