Eid ul Adha is on or around the corner. I wish you all a safe, happy and fulfilling celebration with your family and friends.
All I ask is, please spare the poor goat or lamb or cow’s life. The purpose of sacrifice is to understand the spirit of parting with what you hold dear (your wealth), it is not some muqabla against four-legged animals.
Please pause and think … That, after all, is what religion should make us do rather than blindly following ritual.
According to the many organizations that will perform the sacrifice for you if you live abroad, the cost of one goat/sheep is US$ 160 in the US (that is more than one month’s salary for a college educated Pakistani professional). The price in Pakistan is cheaper, but not by much. Only the well wheeled can afford it. The Poor cannot even budget for a kilo of meat a month.
Is there a better way to ’sacrifice’ the 150-200 dollars or the Rs. 10,000 or more in the name of Allah that is useful to His bandas? A way that captures the spirit of sacrifice that qurbani entails and helps us meet our religious obligation as well as the social welfare and redistribution that is its deeper purpose?
The Qur’an reminds us that Allah looks at intent not the blood. Maybe we too should pay heed to the intent of qurbani? For those who want to sacrifice this writer instead, please read Chapter 22, Verse 37 from the Holy Qur’an (I have looked at translations by Marmaduke, Yusufali, Asad and Usmani) and they all talk about your own devotion, piety, God-consciousness and taqwa that reaches Him.
The meat from the sacrificial animal is intended to be divided into three parts: 1/3rd each for your self, family and friends, and for the needy and the poor. I would suggest we fore go our share, and give the whole amount to the poor including poor relations. Charity and alms should be given throughout the year, and many people do. But with this added emphasis around Eid ul Adha I would suggest we consider giving more to the poor including poor relations.
Allah looks at intent not the blood. What better way to celebrate this Eid?
On my last visit I saw a lot of people drive up to a certain “hotel” (Pinglish for restaurant) and pay the owner X rupees to feed X number of hungry folks lined up outside. That is a noble idea. But would it not be better better to teach them to fish?
A manual sewing machine for a widow or unemployed poor woman? Tuition Fees or books for a poor student? Some money to ease the days for the unemployed people? A small monthly stipend to the poor that may bring a ray of hope in their lives and may perhaps deter them from abandoning their children to the fogs of terrorist factories?
We can think of many ways to make Him happy and spare the lamb. May Allah bless you and your family.
Note: This is based on an earlier post published on temporal’s blog Baithak.
Dear animal lover,
This is Shaheen from Canada.
I’m also interested in the said research findings, let’s hope if someone could throw light on it. Thanks for pointing it out.
I also feel that the vibes emanating from dying animals at qurbani time is not good. In a way, they must be cursing selfish humans and giving aahs or haays to the mankind.
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction,
which Allah knows the best.
In this lengthy debate, I found few good suggestions too like to arrange a place for slaughtering rather than messing things up on every road. In Clifton area, the administrators ordered all residents to slaughter within house or go to designated places. Its a good move. When countries like Saudia could have slaughter houses then why not in Pakistan?
@Ali Khan: As few users suggested here. both parties have expressed their point of view and it’s quite wastage of time to say it again and again. I am sure people who are speaking so much against the meat will already be waiting for beef and mutton biryani on shiny Sunday ;) So kindly quit this debate and follow what Imam Shafai had said once:
I debated a scholar and beat him. Then I debated a layman and that layman beat me - he had no knowledge of the principles and texts. I had nothing to say” -
animal lover said:
“They do not need to.They have done it through centuries to spread the “jehar of jahiliyat”.”
Well said.
“Efforts of dear temporal, and other fellow posters including me, stand rewarded if even one animal is saved, for even one life is more precious than anything else! Remember, it’s just the beginning….”
Indeed it is “the beginning” and well begun is well done…
(Earlier, someone here had called it a renaissance for muslims like the Christians had.)
Dear all,
Has anyone come across a thesis written by some muslim professor and his team a few years ago. The university I think is Jamia Milia from Delhi, though I’m not quite sure of it.
The research was about the environmental hazards of mass animal killings on the day of Eid.
From my (faint) memory of what I had read about it, I recall that the research says, besides other ill effects, concurrent mass slaughter causes some changes in the vibrational frequencies due to simultaneous outburst of cries of suffering animals. This leads to disturbances in the seismic pattern, and poses increased threats of impending earth quakes.
I’m searching for it, but could not find the authentic version.
If someone has any knowledge/pointers about it, pls do share and post your comments. Thanks.
@ Ali Khan:
“lol… Is there anything in our country which is getting cheap? Tell me so that i can buy it. lol… ”
Yeah! It is Insaan and his insaaniyat/imaan that is getting cheaper. :)
@Adnan Siddiqi:
“No “Mullah” asked Adil et all to create a post to ‘promote’ Sacrifice.”
They do not need to.They have done it through centuries to spread the “jehar of jahiliyat”.
@Ali Khan,
Perhaps you did not read my post fully.
I said in my post “I’d rather choose to be neutral to these comments.”
As the original text was not written by me. I merely quoted the entire comment posted by one Mr.Muhammed Irtaza on some other blog.
I gave the link, but since you missed it, i’m repeating it again:
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/11/ei d-al-adha-what-is-sacrifice.html
Since you have objection to the content,I request that you post your observations to the original blog instead; hopefully Mr.Irtaza can explain his viewpoint and answer your questions better than I can. You’ll see that even the “cake” suggestion which you called bullshit, is also quoted from that same blog.
@ Aamir, I totally agree that the civil discussion we had over the past few days, is honest and decent, and I add that despite accusation of redundancy, which I disagree to, it never went astray.
@ Daud/Aslam:I’m not embarrased by your comment.I must write something if the context in the discussion requires me to do so. As regards the “nth time” observation of yours, I must say Meengla has given the answer in “….which is a hopeful sign–for goats!”. Every dark cloud has a silver-lining. I take it as just that. An ant was trying to cross a 10 ft high wall. It tried 99 times and fell down every time.But it did not mind, and finally succeeded to cross-over the 100th time.
And,your saying just 11th time. (Though, as far as i remember, nothing was repeated for that many times.)
Efforts of dear temporal, and other fellow posters including me, stand rewarded if even one animal is saved, for even one life is more precious than anything else! Remember, it’s just the beginning….
And there is amusing thing mentioned by u and one another person that it is due to the slaughtering that the prices of meat are getting higher! lol… Is there anything in our country which is getting cheap? Tell me so that i can buy it. lol… Real problem is that we are far away fron Islam and that is the main reason of all these problems