Surah Hajj (36)
وَٱلْبُدْنَ جَعَلْنَـٰهَا لَكُم مِّن شَعَـٰٓئِرِ ٱللَّهِ لَكُمْ فِيهَا خَيْرٌۭ ۖ فَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱسْمَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْهَا صَوَآفَّ ۖ فَإِذَا وَجَبَتْ جُنُوبُهَا فَكُلُوا۟ مِنْهَا وَأَطْعِمُوا۟ ٱلْقَانِعَ وَٱلْمُعْتَرَّ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ سَخَّرْنَـٰهَا لَكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ٣٦
“And We have made the sacrificial camels for you among the symbols of Allah. There are many good things for you. So arrange them in line and call the name of Allah, If they fall on their sides, then eat them, and feed them who do not ask and those who ask for it. Thus have We subjected them to you so that you may be grateful.” (22:36)
Surah Introduction-This is verse 36 of Surah Hajj. Some verses of this Surah were revealed before the migration and some verses were revealed after the migration of Holy Prophet ( صلى الله عليه وسلم) to Madinah.
Interpretation:
“Al-Budn” means the camel which is reserved for sacrifice.
“Sha’air” refers to anything which represents an identity, or a belief, or a way of thinking, or a system that has been called its motto because it serves as a symbol for it.
“Sha’air-ul-Allah” hence refers to all the signs or symbols that represent the doctrine of pure piety as opposed to polytheism, disbelief, and atheism.
“Qana’a” refers to those needy ones who do not reach out to anyone out of selfishness.
“Mo’atr” refers to those needy persons who express their need in front of others and begs from others.
The Almighty has specifically mentioned the camel here because the camel was very important to the Arabs and they loved it. Almighty prefers those people the most who sacrifices those things which are dearest to them. In this verse, Allah Almighty has explained to the Muslim Ummah the commandment of sacrifice, its method, the commandment of sacrificial meat, the purpose of sacrifice, its characteristic, and importance.
- Allah Almighty has bestowed upon man this special favor that He has subdued such a strong and large animal for man, so man should give thanks to Allah for it and here thanksgiving means that man should sacrifice it in the way of Allah.
- The method of slaughtering a camel is to stand it up and slaughter it in the name of Allah, and when it falls on its side and cools down, then the rest of the work is done.
- Eat the meat of the sacrificial animal yourself and feed the friends, relatives, poor and the others who never show up their need.
- It is generally objected that Muslims waste crores of rupees by sacrificing animals, but if we look at animal sacrifice only from an economic point of view, it is a good source of strength for millions of people. Millions of herdsmen raise animals all year round and make the best profit from it, thousands of people get sacrificial skins and then thousands of butchers get paid to slaughter, aren’t all these economic benefits? But it should be noted that even if all these benefits are not obtained, Muslims cannot stop sacrificing, because sacrificing is the command of God Almighty and it is meant to please God Almighty.
