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SACRIFICE OR QURBANI: PHILOSOPHY AND
RULES...
The Urdu and persian word 'Qurbani' is
derived from the Arabic word 'Qurban'. Lexically, it
means an act performed to seek Allah's good pleasure.
Originally, the word 'Qurban' included all acts of
charity because the purpose of charity is nothing but to
seek Allah's pleasure. But, in precise religious
terminology, the word was later confined to the sacrifice
of an animal slaughtered for the sake of
Allah.
The sacrifice of an animal has always been
treated as a recognized form of worship in all religious
orders originating from a divine book. Even in pagan
societies, the sacrifice of an animal is recognized as a
form of worship, but it is done in the name of some idols
and not in the name of Allah, a practice totally rejected
by Islam.
In the Shari'ah of our beloved Prophet
(SAW), the sacrifice of an animal has been recognized as
a form of worship only during three days of the month of
Zulhijjah, namely,.the 10th, 11th and 12th of the month.
This is to commemorate the unparalleled sacrifice offered
by the Prophet Ibrahim (AS) when he, in pursuance to a
command of Allah conveyed to him in a dream, prepared
himself to slaughter his beloved son, Ismail (AS) and
actually did so - but, Allah Almighty, after testing the
quantum of his submission, sent down a sheep and saved
his son from the logical fate of slaughter. It is from
that time onwards that the sacrifice of an animal became
an obligatory duty to be performed by every well-to-do
Muslim.
Qurbani is a demonstration of total
submission to Allah and a proof of complete obedience to
Allah's will or command. When a Muslim offers a Qurbani,
this is exactly what he intends to prove. Thus, the
Qurbani offered by a Muslim signifies that he is a slave
of Allah at his best and that he would not hesitate even
for a moment, once he receives an absolute command from
his Creator, to surrender before it, to obey it
willingly, even if it be at the price of his life and
possessions. When a true and perfect Muslim receives such
a command from Allah, his natural instinct stops him from
indulging in the futile search for the reasonability
behind the command; nor does he make his obedience
dependent upon the command's reasonablity as perceived
through his limited understanding. He knows that Allah is
All knowing, All Wise and that his own reason cannot
encompass the knowledge and wisdom underlying the divine
command. He, therefore, submits to the divine command,
even if he cannot find out any reason or wisdom behind
it.
This is exactly what the Prophet Ibrahim
(AS) did. Apparently, there was no reason why a father
should slaughter his innocent son. But, When came the
command from Allah, he never asked about the reason of
that command, nor did he hesitate to obey it. Even his
minor son when asked by his father about the dream he had
seen, never questioned the legitimacy of the command, nor
did he pine or whine about it, nor did he ask for one
good reason why he was being slaughtered. The one and
only response he made was: "Father, do what you have been
ordered to do. You shall find me, God willing, among the
patient".
The present day Qurbani is offered in
memory of this great model of submission set before us by
the great father and the great son. So Qurbani must be
offered in our time emulating the same ideal and attitude
of submission.
This, then, is the true philosophy of
Qurbani. With this in mind, one can easily unveil the
fallacy of those who raise objections against Qurbani on
the basis of economic calculations and statistics and
make it out to be a wastage of money, resource and
livestock. Unable to see beyond mundane benefits, they
cannot understand the spirit Islam wants to plant and
nourish among its followers, the spirit of total
submission to Allah's will which equips man with most
superior qualities so necessary to keep humanity in a
state of lasting peace and welfare. Qurbani is nothing
but a powerful symbol of the required human conduct
vis-a-vis the divine commands, however "irrational" or
"uneconomic they may seem to be in their appearance.
Thus, the distrustful quest for mundane economic benefits
behind Qurbani is, in fact, the negation of its real
philosophy and the very spirit underlying it.
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