Friday, December 26, 2008

SACRIFICE (PERFORMING THE QURBAN) [PART 4]

It is written in Hindiyya that, “It is wajib [1] for a rich or poor person who says before the ’Iyd, ‘for the sake of Allah, let it be my vow to slaughter as a qurban a sheep or that particular sheep’ to slaughter one sheep during ’Iyd-al-Adha (’Iyd of qurban). If he is rich when he fulfills his vow on the days of ’Iyd, although he may have been poor when he made his vow before the days of ’Iyd, then it is wajib to sacrifice one qurban in addition for ’Iyd. If the rich man intended to sacrifice it as an ’Iyd qurban at the time he made his vow, he performs only one qurban. If the rich man made his vow before the ’Iyd, then he certainly should perform two qurbans. The poor sacrifices only one. They cannot sell the vowed qurbans. The animal bought and slaughtered during the ’Iyd by a musafir. [or a poor person or by a person who has not made an intention or a vow to perform the qurban, becomes nafila (supererogatory) worship. It is wajib to sacrifice the qurban which a rich person bought and intended to perform as a thanksgiving for the blessings of life instead of intending to sacrifice it as the ’Iyd qurban at the time of purchase.” See the following chapter for further details.]

The following is an expatiation on the qurban which is wajib for a rich person to perform. The qurban is not performed by giving the animals alive as alms to the poor or to pious or charitable institutions. It is wajib to butcher them. It is written in Jawhara that, “The thawab [2] that will be given for the money spent on the qurban is very much more than the thawab for a hundred times more [that is, a large amount of] money given as alms.” It is permissible to appoint someone to act as one’s wakil (deputy) to buy the animal for qurban, butcher it and give the meat to the poor, and to get these done by someone else and give the money to buy the animal or the animal alive to the deputy. But it is mustahab [3] to be present as the animal is butchered. It is haram [4] to kill cocks, hens or wild animals such as deer in the name of qurban; it means to imitate magians, i.e., fire-worshippers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GLOSSARY
[1] wajib: (act, thing) never omitted by the Prophet, so almost as compulsory as fard and not to be omitted.
[2] thawab: Muslims will be rewarded in the Hereafter for all their pious actions which they have done in the world. The rewards which Muslims will be given in the Hereafter are called thawab. The word is used as an adjective as well as a noun. For example, when we say that an action is very thawab we mean that Allahu ta’ala will give many rewards for the action.
[3] mustahab : (act, thing) deserving thawab if done but no sin if omitted, nor disbelief if disliked.
[4] haram: an action, word or thought prohibited by Allahu ta’ala.

No comments:

Post a Comment