• Cattle traders have lamented the low patronage of livestock
• The Eid was climaxed with the slaughtering of cows and ram
Muslims all over the country are celebrating this year’s Eid Al-Adha which falls on Tuesday, July 20, 2021.
Known as ‘The festival of Sacrifices’ the Muslims first converged at the National Mosque Complex in Accra together with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, vice president Mahamudu Bawumia, and other government officials to offer prayers led by the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuru Sharubutu.
Some participants immediately after prayers, shared a breakdown of how they intend to celebrate the day.
According to some individuals who spoke to GhanaWeb, although the outbreak of COVID-19 has somewhat disrupted the Eid celebrations, it won’t in any way deter them from having a memorable celebration.
The most significant aspect of the celebration is the slaughtering of livestock preferably, cattle or ram. To catch a glimpse of how it is often done, the news team visited some Muslim homes in Nima, to capture the sight.
Upon arrival at the popular Muslim community, it was noticed that most homes were somewhat turned into an ‘abattoir’ and this was categorized by the ritual slaughtering of cows and its preparation process.
Painting a clear picture of how the meat is often distributed, a member of one of the families GhanaWeb visited, stated that the meat is ideally divided into three parts before prior to its distribution.
According to him, the first part of the meat is kept by the family who purchased the animal, the second portion is often distributed to ‘poor’ Muslims, and the third part to friends including non-Muslims.
On his part, a cattle owner narrating his Eid experience also lamented the low patronage of animals due to the outbreak of covid-19.
Background
“Al-Adha” refers to sacrifice, specifically the “one in which Abraham was asked by God to sacrifice his son, only to have God intervene and substitute a ram (or lamb) instead.
The sacrifice as depicted in the Quran (the Islamic holy text) has similarities to what’s in the Bible, though according to most Muslims, Abraham was asked by God to sacrifice his son Ishmael, not Isaac.
