Ameer Hamzah :
On day 10 of the Arabic month of Zilhajj, the Muslims all over the world pray to Allah at either Eidgah or mosques for their spiritual deliverance, and thereafter those, who are financially solvent among them, slaughter either camel, or buffalo, or cow, or dumba, or sheep, or goat.
The word Qurbani is found in Verse No. 27 of Surah Maidah. The English synonym of Qurbani is ‘to sacrifice.’ The first event of Qurbani dates back to the time of Hazrat Adam (AS)-the first man as well as first prophet on earth. Verse Nos. 27 to 31 narrate the story in which there are lessons for mankind.
5/27: And relate to them (people) the story of the two sons of Adam with truth when they both offered Qurbani, but it was accepted from one of them and it was not accepted from the other. He ( whose Qurbani was not accepted) said: I will most certainly slay you. The other (whose Qurbani was accepted) said: Allah accepts only from those who guard (against evils).
5/28: Even if you stretch forth your hand towards me to slay me, I am not one to stretch forth my hand towards you to slay you. Surely I fear Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
5/29: Surely I wish that you should bear the sin committed against me and your own sin, so that you will be one of the inmates of fire and this is the recompense of the unjust.
5/30: Then his (the rejected) mind facilitated to him the slaying of his brother. So, he slew him (and) then became one of the losers.
5/31: Then Allah sent a crow digging up the earth to show him how to hide the dead body of his brother. He said (to himself): Woe unto me! Do I lack the strength that I should be like this crow and hide the dead body of my brother. So he became one of those who regret.
What we get from Hadith is that Habil ad Kabil were two of the sons of Hazrat Adam (AS). Suddenly they disputed from each other on an issue. To settle it, Hazrat Adam asked them to offer to Allah from what they have. Habil used to tender cattle and he offered a cattle. On the other hand, Kabil was a farmer and he offered crops. But Allah accepted the offering of Habil, as he guarded against evils of all kinds for fear of Allah.
It angered Kabil, who out of jealousy, killed his brother Habil and became one of the losers. But with the dead body, he was in a fix what to do. Just then, a crow arrived flying and began to dig out earth to cover some stones. Kabil got lessons and said to himself that he had no strength, even of a crow.
There are several lessons for mankind in the aforesaid verses and the Hadith. If we apply those, individual as well as family and social life will be beautiful. The lessons are:
1. Race to attain the nearness of Allah should be the motto of human life,
2. Allah accepts the devotion of those people who do not commit sins, crimes and vices as described in the holy Quran and the Hadith,
3. Jealousy is a dangerous obsession, which leads to other crimes, including murder, as did Kabil. It is so terrible that the man who possess it, he destroys his own life also.
4. Burial of the dead body is the prescription of Allah.
5. The unjust will enter the hell-fire.
There is another story relating to the Qurbani in the Quran. Seven verse of Surah As-Saffat deal with the story of Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) and Hazrat Ismail (AS). The text of the verses are:
37/102: And when he attained to working with him, he (Ibrahim) said: O my son! Surely I have seen in a dream that I should sacrifice you; now consider what is your opinion? He said: O my father! Do what you are commanded. If Allah pleases, you will find me of the patient ones.
37/ 103: When they both had submitted to Allah, and he (Ibrahim) flung him (son) down upon his face,
37/104: We called unto him: O Ibrahim!
37/105: You had already fulfilled the vision. Lo! Thus do We reward the good.
37/106: Lo! That verily was a clear test.
37/107: Then, We ransomed him with a tremendous ransom.
There are several lessons for mankind to comply with.
1. An individual should worship Allah for spiritual development also.
2. Islam attaches extreme importance to man’s independence of will. That is why Hazrat Ibrahim asked his son about his opinion, even though Allah ordered him in dream.
3. Patience is one of the most essential virtues of a man to get success in life. Hazrat Ismail said to his father, “If Allah pleases, you will find me of the patients.”
4. We know that finally Allah stopped Ibrahim from slaughtering his son and ransomed him with a tremendous sacrifice. Many commentators refer Verse No. 37/107 to Imam Hussain, who performed this great sacrifice many years later to save Islam from destruction.
5. The Prophet Muhammad (SM) said, Qurbani meat can be consumed for maximum three days. The implicit meaning is that food stuff cannot be stored for more than three days to create artificial crisis or to make quick money. He said, meat must be weighed in three equal parts. One part is for the owner of the sacrificed cattle, one part is for the poor, and the other is for the relatives and the neighbours.
Allah said in Surah Hajj about meat, eat it and feed the needy, the poor. The very purpose of the verses is that the State and the rich men must take care of the poor and the distressed people.
