'Meating' their maker: UAE residents maintain Eid traditions at livestock market — in pictures

It was another busy day at the livestock market and slaughterhouse in Abu Dhabi.

On Wednesday, the second day of Eid Al Adha, customers streamed into Abu Dhabi Livestock Market in Mina Zayed to select their animal for slaughter. The goat or lamb is then escorted to Abu Dhabi Municipality Public Slaughterhouse, across the road, where workers will pass on customer requests for specific cuts of meat.

The animal then meets its maker as a worker butchers it according to halal specifications.

The meat is then passed on to another butcher, further along in the assembly line, where it is cut based on the customer's instructions.

It is customary during Eid Al Adha — or the festival of sacrifice — for a family to have a goat or sheep butchered at an abattoir and share the meat between themselves, their relatives and the underprivileged.

This tradition is informed by the Quran, which tells of how God asked prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as a test of his faith. As Ibrahim prepared to submit to God's will, the devil tried to dissuade him and he threw rocks at him. This is an act is repeated by pilgrims at Hajj who throw stones at symbolic pillars.

Just before Ibrahim carried out God's command, God replaced his son with a goat. Now Muslims celebrate Eid by feasting on a goat.

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