Eid al-Adha

In the United States, Eid al-Adha 2026 is predicted to begin on the evening of Tuesday, May 26, (depending on sightings of the moon) and will end with the culmination of the Hajj a few days later.

In the Quran, Ibrahim has a dream in which Allah commands him to sacrifice his son Ismail as a sign of obedience to God. In the writing, Shaytaan (or Satan) attempts to confuse Ibrahim and tempt him to not go through with the act, but Ibrahim drives him away.

However, as Ibrahim is about to kill Ismail, Allah stops him, sending the Angel Jibreel (or Gabriel) with a ram to sacrifice instead. The commemoration of the Adha, which is Arabic for “sacrifice,” takes place on the final day of the Hajj pilgrimage, the fifth pillar of Islam.

Because Ibrahim was allowed to sacrifice a ram instead of his son, people with the means to do so traditionally celebrate the first day of Eid al-Adha with the symbolic sacrifice of a lamb, goat, cow, camel or other animal that is then divided into threes to be shared equally among family, friends and the needy.

Muslim worshippers typically perform a communal prayer, or ṣalāt, at dawn on the first day of the festival, attend Mosque, donate to charities and visit with family and friends. Exchanging gifts is also a common practice.

Eid al-Adha is celebrated on the final day of the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest Islamic city that is located in western Saudi Arabia. All Muslims able to do so are asked to make the five-day Hajj journey at least once in their lifetime, and 2 million do so each year.

At Mecca, worshippers visit the Ka’bah shrine, Islam’s most important monument, in the Grand Mosque. Also known as the “Black Stone,” the Ka’bah is believed to have been constructed by Ibrahim and Ismail. Pilgrims also visit the Jamarat Bridge, where Ibrahim was believed to have thrown stones at the devil.

In Arabic, “Eid” means festival or feast. Muslims celebrate two major Eids.

The first, Eid al-Fitr, Arabic for “festival of the breaking of the fast,” occurs at the end of Ramadan, a month-long period when Muslims fast daily from sunrise to sunset. Also known as Sawm, it is one of the Five Pillars of the Islamic faith. Ramadan marks the month Allah revealed the first verses of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad.

Eid al-Adha, generally considered the holier of the two Eid festivals, takes place about two months after Eid al-Fitr at the end of the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. The dates of both holidays are the same every year according to the Islamic lunar calendar. The Western 365-day Gregorian calendar is about 11 days longer, causing the dates to change each year.