Days Until Eid — Eid al-Adha 2027

In 2026, a Hajj pilgrim from Birmingham boarding a Saudi-Med charter, a Lahore butcher preparing for the qurbani (animal sacrifice) trade peak, and a Nairobi banker arranging an Adha bonus payout for staff all need the same answer live on one tab: how many days until Eid al-Adha — Monday 17 May 2027 (10 Dhul Hijjah 1448 AH). This page runs a glowing crescent moon, a mosque silhouette in the background, and a swaying fanous lantern.

Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى, 'Festival of Sacrifice') commemorates the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Isma'il (Ishmael) on God's command — and God's substitution of a ram at the moment of the act. The narrative is in Surah As-Saffat (37:99-111) of the Qur'an and Genesis 22:1-19 of the Hebrew Bible (where the son is Isaac). Islamic tradition places the event on the Mina plain near Mecca.

The festival falls on 10 Dhul Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic lunar calendar and the month of the annual Hajj pilgrimage. 2027 = Mon 17 May; 2028 = Sat 5 May. The Hajj proper runs 8-13 Dhul Hijjah, with the standing-at-Arafat on day 9 (the spiritual climax) and the stoning-of-pillars (Rami al-Jamarat) and qurbani sacrifice on day 10. Approximately 2.5 million pilgrims attend annually post-pandemic (2.4M in 2024 per Saudi Hajj Ministry).

Qurbani (sacrifice) is performed on Eid al-Adha day by Muslims who can afford it — typically a sheep, goat, cow (shared by seven families) or camel (shared by seven families). The meat is split into thirds: family, friends/relatives, and the poor. Modern urban Muslims often delegate the sacrifice to charitable organisations (Islamic Relief, Penny Appeal, Muslim Aid) that distribute meat to refugees and disaster zones. Pakistan and Bangladesh see ~10 million animals sacrificed across three days.

The Hajj pilgrimage was established in pre-Islamic times around the Kaaba in Mecca, then radically reformed by Prophet Muhammad during his Farewell Pilgrimage (10 AH / 632 AD). The five days of Hajj rituals — ihram in Mecca, the day at Arafat, overnight at Muzdalifah, the stoning at Mina, the sacrifice, and the Tawaf al-Ifadah at the Kaaba — have been performed largely unchanged for 1,394 lunar years. The Saudi government runs the world's largest single-event logistics operation each Hajj week.

Eid al-Adha customs: takbir from fajr of 9 Dhul Hijjah through Asr of 13 Dhul Hijjah; Eid prayer in congregation; qurbani after the prayer; family meals featuring the sacrificial meat (biryani, korma, kebabs); visits to extended family; Eidi to children; new clothes (preferably white in classical Sunnah). Hajj-returning pilgrims are honoured with the title Al-Hajji (male) or Al-Hajjah (female) in many cultures.

Statistically, Eid al-Adha drives the largest single retail-meat spike in the global Muslim economy. Pakistani livestock markets 'mandis' turn over PKR 600+ billion in the week before Eid. Indonesia's 2024 Adha saw 1.3 million sacrificial animals processed. The UK Halal Monitoring Committee certified 240,000 Adha cattle in 2024. Animal-welfare standards under the OIC's halal standards body SMIIC and the UK's HMC require stunning protocols compatible with both Sunni jurisprudence and EU regulation 1099/2009.