Eid Mubarak meaning: What the traditional Eid al-Adha greeting means in Arabic as Muslims celebrate festival

This week Muslims around the world will celebrate Eid al-Adha, the second of the two Eid festivals in the Islamic calendar.

The Festival of Sacrifice, known as “Big Eid” by some worshippers, is considered holier than Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan.

Although it falls after many of the UK’s lockdown restrictions were eased, some aspects of the celebration will still be curtailed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, many traditions will still endure, such as Muslims greeting each other with the traditional salutation “Eid Mubarak” – here’s what that means.

What does ‘Eid Mubarak’ mean?

“Eid Mubarak” is the traditional phrase used by Muslims to greet each other during the Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha celebrations.

The Arabic word “mubarak” translates as “blessed,” while “Eid” means feast, festival or celebration, so “Eid Mubarak” can literally mean “blessed celebration” or “blessed feast”, although it is widely interpreted as simply wishing somebody a “happy Eid”.

In exactly the same way, Muslims will often wish their fellow observers “Ramadan Mubarak” at the start of the holy month and throughout the fasting period.

“Ramadan Kareem” is less commonly used, but translates as “Generous Ramadan” – while the phrase can be used as a greeting in a similar way to “Ramadan Mubarak”, it can also describe Ramadan when referring to it in a wider context.

There is some debate around whether using “Ramadan Kareem” is appropriate, given that the expectation of generosity can be considered against the principles of fasting and prayer central to observing the holy month.

However, others argue that the greeting can appropriately refer to the generosity of acts towards others. Khaled Boudemagh, described by Gulf News as a Dubai-based language expert, said: “Ramadan is a month of generosity, therefore wish Kareem.”

Both “Mubarak” and “Kareem” are also given names in Arabic, which carry the same meanings as bestowed in the Eid and Ramadan greetings.

© Provided by The i For many people the mass gatherings that mark Eid al-Adha have been made impossible by Covid (Photo: AFP/Getty Images) When is Eid al-Adha?

Eid al-Adha falls on the tenth day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the twelfth month of the Islamic Hijri calendar. Because this is based on the lunar cycle, in the more commonly used Gregorian calendar, this date shifts from year to year, moving forward around 11 days annually.

The nature of the Hijri also means that it’s not possible to predict its date exactly – however, we have a little more warning than with Eid al-Fitr, when the festival falls right at the start of the month of Shawwal.

According to initial estimates, this year’s Eid al-Adha was due to start on Monday 19 July – however, this was contingent on the crescent moon to determine the start of Dhu al-Hijjah on 9 July.

No moon was seen, which pushed the date of Eid back by a day, with Saudi Arabia declaring that it would now begin on Tuesday 20 July, lasting for four days.

The festival is based on the famous story of the willingness of the prophet Ibrahim (known in the Christian Old Testament as Abraham) to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God’s command.

However, before Ibrahim carried out the heartbreaking request, God, known as Allah in Islam, produced a lamb for him to sacrifice instead.

To commemorate this, an animal is traditionally sacrificed and divided into three parts in an act known as Qurbani. One part of the sheep is given to the poor, one to the immediate family at home and one is reserved for relatives.

Some Muslims may give money to charity to give poorer families the chance to have a proper Eid feast, while mosques and community groups will often arrange communal meals.