عيد مبارك
History & Origins
The Story of Eid
From a divine command in the desert to a global celebration of over 1.8 billion souls — the remarkable history behind the world's most joyous Islamic festivals.
How Eid Was Established
In 622 CE (1 AH), Prophet Muhammad ﷺ completed the Hijra — the migration from Mecca to Medina that marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. When he arrived, he found the people of Medina observing two annual festivals filled with singing, dancing, and play — customs inherited from pre-Islamic times.
The Prophet ﷺ asked: "What are these two days?" The people replied that they were days of festivity celebrated since before Islam. The Prophet ﷺ responded with words that would change the course of celebration for all of humanity:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَبْدَلَكُمْ بِهِمَا خَيْرًا مِنْهُمَا
"Indeed Allah has replaced them for you with something better — the Day of Adha and the Day of Fitr."
— Prophet Muhammad ﷺ | Sunan Abu Dawud
The first Eid al-Fitr was celebrated in 2 AH (624 CE), following the very first obligatory Ramadan fast — which had been revealed just months earlier. The first Eid al-Adha was established the same year, coinciding with the first Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
From that moment in Medina, two days of pure joy, gratitude, and worship replaced what had come before — and the entire Muslim world has never stopped celebrating since.
Ibrahim (AS) and the Ultimate Test
قصة إبراهيم عليه السلام
Prophet Ibrahim (AS) — known as Khalilullah, the Friend of Allah — spent his life in relentless devotion to God. He had shattered his people's idols, survived being thrown into a great fire, and wandered far from his homeland in obedience to Allah's commands. Yet the greatest test was still to come.
For years, Ibrahim (AS) had prayed for a righteous son. When his son Ismail (AS) was finally born, the joy was immeasurable. As Ismail grew into a young man of noble character, Ibrahim (AS) began to receive a recurring dream — a vision of himself sacrificing his son.
يَا بُنَيَّ إِنِّي أَرَىٰ فِي الْمَنَامِ أَنِّي أَذْبَحُكَ فَانظُرْ مَاذَا تَرَىٰ
"O my son, indeed I have seen in a dream that I must sacrifice you — so see what you think."
— Ibrahim (AS) to Ismail (AS) | Quran 37:102
Ismail (AS) — though still young — did not tremble or protest. He replied with words that have echoed through the ages:
يَا أَبَتِ افْعَلْ مَا تُؤْمَرُ ۖ سَتَجِدُنِي إِن شَاءَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الصَّابِرِينَ
"O my father, do as you are commanded. You will find me, if Allah wills, of the steadfast."
— Ismail (AS) | Quran 37:102
Father and son walked together to the place of sacrifice. Ibrahim (AS) laid his beloved son down. He raised the blade. The mountains stood still. The angels wept at the sight of such absolute surrender to God.
Then — at the very moment of the act — a voice called out from the heavens:
يَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ قَدْ صَدَّقْتَ الرُّؤْيَا ۚ إِنَّا كَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ
"O Ibrahim! You have fulfilled the vision. Indeed, We thus reward the doers of good."
— Allah (SWT) | Quran 37:104–105
Allah had never intended for Ismail to be harmed. The command was a test — the most profound test of unconditional love and faith. Ibrahim (AS) had passed. A magnificent ram was sent from Paradise to be sacrificed in Ismail's place.
This is why, every Eid al-Adha, Muslims around the world perform Qurbani — the sacrifice of an animal. It is not the blood that reaches Allah. The Quran makes this clear:
لَن يَنَالَ اللَّهَ لُحُومُهَا وَلَا دِمَاؤُهَا وَلَٰكِن يَنَالُهُ التَّقْوَىٰ مِنكُمْ
"Their meat will not reach Allah, nor will their blood — but what reaches Him is piety from you."
— Quran 22:37
The sacrifice is a renewal of the spirit of Ibrahim — a yearly reminder that faith, gratitude, and complete surrender to God are worth more than anything we hold dear. The meat is divided into thirds: one for the family, one for friends and neighbours, and one for those in need — ensuring that everyone can eat and celebrate on Eid.
The Reward of Ramadan
عيد الفطر — جائزة الصيام
Eid al-Fitr is inseparable from Ramadan — the ninth and holiest month of the Islamic calendar. Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was first revealed to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and in 2 AH (624 CE), fasting for the entire month was made obligatory upon all Muslims.
After 29 or 30 days of fasting from dawn to sunset — abstaining from food, drink, and ill conduct — Muslims emerge spiritually renewed, their sins forgiven, their hearts closer to God. Eid al-Fitr is the divine gift at the journey's end: a day decreed by Allah as pure celebration.
Chaand Raat
The "Night of the Moon" — when the crescent is sighted, celebrations erupt. Henna, markets, and joy fill the night.
Eid Morning
Muslims wake before dawn, bathe, wear their finest clothes, give Zakat al-Fitr, and walk to the Eid prayer.
The Feast
Families reunite over lavish meals. Gifts are exchanged, sweets are shared, and gratitude fills every home.
Before the Eid prayer, every Muslim who is able must give Zakat al-Fitr — a small but obligatory amount of food or its monetary equivalent — to ensure that no person in the community wakes up hungry on the day of Eid. The Prophet ﷺ made this compulsory so that everyone, rich or poor, can participate fully in the celebration.
The Eid prayer itself is a congregation unlike any other — mosques overflow into streets and parks, people who haven't seen each other in years embrace, and the air resonates with takbeerat: Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, La ilaha illallah…
Eid Through the Centuries
First revelation of the Quran to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in the Cave of Hira during Ramadan.
The Hijra — the Prophet ﷺ migrates from Mecca to Medina and finds two pre-Islamic festivals.
First Eid al-Fitr celebrated after the inaugural Ramadan fast. First Eid al-Adha also established this year.
Conquest of Mecca. Eid celebrated in the holy city for the very first time.
The Prophet ﷺ leads his final Eid prayer and Farewell Hajj before passing away.
Eid spreads with the Islamic world across Persia, North Africa, Central Asia, and Andalusia (Spain).
The Fatimid Caliphate in Cairo establishes magnificent Eid processions that become legendary.
Eid celebrated in Constantinople for the first time following the Ottoman conquest.
Over 1.8 billion Muslims across 180+ countries celebrate Eid, making it one of the world's greatest festivals.
A Living Tradition
More than 1,400 years after that first Eid in Medina, the celebration lives on — louder, more colourful, and more global than ever. In Jakarta and Lagos, in London and Lahore, in Cairo and Cape Town, the same crescent moon signals the same outpouring of joy.
The form changes — the languages, the food, the music, the clothes — but the spirit is identical to what the Prophet ﷺ established: gratitude to Allah, generosity to the poor, and the warmth of human togetherness.
Every Eid is a living sermon. A reminder that faith can move a father to raise a blade against his own son — and that mercy will always descend before the blade falls. A reminder that thirty days of inner struggle deserve one morning of pure, unrestrained joy. A reminder that the Muslim ummah, scattered across every nation and tongue, is ultimately one family.
"The believers in their mutual kindness, compassion and sympathy are just like one body. When one of the limbs suffers, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever."
— Prophet Muhammad ﷺ | Sahih al-Bukhari & Muslim