Animals are useful to mankind in various capacities, apart from being our daily consumption, there are circumstances where animals serve as solutions to our challenges.
To set the record straight, Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was compensated with a great ram as a sacrifice to revive the soul of Prophet Ismail (peace be upon him) when he fulfilled his dream. I refer you to Q37:102-207.
The purport of the above verse is that, animal was used to ransom the soul of Prophet Ismail and to avert calamity as a reward for piety, love for Allah, doggedness and patience which has become Eid el Adha celebration till date.
It should be noted that, Allah (swt) subdued animals for humans’ consumption, nonetheless, they are entitled to prompt feeding, medical attention and care even at the point of slaughtering if the need arises, though, Allah (swt) needs neither meat nor blood of animals, it is the piety from us that reaches HIM. I refer you to Q22:37.
Furthermore, animals taught mankind landmark lessons which are relevant forever. Another instance where Allah(swt)subdued animals as solution for humans’ challenges was the illustration of a bird called (HUDHUDA) that brought a news about Bilkis, her great throne and the Kingdom of Sabai who were worshipping the Sun instead of Allah to Prophet Sulaimon (peace be upon him), however, the bird(HUDHUDA) gave insight and comprehensive information about the kingdom of Sabai which pave way for Prophet Sulaimon to propagate the word of Allah and to redeem Bilkis and her Kingdom from the wrong path. I refer you to Q27:20-24.
Finally, i commend the Government at all levels, Federal and the State Government over its decision of suspending Eid el Adha congregational prayer at the Eid praying ground across the nation, this will go a long way to dislodge influx of people entering into the Eid praying ground which is a precautionary measure to ameliorate the spike rate of Corona virus in Nigeria. I also urge every Muslim to exhibit the spirit of love to one another, to be merciful with animals and slaughter them with ease and piety because Allah needs neither meat nor blood from us but piety, bearing it in mind that every soul shall also have a taste of death one day. May Allah heal the World of the pandemic.
Wishing Muslims across the nation happy Eid el Kabir and Jummah Mubaraq.
Thank you for your curious attention.
Al Imam, Barr, Abdullahi Salaty.
Public affairs analyst and the Chief Imam, Onimago Central Mosque, Mandate Housing Estate. Ilorin.
