Muslims around the world celebrate Eid-ul-Azha

Muslims around the world marked the Eid-ul-Azha on Tuesday, gathering at mosques or in vast open sites to celebrate one of the two most important festivals of the Islamic calendar.

Commemorating the willingness of Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) to sacrifice his son on Allah’s command, Muslims mark the day by slaughtering animals such as sheep and goats. The meat is shared among family and friends and also donated to the poor.

Palestinians visited the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount in occupied-al-Quds, following morning prayers marking the first day of the Eid-ul-Azha celebration.

The festival was also celebrated across Africa and Asia. In the Kenyan capital Nairobi thousands gathered in a field for mass prayers, the faithful also met in the Somali capital Mogadishu, and prayed at Almaty’s Central Mosque in Kazakhstan.

The festival comes as the annual Haj pilgrimage to Makkah in Saudi Arabia draws to a close. Roads from Muzdalifah -- another holy site where pilgrims spent Monday night -- to Mina were littered with plastic water bottles as sanitation workers scrambled to remove them.

Bangladeshi Moueeneddine Ahmed, 35, complained of the scorching heat but said he was "very excited" to take part in the stoning of the devil ritual. In keeping with customs he said he would then "shave his head" and trade the white seamless robe he wore for the hajj for his "normal clothes".

Ahmed also praised the Saudi government for keeping the peace throughout the Haj. "There’s a lot of security. Very disciplined," he said. Tens of thousands of security forces, including police and civil defence, have been deployed for Haj, according to Saudi authorities.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman made the trip to Mina on Tuesday and was seen on state-run television observing worshippers from the window of a high-rise. And in a rare move he took to Twitter to say it was a "great honour" to welcome the pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

It is one of the five pillars of Islam which every Muslim is required to complete at least once in their lifetime if they are healthy enough and have the means to do so. Muslims traditionally slaughter sheep for the three-day Eid-al-Azha, a tribute to the Hazrat Abraham (AS) sacrifice.

They will consume some of the meat and give the rest to poor people unable to buy food. Pilgrims can purchase coupons from the Saudi government, which organises the slaughter and freezing of the meat to avoid public health problems.