Muslims gather at Sir Ali Muslim Club in Ngara, Nairobi, for Eid-ul-Adha prayers

**Muslims gather at Sir Ali Muslim Club in Ngara, Nairobi, for Eid-ul-Adha prayers**

Thousands of Muslim faithful converged on the Sir Ali Muslim Club grounds in Ngara, central Nairobi, on Thursday morning to mark Eid-ul-Adha, the second and larger of Islam's two major annual celebrations, observed by communities across Kenya and more than 50 countries worldwide.

Worshippers arrived before dawn, many dressed in white kanzus and colourful buibuis, with families streaming in from Eastleigh, South B, Pangani, and surrounding neighbourhoods. By the time prayers began shortly after sunrise, the club grounds — a longstanding fixture of Nairobi's Muslim social life — were filled to capacity, with overflow congregants spilling onto adjacent streets managed by traffic police.

The sermon, delivered in both Arabic and Swahili, centred on themes of sacrifice, gratitude, and communal responsibility. The imam drew on the Quranic account of Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son as a metaphor for contemporary acts of selflessness, urging congregants to support the poor and vulnerable — a message that resonated in a city where the cost of living has surged sharply over the past two years.

Eid-ul-Adha coincides with the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, during which Muslims who can afford the journey — and have met government clearance requirements — sacrifice an animal and distribute its meat to those in need. In Kenya, halal butcheries across Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu reported brisk trade in the days ahead of the holiday, with goat and sheep prices rising by as much as 30 percent compared to last year, attributed to drought-related livestock shortages in parts of northern and eastern Kenya.

Religious leaders called on Muslims to use the occasion to strengthen interfaith relationships, reflecting Kenya's constitutionally protected tradition of religious pluralism.