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.
Dear animal lover,
Thanks for very very very interesting posts in the discussion.
All your posts are thought provoking ,and a must read, I would say.
Your pointer to the moroccoboard link was also quite relevant.
I’m studying in UK, and I’ll ask all my friends to read the good discussion here on ATP, especially the liberal views expressed including yours.
I totally agree to your views on the issue.
We are also muslims but we refrain from such activity and enjoy the festival of Eid.
Hope better sense will prevail over muslims and sooner they come out of shackles of superstitions and unnecessary rituals, the better.
Please keep the good work going…
This whole discussion never went anywhere. Some here believe in Islam as THE religion. While others barely believe in the existence of God. So what’s the point of arguing when we don’t even agree on the basics?
>>animal lover says: “Well, the crux of the problem lies in selfishness of man…………..”
this hits the religion where it hurts most… but unfortunately the ones reading are also selfish religious zealots so most wont be able to digest this truth…
so much crap is done in the name of God that i am pretty sure God(if He exists) must be holding his head in shame by now.
Well, the crux of the problem lies in selfishness of man.
There is an interesting story,I must share with you.
Once, a man was passing through a jungle.Suddenly a lion saw him and rushed towards him.It was about to attack him when all of sudden a monkey pulled him up the tree.Lion could not climb the tree and sat underneath waiting for man to come down.Though monkey had saved the man,danger had not yet gone.It was dark, and night began to advance.Man was tired and feeling drowsy.So the two mutually decided to sleep in turns.First half, man slept on the thick branch, and monkey kept awoke to watch for any danger, and held the man tightly so that he might not fall down.In the second half, the man became watchman, and the monkey went to sleep.It was nearly morning but the lion was still there, waiting. The man began to worry, how to get out of this.Suddenly an idea struck in the devil human mind and he proposed a deal to the lion.”Oh, the Lord of jungle,please let me go. In turn, I shall “offer” and “sacrifice” you my friend monkey. I’ll throw it down, then you eat it, and let me have the safe passage.”
(Pls look at the mean, selfish attitude of the cunning man here).
Just as he was about to throw, the monkey woke up, understood the conspiracy and jumped to other tree and said to the man, “O you so-called superior race! You have proved that you are not worthy of trust.For your own good, you can wipe out entire species taking asylum in religion.I saved, helped and served you faithfully but you tried to kill me for your own sake.We may be animals, but we are better off than you.”
Not to tell, the lion laughed at the man and he met with his ultimate end.
The moral of the story is obvious.While animals have proved to be man’s best friend, man has repeatedly broken their trust through ages.He is in essence,their biggest enemy; but when Allah asks him to sacrifice, he poses his enemies as his dearest possessions, and murders them in the guise of religious ritual.Ever wondered why there is so much corruption in Pakistan and elsewhere where this “superior intelligent race” lives.And moral values are hard to find.
Yes IMO, so called sacrifices are bribes and deals man offers to the God at the expense of lives of innocent animals.
I repeat, animals are not born of human embryo, they are different species.Allah would not count their slaughters to be something as man parting with his possession.
When everything in this universe already belongs to Allah and He is the Master of us all, who the hell we are to offer Him anything.Please do ponder.
Certainly, ritual is devoid of any justification…
@Animal Lover:
(@Ali Khan says:
December 2nd, 2009 12:15 pm)
“…Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) commanded that a ram with black legs, black belly and black (circles) round the eyes should be brought to him, so that he should sacrifice it”
Can you pls tell how many rams being sacrificed today have black legs, black belly and black (circles) round the eyes?”
Sir, that’s a pretty childish question, it’s just an incident. may be it was prophet wish to sacrifice an animal with such appearance that time. it happened only once, not every time did prophet sacrificed the animal which had such appearance.
plz visit this website for more information:
http://www.islamonline.net/English/hajj/2001/Eid-u l-Adha/article1.shtml#kitab
there are a number of traditions which can satisfy u