The Springs Muslims community celebrated Eid-ul-Adha on Friday as part of the four-day celebration where more than 100 people queued outside the Eid facility in Bakerton waiting to be given meat parcels.
Imraan Karolia, a member of the Springs Muslim community says the festival is not just about slaughtering animals but also to give back to the less fortunate.
“This is a very important day for us because it gives us the opportunity to donate meat to the community instead of just taking it home or to the butchers.”
Most people don’t take the insides of the animal as they usually take the carcass, however, there are people who sacrifice and give it to the officials.
Sarfaraaz Khan, co-ordinator of the Springs Muslim community says at the end of the day it gives him joy to know that he has made a difference to not just one person but the community.
“It makes me happy to see all these people lining up for the distribution because it’s not always that they have meat on their plates.
“Knowing that we have provided food for their families means a lot to us.”
Karolia says the slaughtering symbolises the Quranic moment when Prophet Abraham went to sacrifice his only son for the sake of God, but found a ram that had been put there for slaughter in his place.
The festival is a celebration for the Eid ul-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice) that is mandatory for all Muslims, male and female, if they have above a certain amount of savings.
Eid is divided into three portions mainly being; what will be cooked at home, what will be offered to close relatives and friends and what will be donated to the community.
If a person has savings above the set level, they buy a sheep and sacrifice it, whereby the spiritual sacrifice is made to God, but the actual physical meat is used for other purposes.
Sarfaraaz Khan, co-ordinator of the Springs Muslim Community says the profit made from the celebration will be donated to the school for children who cannot afford to pay school fees.
The celebration is overseen by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) during the three days of Eid-ul-Adha commemoration programme.
The guidelines from the SPCA are that if all Islamic welfare laws and teachings for maintaining and handling animals for Halaal slaughter or Qurbani are adhered to, then there would be no incidence of cruelty or neglect of animals.
