spare the poor goat or lamb or cows 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.
My understanding is that unlike other faith traditions in Islam emphesis is on sacrifice and not on object of sacrifice. We do not have any festival sanctioned by Quran or Hadith for “certain religious personality”.
Both festivals of Islam Eid ul Fitar and Eid Ul Adha are for thanking Allah through extra-non obligatory (Nawafil) prayers to thank Him for giving us the ability to sacrifice.
On Eid Ul Fitr we rejoice overcoming and killing of our “inner animal” which lives on food and procreation. On Eid ul Adha we sacrifice visible animal as reminder to us that we should be ready to sacrifice our “inner animal”.
What is this so called “inner animal”?. Sigmund Freud called it as “Id” or primitive animalistic drives. Quran has given superior concept and called it “Nafs-Immara”. I would like explain more on this subject as an article–if given a chance by ATP admin.
MQ,
I have spent the last 15 years unlearning Islam of the ignorant Mullahs. Don’t hold your breath.
If there is one thing that is quite evident from this post, we know very little what the Qur’an really says.
We either practice the faith of our fathers or offer irrational ideas and unsound arguments.
Miles to go before we sleep.
@Basit:
“If you would like to see the bakra reach the age of retirement and die of old age “naturally”, you’re living on another planet. Remember, its food.”
How about replacing bakra here with man.
On our planet do live lions and tigers for whom human flesh also is a good food!! :)
But cattle is bred solely for the purpose of food. So I don’t see what’s the issue?
The author seems to have no mercy on the goat 362 days of the year but is crying about saving the animal three days. All the qurbani meat is used as food any way as it would have been used if the bakra was slaughtered on a day other than Eid. If you would like to see the bakra reach the age of retirement and die of old age “naturally”, you’re living on another planet. Remember, its food.
Faraz: We are talking in a specific context — that of Ibrahim and Ismail. What you are quoting is a different and general context.
Watan Aziz: I think you are probably right. I was quoting from memory. In wich case it opens a new door for controversy. Let’s see, the Mualans of might throw some light on this.