Iraqis Celebrate The Festival Of The Sacrifice (Eid al-Adha) In Najaf

NAJAF, IRAQ - FEBRUARY 1: Iraqis walk past the shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf at sunset before a dust storm February 1, 2004 in Najaf, Iraq. Najaf is located approximately 180 km (111 miles) south of Baghdad. According to Ali, any Muslim buried in the shrine will enter paradise. Iraqis from all over the country come to the cemetery, which is the world's largest Islamic burial site and the final resting place for generations of Shia Muslims, to mourn their relatives during Eid al-Adha. The Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice), takes place on the tenth day of the Islamic month Dhul-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar in which millions of Muslims from around the world make an annual pilgrimage to Makkah in order to worship Allah and to commemorate the willingness of the Prophet Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael. To celebrate, Muslims slaughter sheep, goats, cows and camels, and one third of the meat is distributed to the poor, one third to neighbors and relatives, while one third is kept by the person who offered the sacrifice for use within his or her own family. (Photo by Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images)