The thought this year
From the Blog PkColumnist.com: The thought this year - The floods in July took a relatively low toll on human lives, but the loss of animals has been estimated at one million heads of cattle. Those which survived are near starvation due to lack of fodder. In some places peasants shared with their animals the food they received as meagre relief. The unprecedented deluge, which inundated a landmass equalling Switzerland, Belgium and Austria combined, ran through the country's most densely populated areas. In terms of livestock alone, and livestock accounts for 52 per cent of the output of out agricultural areas, the loss is colossal. The initial impact of this loss is already evident from spiralling meat prices and shortage of dairy products in some parts of the country. The situation is likely to worsen when the religiously faithful sacrifice millions of animals on Eid-ul-Azha in November, just four months after the disaster. Preservation of cattle and poultry is going to be crucial to any meaningful rural rehabilitation after the floods. There should be an immediate check on the smuggling of animals to Afghanistan, the Middle East and the Central Asian Republics. At the same time, however, there is need for reversion to the Quranic guidelines on animal sacrifice, to help recreate the ecological balance, which has been all but destroyed by the floods. The ritual of sacrifice, as we know, is a pre-Islamic institution, and not one of the five pillars of the faith. But it has been an element of Haj since the advent of Islam, and a number of revelations in the Holy Book reflect upon its essence. Historically, pagan Arabs offered sanguinary sacrifices to appease a variety of deities, a tradition also followed by the monotheist Jews to please the One True God in the hope of some favour from Him. Islam, however, broke away from this longstanding tradition of appeasement of "angry" gods. It emphasised, instead, personal sacrifice and submission of the faithful to the One True God. Religious researchers in the Islamic world contend that the notion of "vicarious atonement of sin" (absolution of one's sins through the blood of another creature), is not mentioned anywhere in the Holy Quran. Neither is the idea of gaining Allah's favour by offering the life of an animal is to be found anywhere. The concept of sacrifice in Islam essentially stipulates one's personal willingness to submit oneself to Allah's will. Sura as-Safat (37:100-107) says, in reference to Prophets Abraham and Ishmael (Ibrahim and Ismail): "Then…he said: 'O my son! I see in vision that I offer thee in sacrifice. Now see what thy view is?' (The son) said: 'O my father! Do as thou art commanded: Thou wilt find me, if Allah so wills, one practising patience and constancy!' "So when they had both submitted their wills (to Allah), and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead (for sacrifice), We called out to him, 'O Abraham! Thou hast already fulfilled the vision!' Thus indeed do We reward those who do right. For this was obviously a trial…" From this verse, prominent Islamic scholar Hafiz Abdullah Yusuf Ali infers that Allah never ordained Abraham to sacrifice his son. Yusuf Ali also refers to Sura Al-Haj, 22:37: "It is not their meat nor their blood that reaches Allah: it is your piety that reaches Him: He has thus made them subject to you, that ye may glorify Allah for His guidance to you: And proclaim the Good News to all who do right." In another narration in the Quran: "To every people did We appoint rites (of sacrifice), that they might celebrate the name of Allah over the sustenance He gave them from animals (fit for food). But your God is One God: Submit then your wills to Him: and give thou the good news to those who humble themselves." (Al-Haj, 22:34) Yusuf Ali believes that this is the true essence of sacrifice, and not a propitiation of higher powers. Allah is One, and He does not delight in flesh and blood. Sacrifice is but a symbol of thanksgiving to Allah by sharing meat with fellow humans, and the solemn pronouncement of Allah's name over the sacrifice is an essential part of the rite. But Allah does accept the offering of our hearts. A symbolic visible institution is therefore essential which, during the Haj rites, is the sacrifice of an animal. Interestingly, the manifestation of this visible institution has various interpretations across the Islamic world. In Iranian society, to cite one example, animal sacrifice is obligatory for pilgrims on Haj and for those who have previously performed Haj. But it is not mandatory for every adult with a source of earning. In Pakistan there is the phenomenon of "animals of attraction" priced far in excess of their meat value, which blurs the line between the noble spirit of sacrifice and distasteful display of wealth. The burning question, however, is whether under these extraordinary circumstances following the floods, a sum of money equivalent to the sacrificial animal's price can be channelled to charities of one's preference to help our unfortunate fellow citizens. Can we find a deeper meaning of submission to Allah's will in rendering sacrifice in the true Spirit of the Abrahamic tradition, a meaning beyond sacrificing animals to seek atonement for our own sins? That is the thought for this year's sacrificial Eid. . Read Full Post
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