All praises to Allah (Subhaa na hoo wa Ta’aalaa) and choicest blessings upon our
beloved Prophet Muhammud (Sal lal law hu ‘alay hi wasallam).

The last month of the lunar calendar has begun. This is a very sacred month indeed and a month of sacrificing animals for the pleasure of Allah. Muslims around the globe celebrate this festival. Many irregularities are witnessed on these sacred occasions. An effort to follow all the rules and regulations of Sharee’ah is important, so that Allah is pleased with us totally.

First and foremost is our effort to find a good animal and sacrifice solely for the pleasure of Allah . The animal must be healthy and free of defects. Animals can be slaughtered immediately after Eid Salaah and it is best to partake of some part of the slaughtered animal first, on Eid day. The person making Qurbaanee should slaughter personally or at-least witness the animal being slaughtered. In the event of Qurbaanee of females, if there are strictly Mahram males, then it is good, otherwise it will not be advisable for them to slaughter or witness, due to the laws of Pur-dah being violated.

It is Waa-jib to recite ‘Bismil-laa-hi Al-law-hu Ak-bar’ when slaughtering the animal. There are few Sunnah Du’aas to be recited before slaughtering, which we should try to learn and recite also. ‘In-nee wajjah-tu, waj-hi-ya, lil-la-zee, fa-ta-ras sa-maa-waa-ti, walar-da, ‘a-laa mil-la-ti Ib-rawhee-ma ha-nee-faa. Wa maa
a-na, mi-nal mush-ri-keen’.

‘In-na Sa-laa-tee, wa nu-sukee, wa mah-yaa-ya, wa mamaa-tee, lil-laa-hi, Rab-bil
‘aa-la-meen. Laa sha-ree-kala-hu, wa bi zaa-li-ka u-mirtu, wa a-na mi-nal Muslimeen. Al-law-hum-ma min-ka wa la-ka’.

Many people recite Tak-beer e Tashreeq whilst slaughtering, instead of the
Tas-mi-yah, i.e. Bis-mil-laa-hi Al-law-hu Ak-bar.

We must treat the animals well and slaughter with a sharp knife, out of view of other animals. The animal should be placed on its left side facing Qib-lah. Skinning of the animal should commence when there is no sign of life in the animal and it is completely cold. During these occasions, there is intermingling of strange males and females. This is totally forbidden and must be avoided. Our actions must draw the mercies of Allah and not His wrath.

May Allah make Hajj easy for all pilgrims and accept all their acts of worship. May Allah accept all our Qurbaanee and be totally pleased with us. Aameen.