RIYADH: Eid ul-Azha, the festival of sacrifice, is being observed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Sources told banglanews that thousands of Muslims started here going to the Eidgah just after the Fajr prayers.

The central Eid congregation in Riyadh was held around 6:00am at Dheera Masjid, sources added.

However, Saudi Grand Mufti Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah Al ash-Sheikh led the prayer.

Prayers also were held in other mosques, including Kaaba Sharif and Masjid E Nabawi.

Later the Muslims greeted Eid wishes with one another and sacrificed there cattle by the name of Allah.

In the lunar Islamic calendar, Eid ul-Azha falls on the 10th day of the month of Dhul Hijjah.

Eid ul-Azha marks the end of hajj, a religious pilgrimage undertaken by millions of Muslims each year to Makkah in Saudi Arabia.

Much of the hajj rituals commemorate the ordeals of Abraham (Ibrahim in Islam) during his and his wife Hajar’s stay in the arid desert of what is now the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The stoning rituals represent Abraham’s rejection of Satan’s temptation. The “saie” (running seven times between the hills of Safah and Marwah (now within the Masjidil Haram (Grand Mosque) in Mecca, represents Hajar’s search for water in the Arabian desert.

“Tawaf” (going around, or circumambulation of, the Ka’abah) seven times inside the Grand Mosque is performed on the Station of Abraham.

** KSA grand mufti urges Muslims to be united

BDST: 1201 HRS, OCT 04, 2014