Adil Najam
Last year we posted a rather disturbing video that might have been titled the ‘revenge of the cow’; if you did not see it, it may be worth watching again. Our bhains video this year is more docile but equaly though-provoking.
This is a Geo News report from Bakra Mandi, Walton, Lahore. Rs. 10 lakh (Rs. 1,000,000), Rs. 6 lakh (Rs. 600,000) for a cow and the bargaining goes on. “Babar” is a fine specimen for sure - wighing 35 mun, 4 year old, and drinking 10 kilo milk and eating 1o kilo of fodder a day it is being offered for Rs. 10 lakh (Rs. one million).
Is this a story about inflation? Or is it about showing off? And how does it connect with the spirit of sacrifice and sharing that the qurbani is supposed to be about? If the purpose of qurbani is sacrifice and helping the poor might it not be better to just take that money and distribute to the really needed who might find the case more helpful than a fine piece of steak? I understand the importance of ritual in any social and belief system. But the spirit of the ritual should count for more than its mechanics. No?
Unfortunately nearly everyone has missed the real question in this post. Inflation or showing off?
This video and the type of bragging rights that people are trying to buy has got nothing to do with religion or eid or qurbani, this is pure showing off and rubbing ones wealth on others. Last many days all I have heard from anyone this Eid is about what they paid for their animal. SOme because they are shocked by the price and others because they want to brag about it.
I think killing these poor animals is now murder. If people really cared for the spirit of sacrifice, they woud sacrifice their wealth in ways that actually and really help the poor. Qurbani and zakat, that is the real spirit. I am sure that God is not interested in how many killos of milk and fodder my ‘janwar’ ate. The question is did our sacrifice make teh world and His people better. And this rituals are now going against the purpose of qurbani but everyone keeps doing it because “log kiya kahain gay!”
half of them decide to start keeping a goat, sheep or a cow in their house a couple of months before Eid “to establish a bond with the animal
Right now more than one car in a house is more problematic and pain in neck for Karachiites on road than a mere animal. Plus 1 million people have their own animal? seems you have no idea about ground reality. Most of people prefer to take Hissa; due to financial issues rather buying their own Bakra.
Amerika me bethey bethey byan phenkna asaan baat hay bhai, kabhi ground reality par bhe bat karlia karo
1. The prices of sacrifical animals makes mockery of people who can not afford it.
2. If you think about it, Qurbani has other hidden costs, purchasing is just the start. After purchase, you have to arrange to transport it to your home. Then you have to take care of these animals (feeding/cleaning/providing safety or paying for safety of your animal). On the last day which is Eid. You have to either find and pay the butcher (Qasae) or
you do it yourself which is a whole day activity (slaughtering, skinning, cutting, cleaning, and at the end distributing the meat).
So if you add all associated cost and you have debt in your hand.
Does someone remembers Dilawar Figars’ Nazm on Qurbani ke janwar aur qeemtain.
Please share.
“Obviously it is not possible to establish a bond with an animal that was bought just a couple of days before eid. The animal should be reared and taken care of for sometime before it should be offered[slaughtered]”
This sounds a little problematic. For example, there are two million households in Karachi (population 12-14 million) and half of them decide to start keeping a goat, sheep or a cow in their house a couple of months before Eid “to establish a bond with the animal”. Now imagine one million bakras bleating in the city for two months. Wouldn’t the citizens of Karachi go nuts? And what if every one becomes a “good Muslim” and starts adopting cattle at home?
Pardon me.
Frankly, I am disappointed both at the current post (including the previous post and the responses) as well as the responses.
Is this what the best and the brightest know about our faith?
No wonder, those guys who have memorized six ayats and three hadees are cleaning the clock! No wonder those primary pass and middle fail fellows have been running circles around us.
Are we answering ignorance with more ignorance?
I do not mean to patronize, but come on folks, you can do better.
Dear RJ,
I belive it is high time that our generation realize this thing that common sense is the biggest gift of God to all mankind and we need to make use of it and someone has to dare to talk about it loud and clear and now, and forum like these can help but the main need is to create awareness amongst masses about the value of human life, we need to come up with a two child policy enforced by the government, so that we can sustain as a nation, imagine the Atta crises at the moment,,as the population grows demand for Atta increases, and the cultivatable land decreases, it is going to be a total chaos in the coming years …..please I request all of you on this forum try to create awareness amongst those you can.
Rahim Khan
It is perhaps the silliest way of sacrifice adopted as a ritual by Muslims. Ibrahim, the prophet, had tried to slaughter his son, Ismail, in response to a dream seen by him but Allah saved him and substituted the boy with a sheep as the story in Islamic literature goes. But the poor sheep had no god to save her and so she and her offspring are being slaughtered and eaten to this day by humans and that to with so much relish and show of religiosity.
Why apologize dear Rahim; the article you quoted is quite related both to Ismail’s and our times. The time then was as lawless and the god as choosy as today, rather worse. A man who preaches moderation and enlightenment but makes a show of his religiosity as a political stunt is treating us like ‘bakras’ today. Unfortunately the ‘bakras’ have neither any rights nor any god to protect them like the god of Ismaeel which saved him. So prayers of us ‘bakras’ or those of our mothers are all vain and a ritual in futility. Of coarse we can be sure of heaven which lies under the feet of our mothers in any way.
I fully agree with the remarks of Naveed Ejaz particulary when he says, ” —— the real purpose of Qurbani is sacrifice something that is very close to you for the will of God. Obviously it is not possible to establish a bond with an animal that was bought just a couple of days before eid. The animal should be reared and taken care of for sometime before it should be offered. ”
I have a personal experience of one such Qurbani. When I was young my parents bought a beautiful Bakra for Qurbani well ahead of Eid ul Azha. It was a beautiful Bakra and had a plume of curly hairs on his fore head. It was very playful and became my pet for next 6 months or so. And then Eid ul Azha arrived and this Bakra, my pet, was slaughtered despite my vigorous protestations. Many decades have passed but I still remember how sad I was on that particulr Eid. Since that day I have been reluctant to perform this ritual.
Now this incident does have some corelation with my not doing Qurbani but there are other reasons for it as well.
I think Qurbani is ok as part of various rituals of Haj. But carrying out of this ritual by those who have not performed Haj does not make much sense to me. I would like to be educated in this regard.
I also feel killing of so many top class animals in one day just to perform a ritual which is not a Farz is wasteful.
The element of show of wealth in performing this ritual is also very much there. What really bugs me is the multipile Qurbani and Qurbani on behalf of their dead ones done by some (newly and/or filthy) rich people. Now does that make any sense??