Asha, Fitr, Ghadeer, Ashura and Jihad

• Id-ul-Adha


  Also known as the 'Festival of Sacrifice'
• Id-ul-Adha


  1. Happens at the end of hajj every year

  2. Remembers the time when Allah provided a ram for Ibrahim to sacrifice instead of his son Isma'il
• Things Muslims do in preparation for Id-ul-Adha


  • Select an animal for sacrifice
  • Say Bismillah over the animal - 'In the name of Allah the merciful, the compassionate'
  • Sacrifice the animal
  • Divide the meat into three portions: one third kept by the family, one third given to friends and relatives, one third given to the poor and needy
• Start of Id-ul-Adha


  1. Muslims complete wudu and offer a prayer, Salah al-Fajr

  2. Festival begins with prayers offered, usually at the mosque, and the delivery of a khutbah (sermon) by the Imam

  3. Id prayers may also be offered in an open-air gathering place known as an Eidgah

  4. Muslims exchange the traditional greeting of 'Id Mubarek' and give gifts and cards to each other
• Significance of Id-ul-Adha


  • Demonstration of Muslims' willingness to make sacrifices for Allah
  • Opportunity for them to be thankful to Allah for his provision
  • Helps to develop the sense of ummah, both in the gathering together for prayers and through the distribution of the meat
  • Sign of support for those who are on hajj and completing their animal sacrifice near Mecca
• Id-ul-Fitr


  The three-day festival of fast-breaking, beginning on the first day of the tenth month of the Islamic calendar, the month of Shawal
• Id-ul-Fitr happens at the end of Ramadan when the new moon is seen with the naked eye
• Before the festival begins

  Muslims will have paid zakah
• In the morning


  1. Families attend the mosque for Id prayers

  2. The Imam will deliver a khutbah (sermon) which often focuses on the duty to care for the needy

  3. Families return to their homes and gather with their friends for celebratory parties

  4. They will enjoy specially prepared food, exchange gifts, buy new clothes and enjoy each other's company
• Muhammad called this festival


  The Day of Reward
• The festival comes after the hardships of sawm during Ramadan
• The significance of the festival

  • They forget past disagreements and they are thankful to Allah for all he does for them
  • Their thankfulness includes the success that Allah has given them in the completion of their fasting
  • This enables them to look forward to their reward on the Day of Judgement
  • Muslims will also visit the cemetery to remember those who have been separated from them by death. In this way, everyone is united in the celebrations
• Ashura


  A Shi'a festival that takes place on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic year
• Ashura


  1. Celebrates the day that Nuh (Noah) left the ark

  2. Celebrates the day that Musa (Moses) was saved from the Egyptians by Allah
• Ashura for Shi'a Muslims


  A major festival where they remember the death of Hussayn on the 10th of Muharram 680CE
• Hussayn was the son of Ali and the grandson of Muhammad and the second Imam of the Shi'as
• Hussayn, along with a small group of his companions, was massacred by Sunni forces at a battle in Karbala
• The event led to the split between the Sunni and Shi'a of Islam and it is of central importance in Shi'a Islam
• Ashura for Shi'a Muslims

  1. Participate in public expressions of mourning and grief

  2. Some whip themselves on the back with chains, beating their head or ritually cutting themselves
• Pilgrimages on Ashura


  • To the Mashhad al-Husayn, the shrine in Karbala, that is believed to be Hussayn's tomb
• Ashura in London


  • Around 3,000 Shi'a Muslims gather at Marble Arch for a mourning procession and speeches
• Significance of Ashura for Muslims

  • Hussayn's death is generally understood by Shi'a as a symbol of the struggle against injustice and oppression
  • The mourning and whipping enable Muslims to link themselves with Hussayn's suffering and death
  • Many Shi'a believe this will help them on the Day of Judgement
• Jihad


  An Arabic word which means 'striving'
• Forms of jihad in Islam

  • Greater jihad
  • Lesser jihad
• Greater jihad


  The inner struggle that a Muslim strives with to control bad desires and intentions
• Lesser jihad


  An outer struggle and often linked with a military struggle
• Greater jihad


  1. A continuous process as each Muslim strives to follow 'the straight path' and please Allah

  2. Happens in all Islamic duties as Muslims are learning to be obedient to Allah

  3. Requires Muslims to overcome many negative qualities, such as greed and anger
• The striving against doing what is wrong (munkar) and seeking to do what is good (maruf) is called amr bi al-maruf wa nahy an al-munkar
• This is built upon the teaching of the Qur'an (Surah 3:110)
• This section of the Qur'an sets up the Muslim ummah as the best model for all societies
• Greater jihad is essential for all Muslims and takes precedence over lesser jihad
• Lesser jihad


  About creating a good and fair Muslim society, and some also believe it to include holy war
• When speaking specifically about war the Qur'an uses the word 'qital', rather than jihad
• If lesser jihad is in the form of a war

  • It should either be defensive or a war against an unjust regime
• The Muslim sect of the Kharijites added jihad to the Five Pillars of Islam, making it Six Pillars
• This kind of belief is seen in the extremist Muslim groups, including Daesh and Al-Qaeda
• They use jihad as a justification for killing or using violence against anyone who is not a Muslim, also known as 'kafir'