Eid-el-Kabir: Don’t buy sacrificial animals with fraud money, Allah will not accept it – UNIBEN deputy chief Imam

Mallam Umar Faruk Haruna, University of Benin’s (UNIBEN) deputy Chief Imam, Ekenwa Campus, has said that any animal bought with illegitimate sources of income for Eid-el-Kabir sacrifice is unlawful.

The deputy chief Imam was said to have mentioned this on Sunday, June 16, in his sermon before the two compulsory rakats (prayers) at the Eid praying ground at the campus.

Haruna, who quoted from the Holy Quran 22 vs 37, noted that what Allah needs from the Muslim Ummah is not the flesh nor the blood of the sacrificial animals but the piety behind the sacrifice.

According to him, in Holy Quran 22 vs 37, it was clearly stated: “Not their flesh, nor their blood reaches Allah, but it is the piety from you that reaches Him.”

Haruna, who said that the slaughtering of animals is not compulsory, noted that it was meant for those who have the above-board resources to acquire animals for sacrifice.

“Generally in Islam, and not just Eid-Kabir festival alone, as a Muslim you are not supposed to live on anything that is unlawful.

“In a nutshell, buying a ram is not compulsory. Even though Almighty Allah said Hajji is the five pillar of Islam, He didn’t say is compulsory if you don’t have the resource.

“That is why He put a clause that, for those who Allah has made it easier for. So in a year, if Allah does not make it easier for you, you don’t need to go to the extra mile.

“For those buying rams from money made from Yahoo, Yahoo business or other unlawful businesses, Allah would not accept their sacrifice.

“If you commit bad thing to get money, even though you built multimillion Naira mosque, as far as the source of the income is haram and whatever you are doing with it is haram.

“Any ram bought for sacrifice from any source that is not genuine, that is not a legal earning, is not acceptable by Allah,” he said.

He, however, said that it would be lawful for those who are not aware of the means of livelihood of the buyer if the ram was presented as a gift.

According to him, it would only be unlawful if you knew the means of livelihood of the giver.

“If anybody who does not get his resources in a genuine way buy ram and give you, it would only be unlawful to you if you are aware of what he or she is doing for a living.

“But it becomes lawful to you when you are not aware of his source of income.

“If you know that your child is into Yahoo Yahoo business, prostitution or any other illegal ways to get money, they are all haram,” he added.

Haruna, who also spoke on the hardship in Nigeria, prayed Almighty Allah to give government at all levels the knowledge to be able to come out with positive policies and programmes that would cushion the effect of the economic hardship in the country.

Eid-el-Kabir, which is also known as Eid al-Adha or the Festival of Sacrifice, is one of the most significant festivals in the Islamic calendar.

It celebrates the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God.

It falls on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic lunar calendar, and coincides with the culmination of the Hajj pilgrimage.