Birmingham Muslims mark Eid al-Adha with prayers and festivities across city

Muslims across Birmingham have been celebrating Eid this weekend with prayer services, festivities and lots of celebratory food!

While the city’s biggest Eid gathering and funfair in Small Heath Park – which usually attracts over 50,000 people – had to be cancelled on account of adverse weather conditions, hundreds of thousands of worshippers, friends and families took to their local mosques for multiple services to begin the three-day festival.

In Highgate, Birmingham Central Mosque held five services in several languages including Arabic, Urdu and English. The sermons and prayers were led by a cross-section of different imams including Shaykh Muhammad Jumma, Hafiz Sarfraz Madni, Hafiz Ahmed Ibrahim Patel, Shaykh Muhammad Asad and Hafiz Imtiaz Dawood.

A small bazaar outside the mosque hosted stalls selling books, sweets, prayers mats, traditional religiously-inspired fragrances known as ‘attars’, garments, toys and games, picture frames bearing Arabic calligraphy; and novelty gifts.

Mosque chairman Muhammad Afzal greeted worshippers and families as they arrived at the mosque. Speaking to I Am Birmingham, he said:

“Eid Mubarak to all the Muslims in the UK and throughout the world, but particularly to the Muslims of Birmingham.

“Eid al-Adha reminds us of the sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim and we celebrate every year in order to remember and also to celebrate the Hajj [pilgrimage] which was yesterday. Once again, Eid Mubarak to all Muslims.”

At Green Lane Masjid in Small Heath, similar services were held as thousands of attendees congregated in the mosque’s main hall to listen to sermons from Shaikh Aqeel Mahmood, Ustadh Mustafa Abu Rayyan, Qari Zakaullah Saleem, and Ustadh Adil Saleem.

Across the city, henna stalls were set up on main roads in predominantly Muslim communities, as Muslims in brightly coloured clothes came together to mark the annual celebration; sweet and cake shops opened up specially for the busy day and fireworks lit up the sky.

Eid al-Adha is celebrated by millions of Muslims across the world following the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Most Muslims observe the festival for three days.