Muslims around the world will celebrate Eid-ul-Azha, the second most important religious festival from tomorrow. Although the Eid commemorates Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to obey Allah’s order and the central theme of the festival, popularly called Eid-e- Qurbani, is the spirit of sacrifice, Nowadays, however, celebrations of the festival have taken on a more materialistic form, rather than sticking to the spirituality associated with it. Many people appear more concerned about the size and price of their sacrificial animal than respecting the act of sacrifice. Some take pride in showing off their high-priced animals, today some people have made it an opportunity to show off their wealth. Despite the fact that it has been made clear in the Quran that “Their meat will not reach Allah, nor will their blood, but what reaches Him is piety from you.” (The Quran, 22:37)
The meat from the sacrificial animal, usually goats or cows, is mostly distributed among others _ one-third is donated to the poor and destitute, one-third is given away to neighbours and relatives, while one-third is kept for family members. But of late this trend is also changing and people prefer to amass the meat in deep freezers instead of distributing it.
It is the responsibility of religious scholars that they create awareness among the people that sacrifice should be made for the sole purpose of seeking Allah’s pleasure and not for showing off.
Siasat news