It was early morning just before the sunrise in Pakistan’s central city of Multan, where 24-year-old Gulfam Ali was in a hurry to take bath, get on his new clothes and shoes in his home.
Ali was getting ready to leave for the mosque to offer prayer for the Muslims’ sacrificial festival of Eid al-Adha, which was celebrated across the country on Saturday.
The young man was among hundreds of thousands of believers who thronged to mosques and open grounds across Multan district and offered Eid prayer, to pray for peace, progress and prosperity of Pakistan as well as the welfare and affluence of the nation.
After the prayer was finished, Ali greeted his friends, relatives, and neighbors present in the mosque by saying Eid Mubarak before rushing back to home to greet his mother and sisters.
To celebrate the Eid al-Adha, every Muslim who can afford has to sacrifice a goat, sheep, lamb, cow or camel to show his or her love and loyalty for the Allah. The meat is divided into three equal portions, with the first donated to the poor, the second given to relatives and friends, and the third cooked at home of the person who sacrificed the animal.
Ali was one of the lucky persons who succeeded in getting a butcher soon after the prayer as he had booked his services in advance by offering extra money.
Usually, hiring a butcher becomes the most difficult task on the first-day of the Eid as the demand is high.
Catching the big market in the Eid, some untrained and non-professional “butchers” appear like mushrooms on the day, but they generally will damage meat, ruin plans of sacrifice and therefore delay the delicious festival food.
Soon after distributing the meat, like many others, Ali went to the graveyard and sprinkled water and threw rose petals at his father’s grave and prayed for the deceased soul.
Now, it was time for fun and celebrations he has already planned.
Ali and his friends put their cooking material in their jeep and drove to the bank of the River Chenab for a bonfire BarBQ party.
Mutton and beef BarBQ is a popular choice for everybody during the Eid.
A big number of people rushed to the canal side or river side areas for a picnic and arranged mutton and beef BarBQ parties, while some families and friends arranged such parties at rooftops or in house courtyards.
Most Pakistanis love to eat fried-liver of the sacrificed animal as an appetizer, followed by different dishes of meat, such as mutton karahi, mutton biryani, mutton pulao, mutton and beef tikka, served with hot wheat bread, yogurt and fresh salad.
Soon after finishing their lunch, people rushed to visit their relatives and friends with a variety of sweets and dishes made of meat to express their delight and to celebrate the day together. Elder and senior family members also gave fresh currency notes to children and juniors to show their love to them and to facilitate their celebrations.
Inhabitants of Multan district, one of the hottest areas of Pakistan, were very happy on this Eid as some timely rain spells and continuous presence of clouds have lowered the temperatures.
Families, young people and children rushed to the City Canal Park and Multan Fort Park to enjoy the good weather. On the second day of the Eid, Ali and his friends had a plan to travel to the northern areas of the country to enjoy the scenic valleys and pleasant weather.
Pakistani Muslim watch the sacrifice of a camel on the second day of the Eid al-Adha festival in Islamabad yesterday.
