TIe Urdu und persIun word Qurbcni (Sccrijicicl slcuhter) Is derIved Irom LIe ArubIc word

":7-,3 exIcuIIy, IL meuns un uct perIormed to seek Alluh's pleusore OrIgInuIIy, LIe
word Qurbcn IncIuded uII ucLs oI cIurILy becuuse LIe purpose oI cIurILy Is noLIIng buL Lo
seek AIIuI's pIeusure BuL, In precIse reIIgIous terminolo, LIe word wus IuLer conIIned Lo
LIe sucriIice oI un unimul sluoghtered Ior the suke oI Alluh during the period Irom
aIter the Eid prayer on the Day oI Nahr (Eid al-Adha) until the last day oI Tashreeq (the 13th
day oI Dhul-Hijjah), with the intention oI oIIering sacriIice. Allah says: "Say (O
Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa-sallam)): 'Verily, my prayer, my sacrifice, my living
and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the Aalameen (mankind, jinns and all that
exists)."The sacriIicial animal may be a lamb, a sheep, a goat, a camel, or a cow. The animal
must be healthy and conscious. ..."Therefore to the Lord turn in Prayer and Sacrifice. "
"urbani is an Islamic prescription Ior the aIIluent to share their good Iortune with the needy
in the community. On the occasion oI Eid ul Adha, aIIluent Muslims all over the world
perIorm the Sunnah oI Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) by sacriIicing a cow or sheep. The meat is
then divided into three equal parts. One part is retained by the person who perIorms the
"urbani. The second is given to his relatives. The third part is distributed to the poor.
Muslims say that the sacriIice has nothing to do with blood ,Rather, it is done to help the poor
and in remembrance oI Abraham's willingness to sacriIice his son Ishmael at God's
command.
rophet Muhammad (buh) sa|d "Cn the 10th of 2||n|[[ah there |s no better act |n the v|ew of
A||ah than shedd|ng the b|ood (of s|aughtered an|ma|s) And ver||y sacr|f|ce earns the approbat|on
of A||ah even before the drop of b|ood (of the s|aughtered an|ma|) fa||s on the ground nence you
shou|d offer |t |n good sp|r|t Ior every ha|r of the sacr|f|c|a| an|ma| there |s a b|ess|ng"
reports that the Apost|e of A||ah (SAW) has sa|d Whoever has the capac|ty to sacr|f|ce and does
not do so shou|d not come to the p|ace where the L|d prayer |s offered
urban|'s s|gn|f|cance
Sacrlflce as pracLlsed by Poly ropheL Muhammad (buh) ls an essenLlal rellglous rlLe ln memory of
Lhe sacrlflce performed by ropheL Abraham Cod puL Abraham Lo a mosL dlfflculL Lrlal Lhe deLalls of
whlch are descrlbed ln Lhe Curan ?C my Lord! CranL me (Abraham) a rlghLeous (son)!? So We gave
hlm Lhe good news of a boy ready Lo suffer and forbear ?1hen when Lhe Lhe son reached Lhe age Lo
work wlLh hlm he sald ?C my son l see ln a vlslon LhaL l offer you ln sacrlflce now say whaL ls your
vlew!? (1he son) sald ?C My faLher! uo as you are commanded ?ou wlll flnd me lf Cod so wllls one
pracLlslng paLlence and consLancy!? So when Lhey had boLh submlLLed Lhelr wllls (Lo Cod) and he
had made hlm prosLraLe on hls face (for sacrlflce) We called ouL Lo hlm ?C Abraham! ?ou have
already fulfllled Lhe vlslon!? 1hus lndeed do we reward Lhose who do rlghL ?lor Lhls was obvlously a
Lrlal and We ransomed hlm wlLh a momenLous sacrlflce and We lefL (Lhls blesslng) for hlm among
generaLlons (Lo come) ln laLer Llmes



Importance of Qurbani:

Allah mentions sacrificing of an animal side by side with Salaah in a number of verses of the Quraan :

a. "VeriIy my prayer, my sacrifice, my Iife and my death are for AIIah; the Lord of the worIds.

b. So turn in prayer towards your Lord and sacrifice (animals).

Salaah is a pivotal component of slam. Without Salaah little of slam remains. The fact that sacrifice
(Qurbani) has been mentioned with it shows that it is similarly an important form of worship.

When a person slaughters a Qurbani animal, he is forgiven at the fall of the first drop of blood, and the
animal will be brought on the Day of Qiyamah with its blood, meat, limbs, etc and placed on his scale
of deeds. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam also mentioned that there is a reward attached for
every hair or fibre of wool on the body of the sacrificed animal.

2. Respecting a personaIity by deed not statue

slam teaches a unique method of paying respect to a great personality. n other cultures a person of
respect is remembered by his statue or portrait. slam commands that the practical act of the
individual be emulated. The sacrifice of brahim Alaihis Salaam was virtuous and we are commanded
to do the very same action every year. Likewise, the life of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
was so beautiful that every Muslim has been instructed to live their lives in his mould. Similarly, the
running of Bibi Hajira between Safa and Marwa is in the same way remembered by every Muslim who
performs the Sa'ee during Umrah.

3. IsIam teaches peace not vioIence

Before we slaughter the animal we take the name of Allah seeking His permission and asking for His
blessings. The taking of a life is by no means a minor task. When Muslims are so scrupulous about
respecting animal life how much more when it comes to human life? By no means are Muslims
terrorists and blood-thirsty fanatics! Muslims are taught to adhere to a code ethics even on the
battlefield.

4. Superiority of the IsIamic method of sIaughter

slam, being a perfect way of life, has taught us how to slaughter an animal. The Prophet Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam taught us not to cause unnecessary pain and torture to the animal at the time of
slaughter. t is with this in mind that slam gives the following general guidelines :
O The knife used for slaughtering should be well sharpened so that it slits the throat easily,
without causing undue pain.
O The knife should not be sharpened in front of the animals as this may drive fear into them.
O The animal should be slaughtered in isolation so that other animals cannot see the slaughter.
O The animal should be laid on the ground with ease and should not be mercilessly dragged to
the place of slaughter.
#esearch studies conducted have proven that the slamic method of severing the veins causes less
pain to the animal than the method of stunning. Studies have also shown that the blood drains out of
the animal more effectively in this way rendering the meat more wholesome and pure.
A|m of Sacr|f|ce