Eidul Azha on Nov 7

The Central Committee has sighted the moon with the first of Zil-Hajj tomorrow.

ISLAMABAD: The moon of the Islamic month of Zilhaj has been sighted in Pakistan and Eidul Azha will fall on Monday (November 7), Chairman of Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, Mufti Muneebur Rehman said on Friday.

Announcing the date of Eid after the meeting of the committee in Islamabad, Mufti Muneeb said that the moon had been sighted in various cities of Pakistan and the whole nation would celebrate Eidul Azha on November 7. He added that the committee had taken the decision after reviewing reports on the appearance of the moon.

Eidul Azha, also known as the “Festival of Sacrifice” or “Greater Eid” is an important religious day celebrated by Muslims across the world to commemorate the willingness of Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) to sacrifice his son Hazrat Ismail (AS) as an act of obedience to God, before he intervened to replace a ram instead of Hazrat Ismail (AS).

Eidul Azha is celebrated annually on the 10th day of the last Islamic month of Zilhaj of the lunar Islamic calendar. The celebrations begin after the Hajj pilgrims descend from Mount Arafat. The Hajj congregation is also the world’s largest annual gathering.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2011.