Srinagar, Oct.25 (ANI): Businessmen in Srinagar and other parts of Jammu and Kashmir are doing brisk business, with people thronging markets to shop for essentials and other items required for the festival of Eid-al-Adha, which falls on Saturday (October 27).
Customers have been visiting markets to select sweets and new clothes of their choice.
Livestock are also being selected for sacrifice on Saturday.
Shopkeepers said there is a surge in the sales of various commodities.
"We have made various varieties of products for the customers. The rates are same; there is no increase in the prices. Things are prepared keeping in mind the taste and demand of the public. And, with Allah's grace, the rush is good this year," said bakery owner Ali Mohammad Khan.
Waseem Ahmed said the sale of sweets, clothes and livestock is high.
According to Islamic tradition, the Prophet Abraham was blessed with his son Ishmael at a very advanced age and nurtured a deep love for the boy. Allah (God), through a series of divine commandments to Abraham, ordered him to sacrifice his son in order to prove his devotion. Very saddened, but true to his faith, Abraham readied for the sacrifice, to which his son had also consented. Abraham was stopped by Allah at the last moment, having given proof of his faith, and was asked to sacrifice a goat instead. The ritual of sacrificing animals every year is in tribute to this incident.
The festival also marks the culmination of the Hajj pilgrimage, considered as one of the five pillars of Islam.
The tradition of the Eid-al-Adha festival also enjoins all those who can afford a sacrifice to do so, and to distribute the meat of the slaughtered animals to the needy, after keeping back what they need for themselves. (ANI)
