Millions celebrate Eid-ul-Azha, tight security in Muzaffarnagar

New Delhi/Mumbai/Muzaffarnagar: Millions of Muslims came out to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha in mosques and Eidgahs with traditional fervour across India.In Delhi, thousands of Muslims thronged various mosques in the city, including Jama Masjid and Fatehpuri Masjid, to offer prayers and greeted ‘Eid Mubarak' by hugging each other.After the prayers, they sacrificed animals to commemorate Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his only son, Ishmael, as an act of obedience to Allah.The faithfuls dressed in traditional fineries then visited homes of their friends and relatives and exchanged gifts. They also distributed the meat of the sacrificed animals among friends, neighbours, relatives and the poor.Eid-ul-Azha, also known as Bakr-Id, is celebrated by Muslims across the world as the festival of sacrifice, approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan, which is celebrated as Eid-ul-Fitr.The festival comes a day after the devout participating in Haj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, descend from Mount Arafat. In Srinagar, thousands of Muslims thronged mosques and participated in namaaz prayers. There were some stray cases of stoning soon after the prayers in downtown Srinagar.In Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, scene of communal violence last month, with hundreds of people still living in refugee camps, Muslims offered Namaaz prayers amidst tight security. The biggest congregation in Hyderabad was held at historic Mir Alam Eidgah where over 200,000 people offered prayers. The historic Mecca Masjid witnessed the second biggest congregation. Prayers were also held in hundreds of mosques in the city.Eid was also celebrated in Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Adilabad, Warangal, Vijayawada, Kurnool, Kadapa, Anantapur, Guntur and other towns of the state with people turning out in large numbers at Eidgahs and mosques to offer prayers.Muslims in Kerala celebrated Eid-ul-Azha, the festival of sacrifice, with hundreds of faithful thronging mosques and specially arranged Idgahs for the morning prayers in towns and villages across the state.Giving out the Eid message, religious scholars exhorted the faithful to uphold the Islamic ideals of love, compassion and unflinching faith in the will of Almighty.In the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, Eid namaz at the Payalam mosque in the heart of the city was led by Imam Jamaluddin Manakada.