The Pakistani Muslims are now on record for wasting their sacrifice on the Eid Al Adha. Despite spending trillions of rupees on the purchase of sacrificial animals, they are loath to do what God commands. There are clear Quranic and hadith directions on distributing one-third of the sacrificial animals’ meat among the poor and needy, but nobody is doing it. The only thing they do is a real show-off.
The Muslims all over the world sacrifice animals on the Eid Al Adha which means “festival of sacrifice”. Doing this activity during the Hajj is obligatory, but for all other Muslims anywhere in the world, it is cherishable as it is Sunnat-e-Ibrahimi (practice of Hazrat Abraham (AS). The scholars of all Islamic schools of thought are unanimous on dividing the sacrificial animals’ meat into three parts: one for self, one for neighbours and relatives, and one for the poor. In some cases, some Muslim scholars even favour increasing the quantity for the poor. The Qur’an says: “The animal offerings are among the rites decreed by God for your own good. You shall mention God’s name on them while they are standing in line. Once they are offered for sacrifice, you shall eat therefrom and feed the poor and the needy.” (22:36)
But the case is entirely and surprisingly different in Pakistan where people are not ready to follow the command of that God for whom they are doing all this activity. Surely, those who afford to buy animals do the ‘sacrifice’ on the Eid Al Adha, but the meat portion for the poor is nowhere. Not to speak of the down-trodden even nobody spares meat for non-wealthy relatives and neighbours. All they do is parading their animals on streets and roads ahead of the Eid to show them off to onlookers and then slaughter them during the three-day festival. After the slaughter, the only job they do is preserving the whole meat in refrigerators so as to eat it in the coming days and months. In some cases, people distribute little portions of meat among selective relatives and neighbours. In the case of neighbours, they must be landlords, not tenants. There is no meat for the tenants as they are not affluent people who, according to the standards set by Pakistanis, deserve no respect. The case might be different in smaller cities and towns, but all the big cities in Pakistan including Lahore are chanting the slogan “Meat Only for Self”.
The proof of this argument is that no slum inhabitants now seem roaming about in the streets of Lahore in search of charity meat as they used to do in the past on this occasion. They got disappointed for several years and now don’t come as nobody gives them their share. Otherwise, one can remember that crowds of poor people including women and children used to visit all cities to collect meat. They have stopped coming to almost all cities in Pakistan for collecting the meat charity for almost two years.
Surah Al-Hajj (22:37) clarifies that it is not the meat or blood that reaches Allah, but rather it is the piety of the sacrificer that matters. But the piety required by God in this matter seems to be missing in the acts the Pakistani Muslims do on the Eid. So for whom they are sacrificing their animals is the million dollar question.
In every season, it is on record that there is a sudden rise in the sale of refrigerators in the electronic markets of Lahore. Abid Market, near Mozang Chowk, is one example where not only Lahorites but people from other cities also buy a big number of refrigerators ahead of the Eid Al Adha. They do all this for the cause of freezing meat. In view of the Eid eating spree, there are charts and banners on all barbeque shops offering cooking and roasting of meat to prepare various dishes. These outlets do a heavy business during Eid days as people are bent on swallowing more and more meat, even at the cost of their health. It is nothing but meanness.
“Just ban the display of animals before and on Eid, and restrict the movement of sacrificial animals within abattoirs like in Saudi Arabia. You will see the Pakistanis will stop sacrificing animals on the Eid Al Adha. They do all this activity for a show-off. They want to impress others by their wealth in the form of heavy sacrificial animals. That’s why they keep parading their animals on streets and roads for several days,” said a sociologist aware of Pakistani norms while talking to this scribe. “What the hell is this in the name of Allah,” he added.
We don’t know what the meat distributing patterns in other Muslim countries are, but the activity being witnessed in Pakistan is enough to annoy God. The Pakistani Muslims are definitely in an illusion. Theoretically, they are pleasing God and, practically, irritating Him. It can be said for sure in the light of Quranic verses mentioned earlier. But these people are also mature enough to speak about the commands of God that they often do in the daily life. In sum, they are as dishonest in the case of Eid meat distribution as in all other routine activities.
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