Eid al-Adha literally means the “festival of the sacrifice”. Eid al-Adha is one of the two holiest days in Islam and marks the end of Hajj. It also commemorates the story of the Prophet Ibrahim’s test of faith, in which he was commanded by God to sacrifice his son. God spared the boy and put a ram in his place. Today Muslims reenact the sacrifice and distribute the meat equally among family, friends, and the poor.
Eid al-Fitr is a celebratory feast that marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting. Eid al-Fitr is one of two religious’ holidays in Islam. Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr by wishing each other ‘Eid Mubarak’, “have a blessed day during Eid, they attend the mosque to pray “Salaat al-Eid,” they make a charitable contribution to the poor, exchange sweets with family and friends and give gifts of money to children.
Elephant is often referred to as the name of the year Prophet Muhammad was born. “The Elephant” is a chapter of the Quran that tells the story of when Abraha the Abyssinian marched upon the Kaabah in Mecca with a large army, which included war elephants, intending to demolish it and what it symbolized. However, the lead elephant ‘Mahmud’ stopped at the boundary and refused to enter.
Elijah, known as Ilyas in Arabic, was a prophet in Islam. He was tasked with dissuading the people of the Kingdom of Israel from worshipping the idol Baal. Most people rejected his message, save for a small group of believers.
Eve, known as Hawa in Arabic, is the wife of Adam and the “mother of mankind” who dwelled in the eternal garden with Adam. Satan enticed them to ignore God’s command to not approach the forbidden tree. Adam got tempted and along with Hawa they ate from the tree. God was angry with them and ejected from the eternal garden sending them down to Earth where they dwelled forever, they became the first human family to which humans trace their ancestry.
Evil Eye is misfortune cast on a person by someone who is jealous. A jealous person can cast the evil eye on someone intentionally or unintentionally. Muslims are taught to seek protection from the evil eye with Quran recitation and prayer. When Muslims see something admirable that could cause jealousy, they say “masha’Allah”, which means “what God has willed”, to remember that all good things come from God.
