Mass slaughter: Combined sacrifice gains popularity

People pay a decided sum to mosques, madrassas to fulfil obligation on their behalf

ISLAMABAD: As the concept of pooling in share for sacrifice on Eidul Azha has become a popular trend in Islamabad too.

While goat, lamb, and sheep are counted as one, cow, buffalo, and camel have seven shares per animal. Therefore, seven people can combine to slaughter a cow, bull, buffalo or camel, according to Islamic law. This economy of scales had encouraged middle income people to opt for shared sacrifice. However, owing to runaway inflation, more and more people are being pulled to combined sacrifice.



Another facility now available in every city is welfare religious organisations offering sacrifice on behalf of people. They take the share, buy the animals, engage the butchers, complete the sacrifice and distribute meat to each shareholder as per agreed weight. The catch is that the sacrifice organisers get to keep the hide, which sells for cash, and the obligatory one-third share in meat meant for the poor and needy.

To attract people several organisations have announced different attractive packages for collective sacrifices by displaying banners on roads and streets ahead annual Islamic festival of Eidul-Azha.

Many city dwellers approach these organisations to fulfil a religious obligation. They stand absolved from scouring the markets to buy an animal of their choice, hauling it home, tending to it till Eid then getting it butchered and distributed. Just pay the amount and qurbani is done.

Organisations that arrange such sacrifices include welfare institutions, mosques and madrassas.

Maulana Bilal Rasool, administrator of a local madrassa said collective sacrifice trend is "quite reasonable" as in collective sacrifice, people get meat on time besides saving themselves from the hassle of sacrificing animals at their residence.

Abdul Ishaq an official of another madrassa said that over 400 cows had been booked so far for joint sacrifices. “We had displayed a banner outside the madrassa before the start of this month,” he said.

He said booking orders were still pouring in and the number may cross last year's figures, he added. Share of joint slaughter ranges from Rs11,000 to Rs 17,000 depending on the kind and cost of sacrificial animal, Ishaq added.



People pooling in are free to accompany the teams in purchansing and slaughtering process, he said.

“We will perform the task of buying, slaughtering, distributing and dispersing the sacrificial animals and the meat with no extra charge,” he said.

Some people, when asked to comment on combined sacrifice, said the increase in prices of sacrificial animals have particularly affected the salaried class, who find it extremely difficult to save money and buy animals for sacrifice.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 12^th, 2018.