Muslims in Iran and across the globe are celebrating Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice).
The devotees celebrate the annual occasion by saying prayers, sacrificing livestock and serving the meat to the needy.
In Iran, the Eid al-Adha prayers were led by Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani, Tehran’s interim Friday prayers leader, with massive throngs of worshipers in attendance.
It is an important festival on the Islamic calendar which marks the climax of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
The rituals constitute a high point in the Hajj rituals, which have been underway in holy city of Mecca since Wednesday.
During the festivities, which fell on Friday this year, Muslims pay tribute to Prophet Ibrahim’s submission to the divine order of sacrificing his son.
Trying to perform the act of ultimate abnegation, Ibrahim, however, was sent a sheep through Archangel Gabriel to sacrifice instead.
Ibrahim’s obedience thus helped him pass the supreme test of subservience to God, and has been serving as an ageless model for the Muslim faithful.
An estimated two million Muslims have reached the holy city, to observe the pilgrimage -- itself a mandatory religious duty and a display of Muslim unity – which is to last until Monday.
Eid al-Adha is celebrated for three straight days, the last of which is to witness Muslims performing the ‘Stoning of the Devil’ in Mina, near Mecca.
On the day, which also coincides with the last day of the Hajj rituals, Muslims throw stones at a pillar representing the devil.