Eid Al-Adha Synopsis God created Adam in His image. There are ten generations from Adam to Noah. Noah  beget Sham, Ham, and Japheth, and then there was a flood on all the earth. Abram was the son of Sham, and he was born after the flood. There were a total of 8,515 years from Adam to Abraham, and this is the story of Abraham. Abram beget Ishmael with his wife’s maidservant, Hagar.  Abram’s wife, Sarai, was barren. Abram was 46 years old when he beget Ishmael with Hagar. God came to Abram and told Abram he would make Abram’s seed multiply exceedingly, and God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah when Abram was 100 years old, and Sarai was 90 years old. Then God made an everlasting covenant with Abram to circumcise every man child when he is eight days old. God promised Abraham and Sarah they would have a man child, and his name would be Isaac.  Abraham  kept God’s covenant. Abraham was ninety years old and Ishmael was 13 years old, and they were circumcised. Abraham circumcised Isaac when Isaac was 8 days old.

Eid Al-Adha Holiday greetings “Eid Mubarak!” (“Blessed Eid!”). Arabic Calligraphy By Nassib S. Makarem

To understand Islam* and the Druze Faith, I have written the story of the Eid al-Adha holiday which both Islam and Druze celebrate, and its meaning to the Muslims and to the Druze.
Muslims have two major religious observances each year, and corresponding holidays connected with each one:
Ramadan is a month of daytime fasting each year, which falls during the 9th month of the Islamic calendar: 
    Laylat al-Qadr - the “Night of Power” towards the end of Ramadan, which is when the first verses of the Qur’an were revealed to                                   Muhammad
    Eid al-Fitr - “The Festival of Fast-Breaking  (at the end of the annual fasting month of Ramadan)

    Hajj is - an annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia which occurs each year during the 12th month of the Islamic calendar

    Day of Arafat - a day when pilgrims gather at the Plain of Arafat to seek God’s mercy, and Muslims elsewhere fast for the day

    Eid al-Adha - “The Festival of Sacrifice” which comes at the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
During these times, Muslims give thanks to Allah for His bounty and mercy, celebrate the holy days, and wish each other well. At the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca, Muslims throughout the world celebrate the Festival of Sacrifice (Eid al-Adha). During this celebration, Muslims commemorate and remember the Prophet Abraham, by themselves slaughtering an animal such as a sheep, camel, or goat. Other than these two major observances and their corresponding celebrations, there are no other universally-observed Islamic holidays.

EID AL-ADHA COMMON ARABIC GREETINGS
The only holiday the Druzes celebrate is Eid al-Adha.
While appropriate words in any language are welcome, there are some traditional or common Arabic greetings that one may use or come across on this Eid al-Adha holiday:
“Kul ‘am wa enta bi-khair!” (“May every year find you in good health!”)
“Eid Mubarak!” (“Blessed Eid!”)
“Eid Saeed!” (“Happy Eid!”)
“Taqabbala Allahu minna wa minkum.” (“May Allah accept from us, and from you.”)

EID AL-ADHA STORY--By Julia Mullin Makarem
I have included The Story of Abraham, and God’s test of Abraham’s faith. The Druze scriptures confirm the story of Abraham, peace be upon Him, and the Eid al-Adha holiday is observed by Druzes the world over. It derives its name from the Arabic verb “daha” which means to “struggle” or “sacrifice.”  In the Story of Eid al-Adha, I tell about the Battle of the Khandak (trench).  Salman al-Farisi was a companion of the Prophet Muhammad who advised the early Muslims on military tactics, and is said to have introduced the technique of digging a trench to trip charging enemy cavalry. Because he was from Iran, and because the Iranians largely became Shiites after 1500, Salman is especially beloved by Shiites and by Druzes.

God and the Generations to Abraham - Genealogy of the Patriarchs

God created Adam in His image.

Adam lived 130 years and beget Seth and then lived another 800 years a total of 930 years.

Seth lived 105 years and beget Einos and then lived another 807 years a total 912 years.

Einos lived 90 years and beget Cainan and then lived another 815 years a total of 905.

Cainan lived 70 years and beget Mahaleel and then lived another 840 years a total 910 years.

