Hundreds of millions of Muslims across South Asia were celebrating Eid Al Adha on Thursday.
South Asia, home to more than 465 million Muslims – about 65 per cent of the world’s Muslim population – celebrates the festival a day after Saudi Arabia.
Eid Al Adha, also known as the Feast of Sacrifice, marks the commemoration of Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Ishmael, as an act of obedience to God's command.
In India, which has the second-largest Muslim population in the world with 210 million, Eid Al Adha is one of the major festivals.
In the capital Delhi, a huge congregation gathered at the Jama Masjid, one of India's largest mosques, to pray.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his Eid wishes to the country.
“Greetings on Eid Al Adha. May this day bring happiness and prosperity to everyone. May it also uphold the spirit of togetherness and harmony in our society. Eid Mubarak!” Mr Modi wrote on Twitter.
On the eve of the festival, markets were abuzz with enthusiastic shoppers out buying goats and sweet treats.
Muslims offer sacrifices to honour Prophet Ibrahim’s act of obedience. The meat is divided into three equal parts and distributed among family, friends and the poor or needy.
In Bhopal, in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, a goat was sold for 1.2 million rupees ($14,625).
"King" the goat weighed 176 kilograms and was 109cm tall. The animal was fed grain, wheat, milk, dates and honey.
"This day always brings so much joy and the feeling of giving," Noil Khan, a resident of Noida, near Delhi, told The National.
In Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population in the world with 230 million – 13 per cent of the world’s Muslims – Eid festivities were back with feasts after fears of a return of last year's foot-and-mouth disease outbreak waned.
Eid Al Adha is known for its lavish meat-based feasts in Indonesia, which are made with meat from sacrifice. Huge crowds filled the yards of mosques to participate in ritual animal slaughter for the festival.
But last year festivities were dampened by foot-and-mouth, an acute, highly contagious viral disease of cloven-footed animals that is sometimes transmitted to humans.
“Thank God, we can pray Eid Al Adha with our family and celebrate the festival without fears of the outbreak and pandemic," said Neisya Fabiola, a Jakarta resident.
“This year’s celebration is much more lively than last year's.”
On Thursday, worshippers joined in communal prayers in the streets of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta. Mosques were filled with devotees offering morning prayers, including in Jakarta’s Istiqlal Grand Mosque, the largest in South-East Asia.
Indonesia's government has decided to extend this year’s feast of sacrifice holiday by giving an extra two days of mandatory leave before and after the festival.
In Pakistan, the ongoing economic crisis dampened the Eid festivities, with people struggling to withdraw money as bank machines ran out of cash and the prices of goats and lambs stayed high.
In Bangladesh, home to nearly 170 million Muslims, devotees attended Eid prayers at mosques despite incessant rain.
Millions of migrant workers left the capital Dhaka and other major cities for their homes in towns and villages to celebrate the festival with their families.
Bus and railway stations were packed with holidaymakers travelling home, while special meals were being served at hospitals, prisons and shelters throughout the country.
At the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Muslim worshippers gathered at 7am to perform Eid prayers as Grand Imam Ehsan Mohd Husni led the congregation.
Other countries in the region, including Brunei and Singapore, were also observing Eid Al Adha on Thursday.
