Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
Hazrat Shaikh, Moulana Muhammad Zakariyya (rahmatullahi ‘alaih), had great love for the sunnah of qurbaani. Hence, showing importance to this great Sunnah and ibaadah, he would ensure that he purchased his qurbaani animals well in advance. In this regard, Hazrat Shaikh (rahimahullah) once wrote:
“Before the partition (of India and Pakistan) had taken place, it was my habit that I would purchase my cattle for qurbaani during the month of Sha’baan or Ramadhaan (i.e. approximately two months in advance). I would purchase my cattle from some of my friends in the area of Shaikhpur, and would leave the animals with them until the 9th of Zul Hijjah when they would deliver the animals to me.
“Unfortunately, due to circumstances, I can no longer do this. Hence, I now purchase my animals in Zul Qa’dah, or at the very latest, at the beginning of Zul Hijjah, so that I will easily be able to acquire good animals at a good price.”
Hazrat Shaikh (rahimahullah) also showed great importance to performing qurbaani on behalf of his deeni elders and the pious predecessors (i.e. performing nafl qurbaani on their behalf and thereafter conveying the reward to them). He would also try to acquire a share in the qurbaani animals of his deeni elders. Hazrat Shaikh (rahimahullah) writes:
Before the partition (of India and Pakistan) had taken place, it was my habit to perform many qurbaani on behalf of my deeni elders who were living as well as those who were deceased. Hence, my qurbaani cattle alone were eight to ten in number. Furthermore, if any person had a share available in his animal (e.g. a cow which has seven shares), then it was normal for such a person to contact me, inform me of the available share and after I purchased it, he would thereafter allot this share to me for qurbaani.
Apart from this, as far as possible, I try to perform qurbaani on behalf of all my elders, be they my elders in the family, my elders in tasawwuf or my elders in the knowledge of deen – especially the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum), the Imaams of Fiqh and the Imaams of Hadith (rahimahumullah).
Together with this, I also had the desire to try and acquire a share in the qurbaani animals of my deeni elders. Hence, I had one share in each of the animals of Hazrat Moulana Khaleel Ahmed Sahaaranpuri (rahimahullah), Hazrat Moulana Abdur Raheem Raipuri (rahimahullah), and even in the animal of Moulana Ashraf Ali Thaanwi (rahimahullah). I did not have anything to do with the meat of these animals, rather these pious elders were permitted to do with the meat as they saw fit (as my intention was the reward and the blessing, not the meat).
As for Hazrat Moulana Abdul Qadir Raipuri (rahimahullah), then he would keep one separate animal for my qurbaani, whether it was in Raipur (before the partition) or in Pakistan (after the partition). When Hazrat Moulana Abdul Qadir Raipuri (rahimahullah) was living in Raipur, he would ask me to come to Raipur on the 12th of Zul Hijjah, and after I arrived there, he would have the animal slaughtered in my presence.
(Qutbul Aqtaab Hazrat Sheikhul Hadith Moulana Muhammad Zakariyya (rahmatullahi ‘alaih) pg. 230-231)
