Bakra Eid: Not just another 'liberal' rant

If cleanliness is supposed to be half of our faith, then I am sorry to say but we get a clear 'F' grade on Eid.

If cleanliness is supposed to be half of our faith, then I am sorry to say but we get a clear F grade, when it comes to Eidul Azha.

The streets, lanes and alleys will have streams of animal blood flowing for days. The unwanted remains will create foul odours for weeks. All this while, we will be greeting one another with "Eid Mubarak," and enjoying the backyard BBQ's.

For those of you who think this is another ‘liberal’ rant against Islam’s revered practice, I would like assure you that it isn’t. I am fairly conservative on certain issues, and in some other cases, awfully liberal. It all depends on what the point of discussion is. It all has to go through a test of logic. You can never be balanced, if you are completely left or totally right on every issue.

Our faith is the most beautiful gift we have from Allah. Actually, it emphasises on the rights that our neighbours have and that our actions must not harm others. Eid is meant to spread joy, comfort and well wishes. Our focus typically gets narrowed to who has the greatest number of animals for sacrifice and who will be scoring high on the amount of meat which will be distributed.

The true spirit

We often tend to forget, that it is not the meat or blood that reaches Allah, but the intent and piety which is paramount for the occasion. It is not a competition of sorts, but our humble offering to follow the footsteps of the Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH).

The inflation in the price of livestock, the fee hike and disappearing act of meat cutters, the sheer filth and foul odours on our streets are certainly not a reflection of the path of the Prophet Ibrahim, his beloved son, Prophet Ismael or our holy Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).

As crowded as our cities are, we still have make believe markets of livestock at this occasion. Each year, people go to those markets to get goats and cows and what not. Those animals are either slaughtered in the front or back yard of the houses or out on open streets.

The question that has always boggled my mind is that why can't the cities arrange for temporary slaughter houses at this occasion, much like the temporary marketplaces of animals? All the slaughtering and cleaning of the remains must be administered by the cities. Similarly, the distribution of one third of meat that is supposed to be the share of the needy can be channelled from there as well. All of this will reduce a lot of filth on the streets and possibly prevent the diseases as well.

The responsibility to keep our homes and cities cleaner lies on our shoulders. Every single act of our faith depends on cleanliness and purity.

Somehow, we keep on disregarding that element.