Rare spectacle of camel slaughter
January 05, 2007
KARACHI: A handful of camels were slaughtered on Thursday, the fourth day of Eid-ul-Azha, in some city localities — rare spectacles watched by hundreds of bystanders.
While most people terminate the activities associated with the feast of sacrifice on the third day, a section of Muslims believe the occasion runs up to the fourth day.
According to Abdur Rahman Salafi, Ameer Jamat-e-Ghurba-e-Ahle Hadith, the 10th of Zil Hajj, the first day of Eid-ul-Azha, is called Youm-e-Nahar (Day of Sacrifice) while the other three days are designated as Ayyam-ut-Tashreek, the 11th, 12th and 13th of Zil Hajj.
He says qurbani is also legal on the fourth day, this being ‘Youm-e-Tashreek’.
Unfortunately, he says, most people in the past were unaware that Eid-ul-Azha was celebrated for four days. Citing Hadiths, he adds that the precedence of it was found in the era of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Highlighting the importance of camel’s sacrifice, he notes that “our last Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) sacrificed 63 animals during Hajjat-ul-Wida”.
Keeping His Sunnah alive, people from different schools of thought are opting for camel’s sacrifice in growing numbers. An evidence of it was found on Thursday when the animal was slaughtered in different parts of the city.
Now this tradition, says Rahman, has become common practice.
The process of camel sacrifice is altogether different from that applied in case of other animals: the rope is tied around its first leg to take hold of the heaviest animal. Then the point of a double-edged knife is struck at the neck of the camel, a process known as Nahar in Arabic language.
As the blood gushes out forcefully from the neck, the camel staggers to the floor. While there are seven shares in a sacrificial cow, camel has as many as ten.
Until last year, the camels were quite low-priced as compared to other sacrificial animals. But this year their prices climbed, too, as they were in great demand. Mr Rahman attributes this surge in demand to people’s growing knowledge in Islam.
One such Qurbani was performed at Burns Road, which turned out to be a mega event for the neighbourhood, but it was especially so for children. The rostrum, the place where the camel was sacrificed, was filled to capacity. Even women stood in their balconies and watched the incident with keen interest.
The skin of camel is used for making lamp cover, which are usually traded in Multan.
While most people terminate the activities associated with the feast of sacrifice on the third day, a section of Muslims believe the occasion runs up to the fourth day.
According to Abdur Rahman Salafi, Ameer Jamat-e-Ghurba-e-Ahle Hadith, the 10th of Zil Hajj, the first day of Eid-ul-Azha, is called Youm-e-Nahar (Day of Sacrifice) while the other three days are designated as Ayyam-ut-Tashreek, the 11th, 12th and 13th of Zil Hajj.
He says qurbani is also legal on the fourth day, this being ‘Youm-e-Tashreek’.
Unfortunately, he says, most people in the past were unaware that Eid-ul-Azha was celebrated for four days. Citing Hadiths, he adds that the precedence of it was found in the era of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Highlighting the importance of camel’s sacrifice, he notes that “our last Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) sacrificed 63 animals during Hajjat-ul-Wida”.
Keeping His Sunnah alive, people from different schools of thought are opting for camel’s sacrifice in growing numbers. An evidence of it was found on Thursday when the animal was slaughtered in different parts of the city.
Now this tradition, says Rahman, has become common practice.
The process of camel sacrifice is altogether different from that applied in case of other animals: the rope is tied around its first leg to take hold of the heaviest animal. Then the point of a double-edged knife is struck at the neck of the camel, a process known as Nahar in Arabic language.
As the blood gushes out forcefully from the neck, the camel staggers to the floor. While there are seven shares in a sacrificial cow, camel has as many as ten.
Until last year, the camels were quite low-priced as compared to other sacrificial animals. But this year their prices climbed, too, as they were in great demand. Mr Rahman attributes this surge in demand to people’s growing knowledge in Islam.
One such Qurbani was performed at Burns Road, which turned out to be a mega event for the neighbourhood, but it was especially so for children. The rostrum, the place where the camel was sacrificed, was filled to capacity. Even women stood in their balconies and watched the incident with keen interest.
The skin of camel is used for making lamp cover, which are usually traded in Multan.
