Follow dos and don’ts of animal sacrifice: Clerics urge Muslims
With ‘Eid-ul-Azha’ just three days away, a number of prominent Muslim organisations and clerics have urged members of the community to avoid offering animal sacrifice on roads, maintain hygiene and exercise restraint.
Admitting that there was a sense of ‘unease’ in the community ahead of the festival, the working president of Jamat-eUlema Lucknow, Salman Khalid urged Muslims to desist from doing anything which may give people of other communities a reason to complain.
“Making an animal sacrifice is a necessary obligation and an important ‘sunnah’ (tradition of the Holy Prophet) for every Muslim who can afford it. The administration has banned camel sacrifice this year, hence, people should desist from the practice,” he said adding that instead of individual ‘Qurbani’ Muslims should pitch in and perform animal sacrifice in groups in open fields.
He said a memorandum drawing the attention of the authorities towards issues related to animal sacrifice, supply and transportation of meat, had been sent to the administration authorities to ensure necessary security arrangements.
Similar appeals have been issued by various other Muslim bodies. “This time, due to a particular situation you may encounter certain difficulties in procuring and sacrificing the animal for qurbani (sacrifice). Just because of difficult circumstances, you should not become negligent of this important responsibility,” reads their statement.
“Do not offer the qurbani on the road, footpath and pathways; rather perform it in open spaces. Kindly ensure the highest level of cleanliness and hygiene,” states the joint statement, issued by Jamate-e-Islami Hind (JIH), Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat and All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadees. “Do not give a chance by your actions and behaviour for any kind of complaint to your neighbours especially those belonging to other faiths. You should not allow relations to become strained and must exercise maximum self-restraint. You should not take the law in your hands under any circumstances,” it said.