Muslims celebrate the offering of Ibrahim to Allah
for festival: Many goats were put on sale at a marketplace in the city on Wednesday ahead of the Bakrid festival that starts on Friday. (Photo: DC)
Hyderabad: Id-al-Zuha, or Bakrid, the second most important festival of Muslims will be celebrated on Friday. The festival of sacrifice is celebrated to commemorate Prophet Ibrahim’s (Abraham) willingness to sacrifice his only son on the command of Allah, following which he was directed to sacrifice a sheep instead, scholars explained.
“The festival is celebrated to mark the ultimate sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim and animals like sheep, goats, rams etc. are thus symbolically sacrificed to Allah,” said Maulana Mohammad Haneef Qadri. Every year on Bakrid, around one lakh sheep and goats are sold in Hyderabad. However, it is wrong to believe that the meat or blood reaches Allah. Ayat (verse) number 37 of Surah-Al-Hajj directs one to bear in mind that “It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Allah, but it is piety from you that reaches Him,” Maulana Qadri said.
The sacrifice is preceded by prayers by men at the local mosque or Idgah. Following the sacrifice, the meat of the animal is divided into three parts. One part is kept by the family, the second part is given to friends, relatives and neighbours from the community. The third part is reserved for the poor and distributed on the same day.
“The rationale behind distributing the meat to the poor is that they can also be a part of the celebrations. It is a blessing of Allah to those who can’t afford to buy and consume meat. It is for the same reason that fasting is not allowed on the three days of the festivities,” the maulana said. It has been said that this sacrifice will help ease your journey on the day of judgment and thus people are asked to spend without hesitation, the maulana added.
Now, special drives to clear waste:
GHMC officials are preparing special drives for Bakrid with dedicated teams being formed at the zonal level. “GHMC is assigning one supervising officer and a special team at every open point from where waste will be picked up. The team will be monitoring the open points, the community bins of their area. Black bags will also be distributed in Muslim households for animal waste,” said G. Kishan, commissioner of Central Zone, GHMC.
Route maps are being designed for quicker disposal of animal waste and vehicles will pick up garbage three-five times depending on the population of the area. Similarly, special teams have been formed to collect and dispose waste at Ganesh pandals, Mr Kishan added. As Bakrid coincides with the ninth day of Ganesh immersion, and with concerns being raised about discarded animal waste, maulanas too have been stressing on a cleaner Bakrid this year.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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