Eidul Adha 1433

It's pronounced with the 'h' sound, and not eiduladdaa, as many (western) newsreaders are wont to do. This time hubby and I celebrated it in K.L., as the day fell on Friday, which would mean we would have to make our trip home on Sunday. I always prefer to have a day's rest before going back to the office, so K.L. it was for us. Also, this time I decided to get son-in-law qurban the sheep for me, so I had to stay to witness the event.

All in all, he slaughtered 20 sheep, with the help of many of his Algerian friends, of course. They did it so well and in an organised manner. They held on to the sheep's legs and another one read the basmallah. With just one sweep of the extremely sharp knife (which cost aroud RM 600), the sheep's throat was slit and the blood was hosed away.  

In our Muslim tradition, children should be brought to the event to witness it. There should not be a question of choice, and there is no need for a fuss: just bring the children along and they'll be fine.

In the western eyes, this may seem as a cruel act, the way we slaughter our animals, but, to each his own. I shall not quarrel about it. What I question about are the before: sharpness of knife, treating the animal well; and the afterwards: how the meat is cut and packed and the head, fur and innards are disposed of. This should be done in a hygenic way.

The animal was hung while the inards were taken care of, and hung for awhile more to let the blood drain before the meat is cut, distributed (two thirds) and stored/ for the family (one third).

There were 20 sheep for qurban that day, mainly due to the living arrangements of these Muslims. They live in apartments and there is just no suitable space for this activity on their premises. Our place was available and in the spirit of sacrifice, we open it up to these brothers and sisters.

Allahuakbar wa lillahil hamd.