Prophet Abraham's Dream And The Ritual Of Slaughter - A Soul Searching
Sikander Ahmed, New Age Islam
3 Dec 2012
At 80 years of age, I have tried all my life and to the best of my ability to live up to the noble precepts of Islam, as taught to me by my parents and elders, my teachers and those whose opinion I have always respected. However, I have always followed the dictates of my own conscience, even unto losing, on three separate occasions all that I had owned and labored for years to achieve, rather than give in to any corrupt practice.
For more than 1,400 years, Islam has stood steadfast on the 5 pillars that have given it strength and the right to be known as the religion of peace, justice, equality and progress. These are the Ima’an (Faith) of each Muslim and his adherence to Namaz, Roza, Zakat and Hajj. But even before mentioning observance of the 5 Pillars, Allah’s revelations in the Quran has commenced with the command to the believers to, “READ in the Name of thy Lord”. That is to EDUCATE oneself before anything else.
Sadly, arrogance, avarice, chicanery, debauchery, ego, greed, ignorance, jealousy, pride, superstitions, vanity, wastefulness and other negative traits (all abhorred in Islam), mainly by its own adherents has, knowingly or unknowing, started to corrode these pillars over the years. Is it because for 500 years or so, Muslims have lacked EDUCATION? Have they PRODUCED knowledge, have they DIFFUSED knowledge and do they APPLY knowledge? The answers are obvious and very pessimistic.
Therefore, it is time to restore the past glory of Islam, which is being bashed all over the world as a religion propagating violence and regressive actions. We should thus take a dispassionate view of some of the symbolic, ritualistic and unnecessary activities which have crept in, becoming merely wasteful exercises in self-glorification.
In this, the first of a series of articles, attention is drawn on the wholesale slaughter of prime cattle in the name of “sacrifice” every year to commemorate Hazrat Ibrahim’s supreme offer of his son’s life to Almighty Allah to prove his Faith, thousands of years ago. Note: nowhere have I read that the Almighty specifically asked Hazrat Ibrahim to sacrifice his son. The inspiration came only from a dream. So what would be the purpose of Hazrat Ibrahim’s symbolic act now? If anyone tried to replicate that action, the full majesty of the Law would descend on his neck with charges under Sec 302 (murder, attempt to murder), and a dozen other Sections of the Penal Codes. Worse, he could be locked up in an asylum as a homicidal maniac!!!
Therefore, if one is unable, by man-made laws, to re-enact Harzat Ibrahim’s act in the present day world, what is this tamasha all about? By no stretch of imagination or faith, can one claim, that cattle being exchanged for a bundle of cash, usually in darkness, the day before Eid, is one’s most prized possession which he would sacrifice in the name of Allah next morning! At most, the bundle of cash could be cited as ONE of his prized possessions! I will come back to the eligibility of this cash transaction.
To revert to the ‘sacrifice’ being re-enacted all over the Muslim world every year during Eid-ul-Azha, let us just take our own example as a guide. In Bangladesh, about 8 million cattle, usually in prime condition, are ‘sacrificed’. At an average price of Tk. 25,000 each (quite conservative, at present prices), this represents about Tk. 200 billion or Tk. 20,000 crores or $ 2,500,000,000 ($2.5 billion) plus, worth of national wealth, literally bleeding down into non-existent drains EVERY YEAR in this poor country alone.
When queried informally, I get a variety of answers: “1) It has been done for ages; 2) Our family and social standing demands it; 3) It is good for the leather industries; 4) It is good for many income generating linkages; 5) Defensively some say, “at least the poor get to eat meat”. 6) Some of the ‘fiery eyed’ ones exclaim, “I am ensuring my safe passage over the ‘Pul Sarat’ to Paradise on the back of my cow (or part of it),etc.!!”
When I rebut these arguments by challenging them: 1) “What about the unhygienic mess created in public places with streets awash in blood and stinking for weeks? 2) Our family and social standing demands a lot of other things as well, which we never bother about. 3) How much of the leather rots or is smuggled over the border? What about the smuggling and the people killed to get the cattle over here? 4) Yes, no doubt, a few poor people make some money for a day, but without the instant mass slaughter, would there not be more organized, hygienic meat producing/processing and auxiliary industries in the country, providing jobs and better quality at cheaper prices all year. And wouldn’t we be far better off, NOT killing a bulk of our breeding stock in a few days? 5) A popular fallacy! If the news reports are true, sales of fridges and freezers annually break all records, prior to Eid, so, only scraps of meat/fat manage to get to the poor. Most of which is then re-sold to pavement ‘hotels’! 6) I usually avoid the ‘fiery eyed’ people, as it is impossible to hold a calm dialogue with them. I ask them earnestly, that if they believe what they are doing is following Allah’s command, are they absolutely sure in their minds that every taka, earned and invested in their sacrifice is “Halal”? Very few have had the courage to look me in the eye and say “Yes”.
If sacrifice we must, let us sacrifice in CASH and channel this enormous resource of billions, into permanent institutions and structures. Just imagine the number of educational, research, technical and medical institutions that would sprout up everywhere to benefit humanity. The improvement in logistics and structures would be far more profitable economically. And think of the services that can be provided to lift the extreme poor, disabled and marginalized from poverty.
I realize that what I have written above is extremely controversial and strikes at the root of beliefs that billions of Muslims have held for thousands of years. No force, legislation, ‘fatwa’ or order will have the slightest effect. On the contrary will cause major social upheavals and this practice (and waste) will continue unabated. But guided by the figures involved in Bangladesh, think about the total amount spent (wasted) in the whole Muslim world? With resources shrinking everywhere, how long can we keep wasting them without any tangible benefit in return, except for gluttony and an ego-ride, of course?
This calls for each Muslim to search deep into their individual consciences and decide for themselves, if what they are offering to Almighty Allah is, AT THE VERY LEAST, absolutely ‘HALAL’. If there is any doubt, at all, again it is up to the person concerned to decide, what is the best course of action for them to follow?
Sikander Ahmed is a writer, activist based in Dhaka.
URL: https://newageislam.com/ijtihad-rethinking-islam/prophet-abraham-dream-ritual-slaughter/d/9515