10th Zul Hijjah

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Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى‎, "festival of sacrifice"), also called Feast of the Sacrifice, the Major Festival, the Greater Eid, Kurban Bayram and Bakrid, is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to honour the willingness of the prophet ʾIbrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his young first-born son Isma'il (Ishmael) as an act of submission to God's command and his son's acceptance to being sacrificed, before God intervened to provide Abraham with a ram to sacrifice instead.

In the lunar Islamic calendar, Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah.

The basis for the Eid al-Adha comes from the 196th verse of the 2nd sura of the Quran. The word "Eid" appears once in the 5th sura of the Quran, with the meaning "solemn festival". The 3 days and 2 nights of Eid al-Adha are celebrated annually on the 10th, 11th and 12th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the twelfth and last month of the lunar Islamic calendar.

Like Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha begins with a Sunnah prayer of two rakats followed by a sermon (khuṭbah).

Eid al-Adha celebrations start after the descent of the Hajj from Mount Arafat, a hill east of Makkah. Ritual observance of the holiday lasts until sunset of the 12th day of Dhu al-Hijjah.

Eid sacrifice starts after Eid Prayers and may take place until sunset on the 12th (view of Abu Hanifah, Malik, and Ahmad b. Hanbal) or 13th (Opinion of al-Hasan al-Basri, `Atâ’, al-Awzâ`î, al-Shafi`i, and some Hanbali scholars including Ibn Taymiyah) day of Dhu al-Hijjah.

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While in Makkah, Hussein (ra) received the news that Yazid had sent 'Umar Ibn Sa'd Ibn al-As as delegate of the caliph to the Hajj pilgrims and that among his duties was to kill Hussein (ra), on the spot, wherever he finds him. Because of this, he decided to leave Makkah before the pilgrimage season.

Before he left, he gave a sermon:

"In the name of God. All Praises to God... Death is written on the children of Adam as a necklace is designed for the neck of a girl. I see myself to be torn by beasts between Karbala' and Nawawis. Whatever Cod likes, we will do. We are patient with His test. We are not going to deviate from the teachings of the Messenger of God. Whoever wishes to come with us, he may. I am going to leave tomorrow morning."

Many dignitaries of Makkah tried to change his mind. His cousin 'Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas (ra) asked him to wait, and warned him, "You might be killed, and the people of Iraq are not reliable. At least go some other place, such as Yemen, where your father had followers."

Hussein (ra) replied, "O my cousin! I know that you are sincere, but I have decided on this journey."

Ibn 'Abbas said, "Then, do not take your children and your family, I am afraid if you take them, they may see you die."

Hussein (ra) replied, "By God, they are not going to leave me. If they leave me, they are going to be victims of someone who would not have mercy on them."

Then, Hussein (ra) mentioned that he did not want any blood spilled in Makkah and he wanted the family to be united, and whatever happens would happen to them together. And, if he leaves them, they would not be under anyone's protection.

He left Makkah on the 8th of Dhul-Hijjah, 60 of Hijrah (680 CE). With him were his family, his followers from the Hijaz area, Basrah, and Kufah.

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