Ahmed and the Day of Eid-ul-Adha

Ask our children:

1. Why does Allah Ta‘ala command us to slaughter animals on the Day of Eid-ul-Adha?
2. How does a person spoil his qurbaani, spoil his eid and lose all his reward?
3. Is it permissible for strange men and women to mix with one another and speak to one another?
4. Is it permissible to miss any salaah?
5. Is it permissible to take photos and make videos of people, animals or other living things?

Now tell them the story:

Ahmed walked next to his father, Ridwaan, wearing his gumboots. He was filled with excitement, as they were at the farm looking at all the animals on sale for Qurbaani. From every direction, Ahmed could hear the sounds of different animals. From his right, he could hear the cows mooing, and from the left, he could hear the goats and sheep bleating. Since it was a farm with other animals as well, he could also hear some roosters crowing, and some horses neighing.

Ahmed and his father entered the goat pen and began to look at the animals. Before, they would always slaughter sheep for qurbaani but this year, they had decided to slaughter a goat! Ahmed’s father, Ridwaan, chose a nice, healthy, fat goat, with a big beard and big horns, and after paying the farmer for the goat, they loaded it into their van and returned home.

For the next week, until the day of eid came, Ahmed fed the goat every day, gave it water, cleaned the pen where it was staying and kept it comfortable. Finally, when the day of eid came, they slaughtered the goat at home, with the takbeer echoing through their yard.

After they had slaughtered their animal at home, Ahmed’s friend, Muhammed Zakaria, came to fetch him. Muhammed Zakaria and his father were going to a farm to slaughter their animal, and Ahmed was going with them to see other animals being slaughtered.

As they came to the farm, the first thing that Ahmed noticed was that it was very busy. There were cars parked everywhere, and wherever he looked, he saw people and even more people. Some of these people had come to slaughter their animals, and were waiting for their turns, and some of them had just come to watch the qurbaani.

As they stood in line, waiting for Muhammed Zakaria’s father’s turn to come to slaughter his sheep, Ahmed noticed something that worried him. He saw that there were lots and lots of women and young girls at the farm, and they were all talking to the other men and boys! Some of the men and women were even laughing and joking with each other, and they were not making any purdah! Ahmed felt very uncomfortable. Though he was still small, he knew that this behaviour was haraam.

A little while later, as they came closer to the slaughtering area, Ahmed saw something else that worried him. People were taking photos of the animals! Some people were posing with the animals for a photo, and some people were making videos of the slaughtering! Now Ahmed was very worried. He knew that photos and videos of people, animals and all living things are haraam in Islam, but these people were taking photos and making videos without any worry at all!

Finally, after they had finished slaughtering, Ahmed heard the azaan for the zuhr salaah. Since there was no musjid near the farm, all the men were getting together in one area to perform salaah with jamaat. As they were going to the salaah area, Muhammed Zakaria’s father saw some of his friends and said to them, “Come! We are going to perform our zuhr! Come with us!”

However, the friends replied, “We are too busy! If we come to read our zuhr now, we might miss our turn! We will read our zuhr after we return home!” Muhammed Zakaria’s father said to them, “But then you will miss your zuhr salaah! You will only get home asr time, as your house is not close!” His friends replied, “Never mind! We will make qadha of the zuhr – but we can’t miss our qurbaani!”

Muhammed Zakaria’s father tried to explain to them that they could not miss their zuhr salaah, but they would not listen, until eventually, he left them and went to read zuhr with his son and Ahmed walking behind him.

That night, when Ahmed was at home, all the things that he had seen at the farm were still in his mind. He was thinking about them and he was worried. When his father, Ridwaan, saw that he was deep in thought and asked him what he was thinking about, he told his father about all the sins and haraam things that he had seen at the farm.

His father said to him, “Ahmed! That is one of the main reasons why we make qurbaani at home every year – because we can stay safe from sins and evils. Also, by making qurbaani at home, we bring the great barakah, noor and goodness of this important ibaadah into our home.”

His father then said, “Ahmed! Allah Ta‘ala does not need us to slaughter animals for Him. Allah Ta‘ala does not need anything from us, at any time, and we need Allah Ta‘ala, all the time, for everything. The reason why Allah Ta‘ala tell us to make qurbaani is so that we can listen to Him, obey Him and receive great rewards in the Hereafter. That is why, in the Qur’aan Majeed, Allah Ta‘ala tells us that it is not the meat or blood of the animal that reaches Allah Ta‘ala – it is the piety of the person carrying out the qurbaani. If a person carries out the qurbaani and slaughters the animal, but he is involved in all types of sins, like the sins you mentioned of the men and women mixing, the photography and not performing salaah, then they will lose the reward of their qurbaani and will become sinful. These sins will spoil and ruin the whole qurbaani. The day of eid is a day of happiness, and we are the guests of Allah Ta‘ala on this day, but instead of Allah Ta‘ala being happy with us – we make Him displeased with us by committing all these sins.”

Ahmed listened attentively and understood what his father was saying. He was happy that his father had decided to make qurbaani at home every year, as by staying at home, he could stay away from sins, please Allah Ta‘ala and receive the full reward for his qurbaani.

Lessons:

1. Allah Ta‘ala commands us to slaughter animals on the day of eid so that we can listen to Him, obey Him and receive great rewards in the Hereafter. Allah Ta‘ala does not need the meat of the animal – but He wants to see that we submit to Him and obey Him.
2. When a person commits sins on the day of eid, he spoils his eid and loses the reward of his qurbaani.
3. Men and women must make purdah from one another. Women must not come to places which are filled with strange men, and they must not talk to strange men and joke with them.
4. A Muslim must never miss any salaah. Missing salaah is a very serious sin. We must make sure that we perform every salaah on time. Salaah is even more important than qurbaani, so we must not miss our salaah because of qurbaani. The men must go to the musjid, and if there is no musjid, then they must perform their salaah with jamaat. The women must remain at home and perform their salaah at home.
5. It is haraam to take photos or make videos of people, animals and other living things. The Hadith mentions that the people who commit this sin will receive the worst and most painful punishment on the Day of Qiyaamah.