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How Filipino Muslims celebrate Eid Al Adha in the UAE
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - As Muslims all over the world celebrate Eid Al Adha, popularly known as The Feast of Sacrifice, Filipino Muslims in the United Arab Emirates welcome the festivity with enthusiasm and joy.
Commemorating an important spiritual event in Islamic history, Eid Al Adha is a special occasion during which Filipino Muslims unite, not only to perform the Eid prayers in the mosques but also to strengthen bonds with their families, relatives, and friends.
Maria Kathrina Kayani, who lives in the capital as a housewife and mother of three children, told GMA News Online that she always looks forward to the celebration of Eid Al Adha as this is the best time to bond with her family and relatives.
Kayani, who is married to a Pakistani Muslim, said that her kids are always excited during the Eid holidays because it is the time of the year when they get presents, wear new clothes, go out, and dine as part of the Islamic tradition.
“Every Eid Al Adha we go out as a family to bond. Even the night before, we prepare sweets to eat in the morning. As part of Pakistani culture, I cook rice pudding with chai (tea). Every Eid, we have new clothes, we take the kids out to enjoy and bring presents,” Kayani said.
Even before marrying in December 2015, Kayani, who hails from Quezon City, said she had embraced Islam.
“As a revert Muslim, I felt more blessed and it’s really a different feeling when you consciously know that you are near to Allah. Before I got married, I was already a Muslim. I learned how to become a Muslim. I studied Islam so I can teach my kids,” she explained.
Anabelle Amba from Bukidnon's Maramag town said that the first time she celebrated Eid Al Adha was with her colleagues in March 2017 after she got married to an Egyptian national.
Amba, known by her Muslim name Khadija, who in Khalifa City with her husband and two daughters. She embraced Islam three months after she arrived in Dubai from the Philippines on March 2, 2016.
It is a tradition in her family to go to the mosque to offer the Salat Eid Al Adha prayer and visit friends and relatives afterward.
“On the day I stepped into the land of Dubai on March 2, 2016, I saw how women covered their bodies and how men protected and respected the Muslima. It was then in June 2016 I decided to embrace Islam. I got married with the help of the Dubai Women’s Association in 2017. I am celebrating Eid Al Adha with my husband together with our lovely daughters,” Amba said.
Muslims all over the globe will celebrate Eid Al Adha on Sunday, June 16, the 10th of the Islamic month of Dhul Hijjah.
Annie Cortez Mateo, a born Muslim who hails from Sarangani, said it is their custom to meet relatives and friends to offer prayers during Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha.
After the congregation prayers, Mateo, who works as an assistant teacher, said they convey their “salam”, an Islamic greeting that means peace while asking for forgiveness.
“Before the Eid, we fast. On the first day of Eid, magsambayang (pray) kami. We go to our relatives, we bond together, we prepare sweets and delicious food. We give hadiya (presents) if we can afford them. It’s really the time to bond, an opportunity for us to ask for forgiveness,” she told GMA News Online.
Mateo said that Eid Al Adha was a deeply spiritual experience for all Muslims as they not only come together to pray but also feast and bond.
Carlo Trinidad, who embraced Islam in 2023, said that aside from going to the mosque to perform the Eid prayers, he also prepares for the Qurbani, an Islamic tradition that means an annual sacrifice of an animal offered to Allah.
“The Qurbani or the meat of the sacrificed animal will be distributed to the family in need to have food on the table to celebrate the Eid,” Trinidad said.
Trinidad, whose Muslim name is Khalid and who works as a document controller in one of the contracting companies in the capital, said he was going through a dark time in his life when he accepted Islam last year.
"I was on my way to work with my Muslim colleague last year and out of nowhere I asked him how to become a Muslim. Since then, I found my peace when I took my shahada," he recounted.
Shahada is a profession of faith that there is no god but Allah and is one of the five pillars of Islam.
In Eid Al Adha, Muslims commemorate the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son in obedience to God. As part of the tradition, Muslims sacrifice an animal, usually a sheep, goat, cow, or camel, and distribute the meat to family, friends, and those in need.
Teresita Fuellas, a veteran administrative officer who embraced Islam in 1997, said that the Eid Al Adha was also the time when Muslims performed the holy pilgrimage of Haj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, one of the five pillars in Islam.
Fuellas, who is known by her Muslim name Sarah and is married to a Bahrani national, said the festival begins by fasting on the day of Arafat or a day before the Eid as part of the “sunnah” or teachings of Prophet Muhammad for the forgiveness of sins.
She said the occasion of Eid is an opportunity to ask Allah’s forgiveness and bond with families, relatives, and friends.
“On the first day of Eid, we perform the Eid prayers, 15 minutes after sunrise at a nearby masjid (mosque), the congregational prayers are usually held on open premises. Right after, we convey greetings to one another, to our families, and friends. Later on, we'll join other families and extended families for a get-together. A sumptuous variety of sweets and other traditional food are served. Children and old alike exchange presents especially prepared homemade food,” she said. — DVM, GMA Integrated News
