Despite COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the government, Muslims in Pakistan are preparing for the upcoming Eid al-Adha festival, or the Feast of the Sacrifice. It is celebrated near the end of the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and begins this year on July 21. Over the course of the holiday, Muslims slaughter their best animals as a symbolic homage to the willingness of the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his first son as an act of supplication to God. Before Ibrahim could sacrifice his son, however, God provided a lamb to slaughter instead. Ahead of the festival, you can find sacrificial cows on many rooftops in the city of Karachi because courtyards are often already overcrowded with livestock.
Hoofs On Roofs: Pakistani Muslims Prepare For Eid Al-Adha, The Feast Of Sacrifice
- By RFE/RL
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A sacrificial cow is lowered from a rooftop by crane ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival in the Pakistani city of Karachi on July 11. Many people keep cattle on their roofs because yards are often already packed with livestock ahead of the holiday.
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People wait for this cow to be lifted onto a Karachi roof. After the slaughter, it's traditional to distribute the sacrificial meat to the poor.
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A cow being lifted to another Karachi rooftop.
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A man holds a bull to sell at a market after bringing the animal down from the rooftop of his three-story home in Karachi.
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Crowds gather to watch animals being moved to a rooftop in Karachi.
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A boy peers through an opening in a wall to watch cattle being moved up and down from rooftops.
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A man sits on a sacrificial cow as it is lowered from a rooftop by crane ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival in Karachi. This year the Feast of the Sacrifice begins on July 21 and is celebrated near the end of the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
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A man holds a cow that will be put up for sale at a local cattle market in the northwestern city of Peshawar. Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, are the two most important festivals on the Islamic calendar.
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A man at a Karachi cattle market sells decorations used to adorn sacrificial animals.
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A Karachi camel decorated for the upcoming Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.
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A man at a cattle market in Peshawar is among millions of Muslims around the world who are preparing to celebrate Eid al-Adha by slaughtering goats, sheep, and cattle in commemoration of the prophet Ibrahim's (Abraham's) readiness to sacrifice his son to show obedience to God.
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A cow being raised to a Karachi rooftop.
