Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Adha.

Falling on the 10th day of the holy month of Dhu al-Hijjah, Eid is the “Festival of Sacrifice” and coincides with the Hajj pilgrimage from Medina to Mecca.

It honours Abraham’s willingness to slay his son Ishmael at Allah’s request, a supreme act of faith.

The prophet, distressed by the order, asked Ishmael what he should do and the boy advised him to follow through with the commandment. Satan tried to dissuade Abraham from slitting the boy’s throat but was driven away by the prophet pelting stones, an act recreated by pilgrims on the Hajj.

When Abraham held the blade to his son’s neck on Mount Arafat, the angel Gabriel appeared to prevent him from going through with it, saying he had already demonstrated his love for god. A goat was slaughtered in the boy’s stead.

Today, the same animal – or a sheep, cow or camel, depending on the region – is sacrificed in memory of the story.

The Qu’ran quotes the Prophet Muhammad as saying: “On the 10th of al-Hijjah, there is no better act in the view of Allah than shedding the blood. Hence you should offer it in good spirit.”

The point of the sacrifice is to kill something dear to man as an offering to the divine, as Abraham was prepared to do, serving as a reminder to followers of Islam not to become preoccupied by their possessions or lose sight of their spiritual compass.

As Allah says in the Qu’ran. “It is not their meat, nor their blood, that reaches god. It is their piety that reaches god.”

The sacrificed animal is cut into thirds: one portion is given to the impoverished, another to friends and relatives and the last retained and eaten by the family.

Carrying out this sunnah (Islamic custom or sacred duty), can be controversial in practice, however, particularly in relation to where it is undertaken.

A man holds a ram at a market in Istanbul, Turkey, ahead of the annual Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha or 'Festival of Sacrifice' (Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty)

In Egypt, the Cairo governor’s office is currently working to stop people from enacting the slaughter on the city’s streets on hygiene grounds, fearing the spread of disease through the discarded entrails and blood and the meat itself becoming tainted by exhaust fumes or close proximity to garbage.

City spokesman Khaled Mostafa described the sacrifice as “barbaric and unacceptable” as he introduced a strict prohibition, fining private citizens or vendors who kill animals in public at pop-up livestock markets 5,000 Egyptian pounds (£218), well above the average monthly wage, according to The New Straits Times.

In the UAE, slaughter must be carried out at accredited public abattoirs. Doing otherwise incurs a fine of 5,000 Emirati dirhams (£1,060).

A Yemeni boy stands among a herd of sheep in a livestock market in the capital Sanaa as people buy provisions in preparation for the Eid al-Adha celebrations (Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty)

Elsewhere, cities like Chittagong in Bangladesh have set aside temporary areas where the sacrifice can be carried out under tarpaulin canopies, employing 5,000 cleaners to ensure the zones remain sanitary.

In India, a further complicating factor in the slaughter of cattle for Eid is causing grave offence to Hindus, to whom the cow is a sacred beast. States like Jharkhand have issued orders telling all deputy police commissioners their officers must intervene to prevent the killing of cows in their districts.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation offers strict guidelines on the slaughter of animals, stressing it must be carried out in abattoirs, which in turn must be “situated away from residential areas” and calling for “a well-planned, well-executed and controlled cleaning and sanitation programme”.

Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Show all 40 1 /40 Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Muslim pilgrims throw stones towards the symbolic devil represented by a Jamarat (Burning Coal) on the last day of the Muslims Hajj 2018 pilgrimage in the tent City of Mina near Mecca, Saudi Arabia EPA Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world People at a fairground set up celebrate Eid Al-Adha in Burgess Park, south London REUTERS Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Ivorian Muslims pray during the first day of the Muslim festival of Eid-al- Adha in Abidjan EPA Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world People take a selfie during Eid-El-Kabir festival in Dakar AFP/Getty Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Girls pose with a frame decorated with holiday wishes after Eid al-Adha prayers, held in a sports hall in Bucharest, Romania AP Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world A Palestinian man throws his child in the air following morning prayers marking the first day of Eid al-Adha celebrations Reuters Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Jamil, eight months-old, lies on the floor during Eid al-Adha prayers, held in a sports hall in Bucharest, Romania AP Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world A Muslim pilgrim arrives to throw stones towards the symbolic devil represented by a Jamarat EPA Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Muslim pilgrims head to take part in the symbolic stoning of the devil at the Jamarat Bridge in Mina, near Mecca AFP/Getty Images Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Families enjoy rides on the dodgems during an Eid in the Park celebration at the New River Sports ground in Wood Green, London Getty Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Ivorian Muslims pray during the first day of the Muslim festival of Eid-al- Adha in Abidjan EPA Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Muslims attend a morning prayer at the industrial wasteland of Parco Dora in Turin AFP/Getty Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world A boy cast stones at the huge stone pillar in the symbolic stoning of the devil during the annual Haj pilgrimage on the first day of Eid al-Adha in Mina, outside the holy city of Mecca AP Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Members of Naples' muslim community gather at Garibaldi Square EPA Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world A Syrian boy, dressed in his holiday outfit, prays over the tomb of a loved one AFP/Getty Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Men prepare to eat during Eid al-Adha celebrations in the village of Kok-Jare outside Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan EPA Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Palestinians attend prayer on the first day of Eid al Adha in Gaza City EPA Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world A man attends a Muslim morning prayer gathering at the industrial wasteland of Parco Dora in Turin AFP/Getty Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Cairo, Egypt Muslims try to catch balloons distributed for free after Eid al-Adha prayers outside al-Seddik mosque in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, August 21. AP Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Afghans greet each other after congregational prayers during the holy festival of Eid al-Adha, in Kabul EPA Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world A man distributes sweets to children after Eid al-Adha prayer at King Abdul Aziz Mosque, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Kosovo boys pray to mark the first day of Eid al-Adha outside the Sultan Mehmet Fatih mosque in Pristina AP Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world A child holds up a selfie stick before morning prayers in Quezon City, Philippines EPA Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Muslim Hajj pigrims pray around the holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque on the first day of Eid al Adha in Mecca EPA Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Palestinians attend prayer on the first day of Eid al Adha in Gaza City EPA Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Palestinians attend prayer on the first day of Eid al Adha in Gaza City EPA Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world A clown distributes balloons near the Dome of the Rock at al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's old city on the first day of Eid al-Adha AFP/Getty Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world A young Palestinian girl flies a helium balloon near the Dome of the Rock at al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's old city AFP/Getty Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Women and children conduct morning prayers to mark Eid al-Adha at a public park in Quezon City, Philippines EPA Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Muslim Hajj pigrims pray around the holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque on the first day of Eid al Adha in Mecca EPA Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Men hug each other after offering Eid al-Adha prayers outside of the Shah-e-Dushamshera mosque in Kabul AP Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Children dressed in their holiday clothes play on a swing in the opposition-held southern Syrian city of Daraa on the first day of Eid al-Adha AFP/Getty Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Bamako, Mali Malian women have their hair cut and styled in a salon, on the eve of Eid al-Adha in Bamako on August 20, 2018. AFP/Getty Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Almaty, Kazakhstan A man squats as he carries a sheep during a competition to mark Kurban-Ait, also known as Eid al-Adha, at the Central Mosque in Almaty, Kazakhstan August 21, 2018. Reuters Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Nairobi, Kenya Muslims attend prayers to mark Kurban-Ait, also known as Eid al-Adha, at an open field in Nairobi, Kenya August 21, 2018. Reuters Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Kavaja, Albania Albanian Muslims pray in the main square of Kavaja on August 21, 2018, to mark the first day of the Eid al-Adha Festival. AFP/Getty Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Gaza City Palestinian women take a selfie while waiting for for prayers on the first day of Eid al-Adha festival, in Gaza City August 21, 2018. Reuters Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Muscat, Oman Muslim men take part in the morning prayers outside a mosque in the Omani capital Muscat on the first day of Eid al-Adha on August 21, 2018. AFP/Getty Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Pristina, Kosovo Kosovo men pray to mark the first day of Eid al-Adha outside the Sultan Mehmet Fatih mosque in Pristina, Kosovo, Tuesday, August 21, 2018. AP Eid al-Adha celebrations around the world Beirut, Lebanon Muslims perform the Eid al-Adha prayer outside Al Ameen Mosque in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, 21 August 2018 EPA

Not all Muslims agree with the necessity of making the sacrifice. The Vegan Muslim Initiative, for one, campaigns against the practice, with co-founder Sammer Hakim branding it “highly irresponsible”.