Mahaleel lived 65 years and beget Jared and then lived another 830 years a total 895 years.

Jared lived 162 years and beget Enoch and then lived another 800 years a total 962 years.

Enoch lived 65 years and beget Methuselah and then lived another 300 years a total 365 years.

Methuselah lived 187 years and beget Lamech and then lived another 782 years a total 969 years.

Lamech lived 182 years and beget Noah and then lived another 595 years a total 777 years.

Noah lived 500 years and beget Shem, Ham, and Japheth and then when Noah was 600 years old there was a flood on all the earth. Noah lived after the flood 350 years and he lived a total of 950 years.

These are the generations from Adam to Abraham, and this is the story of Abraham. Abram was the son of Shem and Abram beget Ishmael with his wife's maidservant, Hagar.  Abram's wife, Sarai, was barren. Abram was 46 years old when he beget Ishmael with Hagar. God came to Abram and told Abram he would make Abram's seed multiply exceedingly, and God changed Abram's name to Abraham and Sarai's name to Sarah when Abram was 100 years old and Sarai was 90 years old. Then God made an everlasting covenant with Abram to circumcise every man child when he is eight days old. God promised Abraham and Sarah they would have a man child, and his name would be Isaac.  Abraham  kept God's covenant. Abraham was ninety years old and Ishmael was 13 years old, and they were circumcised. Abraham circumcised Isaac when Isaac was 8 days old.

Abraham beget Isaac when he was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old. Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah when they were old and well-stricken with age, and he loved his son dearly.

Abraham loved his son Isaac more than anything else in the world. Isaac was the "miracle" son and heir that he waited 100 years to have; but Abraham loved God even more. He was given the ultimate test to prove that love by having to offer Isaac as a sacrifice to God; God came to Him and told Him to take Isaac, His only son whom He loved, into the land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt offering upon the mountains which He would tell Abraham later.  Abraham prepared the wood for the offering and went to the place where He had been told to go. Then Abraham took Isaac, who asked his father where the lamb for the burnt offering was.  Abraham told Isaac that God would provide Himself with a lamb for the burnt offering.  Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac, His only son, and He took a fire in  His hand and a knife, and they went both of them together.  Abraham built an altar,  laid the wood;  then, He bound Isaac laying him upon the altar on the wood.  As Abraham took the knife to slay His son, the angel of the Lord called from out of the heavens not to slay His only son because God knew that Abraham feared God.  Then a ram appeared which Abraham took from the bush in which it had been caught and offered it for the burnt offering in place of His son, Isaac.

The Angel which had appeared to Abraham was Gabriel, the envoy to the Prophet Mohammed.  The Angel Gabriel instructed Abraham to descend from the mountain with His son, Isaac.  The Angel said that Abraham would be blessed because He had not withheld His only son, and that His seed would multiply as the stars of the heaven; and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and His seed would possess the gate of His enemies; and because Abraham had obeyed God's voice, in His seed, all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

The place where Abraham dwelt was Mecca, and He built His house there and called the people to make the pilgrimage to it as the Angel Gabriel had instructed Him to do, and when Abraham and Isaac died, they were buried in it.  The Arabic word "Hajj" is the pilgrimage to Mecca where they went.  The House of God where Abraham and Isaac lived and then were buried in is the Kaaba, and this is the "Kaaba" Moslems turn toward when praying. The time for "Hajj" is the Islamic month Thou al-Hijja, the month during which the Kaaba was built by Abraham and Isaac.  The pilgrimage to Mecca requires Moslems to sacrifice a lamb as God had ordered Abraham to sacrifice His only son, Isaac.  In 610 A.D., when Mohammed became the Prophet, His grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, who was from the House of Quarish, was in charge of maintaining the House of God which was the tomb of Abraham and Isaac.  The pilgrimage which the Prophet instructed each Moslem to make once in his lifetime is to the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia just as the Angel Gabriel instructed Abraham and Isaac to have the people do.
A short time after the inception of Islam, a battle known as the Battle of the Khandak, took place between the adherents of Islam and the non-believers of Islam.  "Khandak" is the Arabic word for "trench."  At that time,  warriors,  each one on his horse stood on his respective side of the trench.  A battle consisted of a warrior on his horse jumping over the other side of the trench and having a hand to hand battle with the enemy.  The Prophet's companion and confident, Salman al-Farasi, and just a few others,  were greatly outnumbered by the non-believers of Islam.  Ali, the Prophet's cousin, insisted on being the warrior, but the Prophet adamantly refused because Ali was just eleven years old.  Finally, winning approval because of his bravery, Ali jumped over the trench (That in itself was a daring feat.) and quickly slew the enemy warriors.  During this Battle of the Khandak, which lasted for ten days, Salman al-Farasi, the closest ally and companion to The Prophet Mohammed, and his followers were so engrossed in battle that they did not have time to prepare for the Hajj as each adherent of Islam was commanded to do.  The Prophet Mohammed told Salman al-Farasi and his followers, who later became the Druze sect, "You cannot defend Islam while you are engrossed in battle and at the same time prepare the "Hajj," so for you, Salman, and for you believers, the "Hajj" is waived.

