A Pledge for Eid

Eid-ul-Adha brings with it a sense of calmness and serenity, with kids witnessing their most-loved animals being sacrificed for the oneness and love of Allah. With the happiness Eid brings, have you ever thought about the difficulties it brings for your parents? Have you ever even reflected upon the fact that when you devour all the cuisines brought to your table, your mother suffers dehydration, being drenched in sweat during the summer when temperatures rise over 45°C degree? And have you ever realised how your father drips with perspiration while sacrificing the animal?

As this special occasion rolls around, have you ever wondered how the environment becomes unhealthy, stinky and contagious to our health due to close engagements, when alive, and the hides and intestines of the animals, when sacrificed, thrown on garbage heaps?

Consequently, my siblings and I have resolutions for this Eid. I know, it seems ridiculous as making resolutions is typically associated on the New years Eve, but I put it as “make resolutions anytime when you intend for the good.” Furthermore, we have also decided to help people around us in trivial things to grow exponentially, gain respect, love and care. We believe that we would find it more fulfilling in helping them than playing hide and seek and binge-watching movies during this beautiful occasion. In this way, we would be ready to accept every stereotype facing our society.

Helping MOM and Dad

Photo Credit: Freepik.com 

In our increasingly advance and digitised world, with children engrossed in mobile phones, parents hardly get any attention from their children and not too, in Eids when the work load is quadrupled.

As the days move on, my sisters perceived how much mom’s hard work meant to them. She rarely takes a day off. And her work gets very tantalising in the summer days, when the temperatures soar as high as 45 centigrade.

Despite her dark brown wavy hair turning pale red, with her skin developing a dark tan and her dark eyes soared, she looks happy and content with what she has with no complaints.

While this Eid falls in this scorching weather, my sisters have decided to help mom in the chores. First, they will help her in ornamenting their younger sister, helping her get dressed, putting on the makeup and jewellery. Second, when the meat is ready they would assist mother in distributing the meat to the neighbours and needy. They would do the dishes, cook food and attend to the guests. They believe, “When we help mom in the chores, we realise how it is difficult to withstand the severe heat and how she manages everything without complaining. Definitely, she is a mother.”

Moreover, our fathers’ love for the family is evident in the way he toils at the ungodly hours of the night to provide for us. During Eid, although he is free from work, he is not free from responsibilities. He slaughters the animals, flays and cleans them and then goes to his cousins, brothers and sisters. Preparing post-mortem animal isn’t easy in these warm days; therefore, I am going to help him with his work to ensure that he feels comfortable.

Getting rid of the offal

Offal on the road during Eid. Photo Credit: Freepik.com 

Apart from bringing uncountable happiness and prosperity, Eid also brings with it filth in the form of hides, offal dropped on garbage heaps, roadsides, and highways which make the environment very filthy. The wind on highways and motorways carries a pungent smell. This happens every year, and there is no reason to expect this year will be any different. In some parts of the country the offal is picked up by authorities or locals while in others it is left to rot for days on end. What kind of a picture does this paint for our society when a foreigner happens to be here in an Eid?

Given that the remains stink, they also bring with it various diseases and coaths. Complaints of stomach ailments, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal cramping are very common.

My colleagues and I have decided to help the concerned authorities in collecting the offal. First, we would contact the municipal authorities and then inform the locals about designated areas to dump the entrails so that they can be carted away.

Eid is the day of sacrificing and it isn’t only about meat, it is about cleanliness as cleanliness is next to godliness. We would make sure that once the meat is distributed or stored, we would bag the leftovers properly. According to the Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) 8.1 million sacrifical animals worth 26.5 million rupees are sacrificed annually in Pakistan. It means 8.1 million packets of offal is thrown in different places. Taking into account the vast population of the country, if one person from each household helps in cleaning up, we can significantly reduce this issue.

Helping the needy

Photo Credit: Freepik.com 

Eid is not merely about slaughtering animals and distributing meat, it is about sharing happiness, brotherhood and calmness. In some parts of the world, instead of sacrificing animals, Muslims give clothing, money and gifts in the shape of charity. They believe that sharing happiness and giving clothes to needy help build brotherhood and humanity, which is what Islam teaches us.

All the children of our house including our parents would donate and get collections from the locality to buy clothes, gifts and other necessary items for the poor. There are some people who aren’t fortunate like us. There are even people who can’t afford new clothes. We believe that in this way, we would be bridging the gap between us and them.

A Pledge for Eid

Life is a predicament. By doing all the stuffs on Eid, we realised the key to ultimate happiness is in working hard and caring for the needy. If you can’t give them a chunk of meat, that does not matter at all, something as frail as a smile would make them happy. They would definitely accept that we care for them.

Last but not the least , let’s pledge on this beautiful occasion that we would work hard to forgive and forget.