Muslims gather at the Moscow Grand Mosque for the Eid morning prayers during the sacrificial Eid al-Adha festival inMoscow on September 24, 2015.
Built with the contributions of Russia and Turkey, the Moscow Cathedral Mosque opened with a ceremony overseen by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other political and spiritual leaders of Islamic countries on Wednesday, and features verses from the Quran on its dome that have philosophical meanings aside from being decorative elements.
AFP PHOTO
"As my soul glows brighter at every passing second. A grand morning takes place in Sulaymaniya. My soul is shining in this Eid morning. Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful. Rejoice Everywhere, With the Beloved One. It is Eid now...it is Eid now!'"
This famous verse by turn-of-the-century Turkish poet Yahya Kemal Beyatli gives a sense of the fervor with which the Eid al-Adha, or feast of the sacrifice, is celebrated throughout Turkey.
The festival honors the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son, as an act of submission to God's command. The story is recounted in the book of Genesis and in in the surah named Saffat in the Koran.
The sacrifice has two dimensions.
The first is religious: Any Muslim who is able to make the sacrifice must do it. It is not a matter of eating the meat of the sacrifice. Whether you eat it or not, the individual must perform the sacrifice.
The second is social: One-third of the sacrifice meat should be eaten at home, a third should be provided to needy relatives while the remainder is given to others in need of charity.
The sacrifice always coincides with, and is a necessary part of the pilgrimage (Hajj), according to the Hijrah lunar calendar that dictates Muslim events.
This image was captured at the famous Eyüp Sultan Mosque in Istanbul.
AA PHOTO
Russia's top Muslim Cleric Ravil Gainutdin, right, conducts a religious service inside the newly restored Moscow Cathedral Mosque during celebrations of Eid al-Adha, a feast celebrated by Muslims worldwide, which Muslims in Russia call Kurban-Bayram, in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015. The mosque was demolished and rebuilt to be one of the biggest mosques in the country with a room for 10,000 believers.
AP PHOTO
Muslim people attend an Eid al-Adha mass prayer as haze shrouds at Agung Mosque in Palembang on Indonesia Sumatra island, September 24, 2015 in this picture taken by Antara Foto. Indonesia has ordered four companies to suspend operations for allegedly causing forest fires that have sent thick smoke across a swathe of Southeast Asia, an environment ministry official said on Tuesday.
REUTERS PHOTO