For this reason, the Druze sect do not observe "Hajj" although many, after the Druze Movement began, continued to go to "Hajj" and still, there are Druze who do it today.  But at the end of the "Hajj" season, the Druze observe the Eid al-Adha, and among them, many of whom observe fasting during Ramadan, as well as eating only one meal a day for the ten days prior to the Eid al-Adha" just as the warriors did during the ten day Battle of the Khandak.  Because they were in a siege, Salman al-Farasi and his followers,  who were defending Islam in this battle, ate just one meal a day.  Also, during these ten blessed days, many prayers are said in Druze homes, and religious and pious Druze dedicate the majority of their time in worship  (reading the Druze sacred Books)  and in preparation for Eid al-Adha.

Since Eid al-Adha is a religious, as well as a traditional holiday, "Kaack," which is similar to a small cake, is made in most Druze homes. "Kaack" contains flour, butter, sugar, milk, and special spices.  On Eid al-Adha, these cakes are distributed to the "needy" in the villages, as well as to the Druze shrines. There are many Druze who slaughter a lamb to distribute among the poor.  Another tradition on this day is to visit the Druze shrines; the tomb of the Sayyed Abdallah in Abey in the Gharb district of Lebanon and the tomb of the Nebi Ayoub Shrine in Niha in the Chouf mountains of Lebanon.  There, they light candles and worship.  Also, it is customary to wear new and brightly colored clothes because this is a joyous occasion.  Children light sparkles and fire crackers to show their joy, and they eat sweets.  Sweets, as well as kaack, are offered to everyone in the villages and sent to the Druze shrines to be distributed to those who are engaged in worship. The customary greeting is
"Kil Sinnie ou Ento Saalmeen."

"Eid" is the Arabic word for holiday.  Holidays, which are religious, national, and  other, are symbols that represent traditional festivities in all cultures.  Eid Al-Adha is one of those great religious holidays which is celebrated in Islam wherever Moslems and Druze are found the world over. Moslems refer to Eid al-Adha as the "great feast" following Eid al-Fitr.  However, for the Druze, Eid al-Adha is the only religious holiday; its significance is Islamic.  It derives its name from the Arabic verb "daha" which means to "struggle" or "sacrifice."  Both the Bible and the Koran, as well as the Druze scriptures confirm the story of Abraham, peace be upon Him, and God's test of Abraham's faith.

 Bibliography

The Holy Bible
Genealogy from Bible, Genesis, Chapter 5, 1-32.

Birth of Isaac, Bible, Genesis, Chapter 21, 1-8.

The Trial of Abraham's Faith, Bible, Genesis, Chapter 22, 1-18.

The Glorious Koran, A.J. Arberry, the English Version

Abrahamic Covenant
Abraham loved his son Isaac more than anything else in the world. Isaac was the "miracle" son and heir that he waited 100 years to have; but Abraham loved God even more. He was given the ultimate test to prove that love by having to offer Isaac as a sacrifice to God; and having passed the test, was stopped by God at the last moment, and became a "friend of God". After Abraham proved his faithfulness, God made promises to him and his descendants - promises that were unconditional, and taken together are known as the Abrahamic Covenant.