Animals are no longer a source of income or prosperity for the majority of Muslims
PESHAWAR: Hundreds of years ago, the Arabs sacrificed animals in huge quantities as an offering to serve the poor. Indeed, it was a great undertaking because animals were the only source of income for the majority of them. They sacrificed what was most dear to them. This, however, is no longer true in modern times. Much more can be done for the poor.
Animals are no longer a source of income or prosperity for the majority of Muslims. Now, the community is blessed with landlords, businessmen, doctors, engineers, lawyers, bankers, professors and entrepreneurs. Sacrificing animals alone is not enough to serve the Muslim population. In this month, the landlords should give out some of their land to the poorest of their tenants, doctors should serve patients for free, engineers and bankers should give away their salaries to those in need, lawyers should take a case that hasn’t been filed due to lack of resources, professors should make arrangements for a poor child to be enrolled at a high quality educational institution, and businessmen should give out some shares of their businesses to destitutes. This would amount to a real sacrifice and not frivolously slaughtering animals followed by barbeque parties. Cattle and livestock festivals and barbeques were surely not the purpose of the sacrifice spelled out to us centuries ago. In the profiteering and ostentation over animal purchases, the spirit of sacrifice has been lost upon us.
Umar Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, September 17th, 2016.
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