On day 10 of the Arabic month of Zilhajj, the Muslims all over the world pray to Allah at either Eidgah or mosques for their spiritual deliverance, and thereafter those, who are financially solvent among them, slaughter either camel, or buffalo, or cow, or dumba, or sheep, or goat.
The word Qurbani is found in Verse No. 27 of Surah Maidah. The English synonym of Qurbani is ‘to sacrifice.’ The first event of Qurbani dates back to the time of Hazrat Adam (AS)-the first man as well as first prophet on earth. Verse Nos. 27 to 31 narrate the story in which there are lessons for mankind.
5/27: And relate to them (people) the story of the two sons of Adam with truth when they both offered Qurbani, but it was accepted from one of them and it was not accepted from the other. He ( whose Qurbani was not accepted) said: I will most certainly slay you. The other (whose Qurbani was accepted) said: Allah accepts only from those who guard (against evils).
5/28: Even if you stretch forth your hand towards me to slay me, I am not one to stretch forth my hand towards you to slay you. Surely I fear Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
5/29: Surely I wish that you should bear the sin committed against me and your own sin, so that you will be one of the inmates of fire and this is the recompense of the unjust.
5/30: Then his (the rejected) mind facilitated to him the slaying of his brother. So, he slew him (and) then became one of the losers.
5/31: Then Allah sent a crow digging up the earth to show him how to hide the dead body of his brother. He said (to himself): Woe unto me! Do I lack the strength that I should be like this crow and hide the dead body of my brother. So he became one of those who regret.
What we get from Hadith is that Habil ad Kabil were two of the sons of Hazrat Adam (AS). Suddenly they disputed from each other on an issue. To settle it, Hazrat Adam asked them to offer to Allah from what they have. Habil used to tender cattle and he offered a cattle. On the other hand, Kabil was a farmer and he offered crops. But Allah accepted the offering of Habil, as he guarded against evils of all kinds for fear of Allah.
It angered Kabil, who out of jealousy, killed his brother Habil and became one of the losers. But with the dead body, he was in a fix what to do. Just then, a crow arrived flying and began to dig out earth to cover some stones. Kabil got lessons and said to himself that he had no strength, even of a crow.
There are several lessons for mankind in the aforesaid verses and the Hadith. If we apply those, individual as well as family and social life will be beautiful. The lessons are:
1. Race to attain the nearness of Allah should be the motto of human life,
2. Allah accepts the devotion of those people who do not commit sins, crimes and vices as described in the holy Quran and the Hadith,
3. Jealousy is a dangerous obsession, which leads to other crimes, including murder, as did Kabil. It is so terrible that the man who possess it, he destroys his own life also.
4. Burial of the dead body is the prescription of Allah.
5. The unjust will enter the hell-fire.
There is another story relating to the Qurbani in the Quran. Seven verse of Surah As-Saffat deal with the story of Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) and Hazrat Ismail (AS). The text of the verses are:
37/102: And when he attained to working with him, he (Ibrahim) said: O my son! Surely I have seen in a dream that I should sacrifice you; now consider what is your opinion? He said: O my father! Do what you are commanded. If Allah pleases, you will find me of the patient ones.
37/ 103: When they both had submitted to Allah, and he (Ibrahim) flung him (son) down upon his face,
37/104: We called unto him: O Ibrahim!
37/105: You had already fulfilled the vision. Lo! Thus do We reward the good.
37/106: Lo! That verily was a clear test.
37/107: Then, We ransomed him with a tremendous ransom.
There are several lessons for mankind to comply with.
1. An individual should worship Allah for spiritual development also.
2. Islam attaches extreme importance to man’s independence of will. That is why Hazrat Ibrahim asked his son about his opinion, even though Allah ordered him in dream.
3. Patience is one of the most essential virtues of a man to get success in life. Hazrat Ismail said to his father, “If Allah pleases, you will find me of the patients.”
4. We know that finally Allah stopped Ibrahim from slaughtering his son and ransomed him with a tremendous sacrifice. Many commentators refer Verse No. 37/107 to Imam Hussain, who performed this great sacrifice many years later to save Islam from destruction.
5. The Prophet Muhammad (SM) said, Qurbani meat can be consumed for maximum three days. The implicit meaning is that food stuff cannot be stored for more than three days to create artificial crisis or to make quick money. He said, meat must be weighed in three equal parts. One part is for the owner of the sacrificed cattle, one part is for the poor, and the other is for the relatives and the neighbours.
Allah said in Surah Hajj about meat, eat it and feed the needy, the poor. The very purpose of the verses is that the State and the rich men must take care of the poor and the distressed people.
