Eid Ul Adha Celebrations in Woking.

This morning I visited and prayed with second of five congregations which are being performed at Shah Jahan Mosque in Woking.During these challenging times and observing restrictions, the mosque committee and the volunteers have been extremely well organised in controlling of the visitors.

Muslims all around the UK are to start celebrating Eid ul-Adha, the most important of Islam’s annual holidays. With approximately 4 million Muslims living in the United Kingdom, many people across the country are expected to take part in the Islamic celebrations.For my friends and colleagues and those of us who are not familiar with Islamic religious practices may be asking ourselves, what exactly is Eid ul-Adha? And how is it celebrated?The name of the holiday ‘Eid ul-Adha’ means ‘the celebration of the sacrifice’. This name refers to a tale of sacrifice mentioned in the Quran, in which God asks the Prophet Ibrahim in a dream to sacrifice his son, Ismail, as a test of his faith. Those familiar with Christianity will notice parallels between this story and that of Abraham and his son Isaac found in the bible, called the ‘binding of Isaac’. The Quaran explains that at first, Ibrahim ignored the dream, but after it had reoccurred for several nights in a row he decided to follow God’s orders to prove his faith.As he tried to decide his course of action, Muslim’s believe that the devil had tried to convince him not to kill his son.In response, Ibrahim threw rocks at him. This is considered a significant act and one that is now copied by pilgrims at Hajj who throw stones at pillars. As Ibrahim began to carry out God’s command, God swapped his son for a goat, which Ibrahim was allowed to sacrifice instead. Hence why Eid Ul Adha means “celebration of Sacrifice”.

The Imam Hashmi performed the prayers this morning and it remains me on behalf of all wish everyone Eid Ul-Adha Mubarak, peace to all and we prayer for wellbeing all mankind. #EidUlAdha #shahjahanmosque #woking